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Quantum statistical mechanics: Gauge invariance, operator shifting, hyperdensity functionals, and nonequilibrium sum rules

Johanna Müller and Matthias Schmidt*

  • *Contact author: Matthias.Schmidt@uni-bayreuth.de
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Phys. Rev. E 114, 024130 – Published 14 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8rks-wg7f

Abstract

We provide an extended account of the recent statistical mechanical theory of gauge invariance against operator shifting in quantum many-body systems [J. Müller and M. Schmidt, Phys. Rev. E 114, L022104 (2026)]. The gauge transformation is enacted by a shifting superoperator that displaces the fundamental position and momentum degrees of freedom. The shifting superoperator constitutes a map between Hilbert space operators, and it features Lie algebra commutator structure. Averages of general observables remain invariant under the shifting both in and out of thermal equilibrium, as well as in ground states. The gauge invariance induces exact sum rules that interconnect global observables and associated locally resolved correlation functions. In particular we describe the resulting one-body force, hyperforce, product, and two-body sum rules. We relate the shifting superoperator to a previously formulated quantum canonical transformation and present the generalization of quantum shifting to multicomponent systems. The gauge theory respects fundamental fermionic and bosonic particle properties, as we demonstrate by proving the compatibility of operator shifting and exchange symmetry. We formulate the quantum version of hyperdensity functional theory to provide formal access to hyperforces as well as to general averaged quantum observables via universal density functionals. For time-dependent situations, we describe quantum dynamical gauge invariance and prove exact dynamical sum rules for nonequilibrium situations, as generated by Hamiltonian time dependence. We argue for the fundamental status of statistical mechanical gauge invariance based on the compliance of the underlying geometry with canonical quantization according to Dirac's correspondence principle. Analogies and differences of the quantum mechanical sum rules with their classical counterparts remain indicative of the respective levels of description.

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Quantum statistical mechanical gauge invariance

Johanna Müller and Matthias Schmidt
Phys. Rev. E 114, L022104 (2026)

Article Text

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Phys. Rev. E 114, 024130– Published 14 August, 2026
  • Received 23 May 2026
  • Accepted 24 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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