Diagnosing Thermality from Geometric Observables
We address the problem of determining whether a given mixed quantum state corresponds to thermal equilibrium or to a zero-temperature statistical mixture. We show that geometric observables, in particular the quantum Fisher information, provide a direct diagnostic criterion. Thermal states satisfy fluctuation–response relations linking energy variance to parameter sensitivity, while generic mixed states do not. This establishes a geometric test of thermality that does not require prior knowledge of the Hamiltonian and connects requilibrium statistical mechanics with quantum information geometry.
Authors
- A. Plastino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5934-2783)
Institutions
- Universidad Nacional de La Plata (AR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Quantum Reports
- Published
- 2026-07-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum8030067
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00