Entropy of classical histories

Todd A. Brun and James B. Hartle
Phys. Rev. E 59, 6370 – Published 1 June 1999
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

We consider a number of proposals for the entropy of sets of classical coarse-grained histories based on the procedures of Jaynes, and we prove a series of inequalities relating these measures. We then examine these as a function of the coarse-graining for various classical systems, and show explicitly that the entropy is minimized by the finest-grained description of a set of histories. We propose an extension of the second law of thermodynamics to the entropy of histories. We briefly discuss the implications for decoherent or consistent history formulations of quantum mechanics.

  • Received 17 August 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.59.6370

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Todd A. Brun*

  • Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-4030

James B. Hartle

  • Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9530

  • *Present address: Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890.

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 59, Iss. 6 — June 1999

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review E

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×