The quantum geometric tensor (QGT) reveals local geometric properties and associated topological information of quantum states. Here a generalization of the QGT to mixed quantum states at finite temperatures based on the Sj$\ddot{ \text{ o}}$qvist distance is developed. The resulting Sj$\ddot{ \text{ o}}$qvist QGT is invariant under gauge transformations of individual spectrum levels of the density matrix. A Pythagorean-like relation connects the distances and gauge transformations, which clarifies the role of the parallel-transport condition. The real part of the QGT naturally decomposes into a sum of the Fisher-Rao metric and Fubini-Study metric, allowing a distinction between different contributions to the quantum distance. The imaginary part of the QGT is proportional to a weighted summation of the Berry curvatures, which leads to a geometric phase for mixed states under certain conditions. We present three examples of different dimensions to illustrate the temperature dependence of the QGT and a discussion on possible implications.
Categories: quant-ph cond-mat.mes-hall