Observables in Statistical Physics ========================================== .. index:: Observables Observables in Equilibrium State ------------------------------------------------------ In statistics, the average of an observable is .. math:: O = Tr(\hat O \rho) where :math:`\rho` is the "probability matrix". In QM, this is .. math:: \rho = \frac{ e^{-\beta H} }{\mathrm{Tr} ( e^{-\beta H} ) } If a system of QM comes to equilibrium, that means 1. :math:`\rho = \frac{ e^{-\beta H} }{\mathrm{Tr} e^{-\beta H} }`; 2. :math:`\rho` is diagonal in energy eigen space.