Landsberg, Peter T. (2005) Pauli, an ergodic theorem and related matters. American Journal of Physics, 73 (2), 119-121. (doi:10.1119/1.1811622).
Abstract
Time averages are important in physics and in statistical mechanics. An ergodic theorem is a way of justifying the replacement of time averages by averages in phase space. A derivation of this theorem from quantum mechanics was given by von Neumann in 1929. Pauli and Fierz found a shorter argument in 1937. They agreed that for ergodicity to hold there should be no energy degeneracy in the Hamiltonian. I trace the circumstances and consequences of a disproof of these arguments.
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