Researchers derive a unified topological speed limit for the evolution of physical states - Phys.org

Two researchers at Keio University in Japan have recently derived a speed limit for the evolution of physical states that also accounts for the topological structure of a system and of its underlying dynamics.

"Figuring out how fast a system state can change is a central topic in classical and quantum mechanics, which has attracted the great interest of scientists," Tan Van Vu and Keiji Saito, the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org.

The notion that there is a limit in the operational time required for a system to shift from one physical state to another was first introduced several decades ago by Leonid Isaakovich Mandelstam and Igor Tamm.

The key objective of the recent work by Vu and Saito was to devise a new speed limit that also considers the topological structure of a physical system and its underlying dynamics.

"In our opinion, the most notable finding of our study is the discovery of the topological speed limit that yields accurate predictions for operational times and can apply to a wide range of dynamics," Vu and Saito said.

"The utilization of the speed limit to better understand the underlying mechanisms of physical phenomena, such as the thermalization of closed and open systems, is a promising approach."