State space (physics)

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In physics, a state space is a complex Hilbert space within which the possible instantaneous states of the system may be described by a unit vector. These state vectors, using Dirac's bra-ket notation, can often be treated as vectors and operated on using the rules of linear algebra. This formalism of quantum mechanics is extremely powerful, in that it can replace calculation of complicated integrals with a few basic vector operations.

[edit] See also

  • State space (controls) for information about state space in control engineering.
  • Phase space for information about phase state in physics and mathematics.
  • State space for information about discrete state space in computer science.

[edit] References

  • Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (1977). Quantum Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons. Inc.. ISBN 0-471-16433-X pbk.. 
  • David J. Griffiths (1995). Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-124405-1.