S-MATRIX FORMULATION OF STATISTICAL MECHANICS

We have formulated the statistical mechanics in terms of the S matrix, which describes the scattering processes taking place in the thermodynamical system of interest. Such a formulation is necessary for studying the systems whose microscopic constituents behave according to the laws of relativistic quantum mechanics. Our result is a simple prescription for calculating the grand canonical potential of any gaseous system given the free-particle energies and S-matrix elements. When applied to a nonrelativistic gas, it gives a simple prescription for calculating all virial coefficients. Simplified relativistic gas models are considered as examples of application. A general form of the Levinson's Theorem for any number of particles follows immediately from our formalism. Its applications in statistical mechanics are briefly discussed. © 1969 The American Physical Society.