Meanings
- uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see particle, statistics.
- uncountablestatistical mechanics; quantum mechanics; statistical mechanics; quantum mechanicsAny of certain theories, in classical physics or (particularly) quantum mechanics, that model the behaviour of collections of particles of identical type.
This circumstance, which is much different from classical particle statistics, reflects the way in which states are counted in Bose-Einstein statistics.
1984, P. W. Milonni, “Wave-Particle Duality of Light: A Current Perspective”, in S. Diner, D. Fargue, G. Lochak, F. Selleri, editors, The Wave-Particle Dualism: A Tribute to Louis de Broglie on his 90th Birthday, D. Reidel Publishing, page 382 more examples
1990, Jurg Frohlich, Quantum Statistics and Locality, D. G. Caldi, George D. Mostow (editors), Proceedings of the Gibbs Symposium: Yale University, May 15-17, 1989, American Mathematical Society, American Institute of Physics, page 93, A choice of particle statistics in quantum mechanics is equivalent to choosing representations Uₙ, of π₁(Mₙ), for all n, in the quantization procedure described in §1.2; see (1.3). Thus, for a system of point particles in d > 3 dimensional, physical space, particle statistics is described by the symmetry character of wave functions under permutations of particle positions.
The path dependence of the interchange is all important since it relates the quantum mechanical concept of particle statistics to the topology of the configuration space.
2005, Avinash Khare, Fractional Statistics and Quantum Theory, 2nd edition, World Scientific, page 5
Cite this entry
particle statistics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/particle%20statistics
“particle statistics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/particle%20statistics. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “particle statistics,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/particle%20statistics.
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