Dynamics and statistics in the operator algebra of quantum mechanics

Abstract

Physics explains the laws of motion that govern the time evolution of observable properties and the dynamical response of systems to various interactions. However, quantum theory separates the observable part of physics from the unobservable time evolution by introducing mathematical objects that are only loosely connected to the actual physics by statistical concepts and cannot be explained by any conventional sets of events. Here, I examine the relation between statistics and dynamics in quantum theory and point out that the Hilbert space formalism can be understood as a theory of ergodic randomization, where the deterministic laws of motion define probabilities according to a randomization of the dynamics that occurs in the processes of state preparation and measurement.