Any given density matrix can be represented as an infinite number of ensembles of pure states. This leads to the natural question of how to uniquely select one out of the many, apparently equally-suitable, possibilities. Following Jaynes information-theoretic perspective, this can be framed as an inference problem. We propose the Maximum Geometric Quantum Entropy Principle to exploit the notions of Quantum Information Dimension and Geometric Quantum Entropy. These allow us to quantify the entropy of fully arbitrary ensembles and select the one that maximizes it. After formulating the principle mathematically, we give the analytical solution to the maximization problem in a number of cases and discuss the physical mechanism behind the emergence of such maximum entropy ensembles.

In quantum mechanics, states are described by density matrices. Though their probabilistic interpretation is rooted in ensemble theory, density matrices embody a known shortcoming. They do not completely express the physical realization of an ensemble. Conveniently, the outcome statistics of projective and positive operator-valued measurements do not depend on the ensemble realization, only on the density matrix. Here, we show how the geometric approach to quantum mechanics tracks ensemble realizations. We do so in two concrete cases of a finite-dimensional quantum system interacting with another one with (i) finite-dimensional Hilbert space, relevant for quantum thermodynamics, and (ii) infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, relevant for state-manipulation protocols.

Building on parallels between geometric quantum mechanics and classical mechanics, we explore an alternative basis for quantum thermodynamics that exploits the differential geometry of the underlying state space. We focus on microcanonical and canonical ensembles, looking at the geometric counterpart of Gibbs ensembles for distributions on the space of quantum states. We show that one can define quantum heat and work in an intrinsic way, including single-trajectory work. We reformulate thermodynamic entropy in a way that accords with classical, quantum, and information-theoretic entropies. We give both the first and second laws of thermodynamics and Jarzynki's fluctuation theorem. Overall, this results in a more transparent physics than conventionally available. The mathematical structure and physical intuitions underlying classical and quantum dynamics are seen to be closely aligned. The experimental relevance is brought out via a stochastic model for chiral molecules (in the two-state approximation) and Josephson junctions. Numerically, we demonstrate this invariably leads to the emergence of the geometric canonical ensemble.

Geometric quantum mechanics, through its differential-geometric underpinning, provides additional tools of analysis and interpretation that bring quantum mechanics closer to classical mechanics: state spaces in both are continuous and equipped with symplectic geometry. This opens the door to revisiting foundational questions and issues, such as the nature of quantum entropy, from a geometric perspective. Central to this is the concept of a geometric quantum state - the probability measure on a system's space of pure states. This space's continuity leads us to introduce two analysis tools, inspired by Renyi's approach to information theory of continuous variables, to characterize and quantify fundamental properties of geometric quantum states: the quantum information dimension, which is the rate of geometric quantum state compression, and the dimensional geometric entropy that monitors information stored in quantum states. We recount their classical definitions, information-theoretic interpretations, and adapt them to quantum systems via the geometric approach. We then explicitly compute them in various examples and classes of quantum system. We conclude commenting on future directions for information in geometric quantum mechanics.

Density matrices capture all of a quantum system's statistics accessible through projective and positive operator-valued measurements. They do not completely determine its state, however, as they neglect the physical realization of ensembles. Fortunately, the concept of geometric quantum state does properly describe physical ensembles. Here, given knowledge of a density matrix, possibly arising from a tomography protocol, we show how to estimate the geometric quantum state using a maximum entropy principle based on a geometrically-appropriate entropy.

Building on parallels between geometric quantum mechanics and classical mechanics, we explore an alternative basis for quantum thermodynamics that exploits the differential geometry of the underlying state space. We develop both microcanonical and canonical ensembles, introducing continuous mixed states as distributions on the manifold of quantum states. We call out the experimental consequences for a gas of qudits. We define quantum heat and work in an intrinsic way, including single-trajectory work, and reformulate thermodynamic entropy in a way that accords with classical, quantum, and information-theoretic entropies. We give both the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics and Jarzynki's Fluctuation Theorem. The result is a more transparent physics, than conventionally available, in which the mathematical structure and physical intuitions underlying classical and quantum dynamics are seen to be closely aligned.

We analyze an engine whose working fluid consists of a single quantum particle, paralleling Szilard's construction of a classical single-particle engine. Following his resolution of Maxwell's Second Law paradox using the latter, which turned on physically instantiating the demon (control subsystem), the quantum engine's design mirrors the classically-chaotic Szilard Map that operates a thermodynamic cycle of measurement, thermal-energy extraction, and memory reset. Focusing on the thermodynamic costs to observe and control the particle and comparing these in the quantum and classical limits, we detail the thermodynamic tradeoffs behind Landauer's Principle for information-processing-induced thermodynamic dissipation in the quantum and classical regimes. In particular, and as found with the classical engine, we show that the sum of the thermodynamic costs over a cycle obeys a generalized Landauer Principle, exactly balancing energy extraction from the heat bath. Thus, the quantum engine obeys the Second Law. However, the quantum engine does so via substantially different mechanisms: classically measurement and erasure determine the thermodynamics, while in the quantum implementation the cost of partition insertion is key.