State (functional Analysis)
In functional analysis, a state on a C*-algebra is a positive linear functional of norm 1. The set of states of a C*-algebra A, sometimes denoted by S(A), is always a convex set. The extremal points of S(A) are called pure states. If A has a multiplicative identity, S(A) is compact in the weak-* topology.
In the C*-algebraic formulation of quantum mechanics, states in this previous sense correspond to physical states, i.e. mappings from physical observables to their expected measurement outcome.
Read more about State (functional Analysis): Jordan Decomposition, Properties of States
Famous quotes containing the word state:
“An orchard, good tillage, good grounds, seem a fixture, like a gold mine, or a river, to a citizen; but to a large farmer, not much more fixed than the state of the crop.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)