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In standard Hilbert-space quantum mechanics, a complete specification of a system’s statistical predictions: a ray (or vector representative) for a pure state, and more generally a positive trace-one density operator for a mixed state.
Pure states are represented by rays in Hilbert space; mixed states require density operators.
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This is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
Hilbert spaces supply state vectors, inner products, and completion for quantum theory.
A mathematical concept supplies part of the formal language, state space, representation, or analytic machinery used by a scientific or mathematical-physics concept. The source is the mathematical predecessor; this does not claim that physical content follows from mathematics alone.
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Quantum mechanics represents the state of a system by a state vector, ray, or density operator.
The target represents a state, property, observable, or state-dependent description associated with the source system or theory.
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This is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
An excited state is a quantum state above the ground-state energy of the specified system.
The target is a member or subtype of the broader source class.
wp-physics-excited_statenlab-physics-excited_stateThis is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
A ground state is a quantum state of minimum energy in a specified Hamiltonian sector.
The target is a member or subtype of the broader source class.
wp-physics-ground_statenlab-physics-ground_stateThis is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
Mixed states are non-extremal quantum states.
The target is a member or subtype of the broader source class.
wp-physics-quantum_statenlab-physics-mixed_quantum_statenlab-physics-quantum_stateThis is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
Pure states are extremal quantum states.
The target is a member or subtype of the broader source class.
wp-physics-quantum_statenlab-physics-pure_quantum_statenlab-physics-quantum_stateThis is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
A quantum state assigns expectation values to observables; in operator formulations this assignment is a positive normalized functional.
The source supplies a substantive formal ingredient, dynamical sector, law, field content, or mechanism of the target theoretical framework.
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Pure state vectors support coherent linear superposition, while mixtures represent statistical rather than coherent combinations.
The target represents a state, property, observable, or state-dependent description associated with the source system or theory.
wp-physics-quantum_superpositionnlab-physics-quantum_superpositionThis is an authored directed relation from the source endpoint to the target endpoint.
A wavefunction is a representation of a quantum state in a chosen basis, commonly position.
The target represents a state, property, observable, or state-dependent description associated with the source system or theory.
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