Gibbs state

A Gibbs state in probability theory and statistical mechanics is an equilibrium probability distribution which remains invariant under future evolution of the system (for example, a stationary or steady-state distribution of a Markov chain, such as that achieved by running a Markov chain Monte Carlo iteration for a sufficiently long time).

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In physics there may be several physically distinct Gibbs states in which a system may be trapped, particularly at lower temperatures.

They are named after J. Willard Gibbs, for his work in determining equilibrium properties of statistical ensembles.

See also

• Gibbs algorithm