Requirements for this paper: Other resources:

Answer scripts: ⊠ Multi-choice cards (A5): □

Attendance slips: □ Multi-choice cards (A4): □
Scrap paper: □ Graph paper: □
Type of assessment: Class Test Qualification: BSc Hons

Module code: NPHY 621 Duration: 1.5 hrs (max 2 hrs)

Module description: Statistical Mechanics Total: 50

Examiner: Dr JP van den Berg Date: 2024/05/07

Time: 9:00

Memorandum

NPHY 621 1/7

Question 1.1: (5)

Consider a particle state which has an energy of ϵ if it is occupied by a single particle. Its energy
√
is dependent on the number of particles n occupying it, nϵ for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . The probability
for the state to be occupied by n particles is given by the Gibbs distribution as
1 −(nϵ−µn)/kT 1 √
P (n) = e = e−n(ϵ−µ)/kT ,
Z Z
where µ is the chemical potential, k is Boltzmann’s constant, and T is the temperature. If the
particles are fermions, then n can only be 0 or 1, so the grand partition function is
√
Z = e−(0)(ϵ−µ)/kT + e−(1)(ϵ−µ)/kT = 1 + e−(ϵ−µ)/kT .

The average number of particles in the state is then

(Option 1:)
1
X √
n̄ = nP (n) = (0)P (0) + (1)P (1)
n=0
e−(ϵ−µ)/kT e−(ϵ−µ)/kT √ 1
=0+ −(ϵ−µ)/kT
= −(ϵ−µ)/kT (ϵ−µ)/kT
= (ϵ−µ)/kT .
1+e e [e + 1] e +1

(Option 2:)

1 ∂Z 1 ∂   √ −e−x √ 1
n̄ = − =− −x
1 + e−x =− = (ϵ−µ)/kT
Z ∂x 1 + e ∂x 1 + e−x e +1
where x = (ϵ − µ)/kT .

Question 1.2: (5)

If ϵ ≫ µ, then the exponential will be much larger than one and the one can be neglected in
both the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions, such that both are then equal to the
√
Boltzmann distribution.

Question 2.1: (10)

√
The Fermi energy is the chemical potential at absolute zero, ϵF = µ(T = 0) .

NPHY 621 2/7

Assume that fermions are trapped in a box with volume V = L3 , where L is the length of one
√
side of the box, and that there are no external forces acting on the fermions . The allowed
wavelengths of the fermions in the three dimensions are
2L
λk = ,
nk

where k = x, y, z and (nx , ny , nz ) is a triplet of positive integers. The allowed momenta are

h hnk √
pk = = ,
λk 2L
where h is Planck’s constant. The energy of a fermion is then

p2 h2 2 2 2

h2 n 2 √
ϵ= = n + n + n = ,
2m 8mL2 x y z
8mL2
where m is the fermion’s mass and n2 = n2x + n2y + n2z is the magnitude of the vector ⃗n in
n-space, which is a three dimensional space whose axis are nx , ny , and nz , with each allowed
⃗n corresponding to a point in this space with positive integer coordinates on a lattice in the
first octant. Each lattice point represent two states due to each state which allow two particles
√
with different spin orientations . Since there is a very large number of fermions which can fit
into the box, the lattice can be approximated by a sphere of radius nmax . The total volume of
the eight-sphere in n-space equals the number of lattice points enclosed, since the separation
between them is one in all three directions. The total number of fermions is twice this volume
due to the two spins,
r
14 3 πn3max 3 3N √
N = 2 πnmax = =⇒ nmax =
83 3 π
The Fermi energy is just the energy of a state that sits on the surface of this sphere in n-space,
2/3 2/3
h2 n2max h2 h2 √
 
3N 3N
ϵF = 2
= = .
8mL 8mL2 π 8m πV

The total energy of all the fermions is

h2 n 2 √
XXX ZZZ
U =2 ϵ(⃗n) = 2 dnx dny dnz ,
nx ny nz
8mL2

where the factor of two is for the two spins and the sums were changed to integrals since the
number of states are usually huge. Since the integrand is only dependent on the magnitude of
⃗n, a change can be made from Cartesian to spherical coordinates in n-space. Keeping in mind
that ⃗n is only defined in the first octant yields
Z nmax Z π/2 Z π/2
2h2 √
U= 2
n2 n2 sin θ dϕ dθ dn
8mL 0
 0 0
h2 1 5 nmax h2 n5max − 0
 π 
π/2 π/2
= n [− cos θ]0 [ϕ]0 = (0 + 1) − 0
4mL2 5 0 4mL2 5 2
5/3 2/3
πh2 π h2 3N √ 3
   
3N 3N
= 2
= 3
= N ϵF .
40mL π 5 8m πL π 5

NPHY 621 3/7

Question 2.2: (10)

The number of fermions is Z ∞√

N = g0 ϵ n̄FD (ϵ) dϵ,
0
3/2
where g0 = 3N/2ϵF is a constant. n̄FD (ϵ) changes rapidly around ϵ = µ,Rso to isolate this
√ √
region let u = n̄FD (ϵ) and dv = ϵ dϵ such that du/dϵ = dn̄FD /dϵ and v = ϵdϵ = 2ϵ3/2 /3.
Integration by parts then yields
∞ Z ∞
√
  
2 3/2 2 3/2 dn̄FD
N= g0 ϵ n̄FD (ϵ) + g0 ϵ − dϵ.
3 0 3 0 dϵ
√
The boundary term vanishes, because ϵ3/2 = 0 if ϵ = 0 and n̄FD (ϵ) −→ 0 as ϵ −→ ∞ . The
derivative is
ex √
 
dn̄FD d 1 1
− =− = x 2
,
dϵ dϵ e(ϵ−µ)/kT + 1 kT (e + 1)
where x = (ϵ − µ)/kT . The derivative is negligible everywhere except in a narrow region around
ϵ = µ. The ϵ3/2 factor in the integral can therefore be expanded in a Taylor series around ϵ = µ,
" # " #
3/2 3/2 dϵ3/2 (ϵ − µ)2 d2 ϵ3/2
ϵ = µ + (ϵ − µ) + + ···
dϵ 2 dϵ2
ϵ=µ ϵ=µ
3 3 √
= µ3/2 + (ϵ − µ)µ1/2 + (ϵ − µ)2 µ−1/2 + · · ·
2 8
Since the derivative dies out exponentially for |ϵ − µ| ≫ kT , the integral’s lower limit can be
√
changed to −∞ . Substituting the Taylor expansion back, together with ϵ − µ = xkT , the
number of fermions becomes
Z ∞
ex √
 
2 3/2 3 1/2 3 2 −1/2
N ≈ g0 x + 1)2
µ + xkT µ + (xkT ) µ dx,
3 −∞ (e 2 8

where a change of variables was also made to x with dx = dϵ/kT . The first term becomes
Z ∞ Z ∞
ex dn̄FD dϵ
x + 1)2
dx = −kT = − [n̄FD (ϵ)]∞
−∞ = n̄FD (−∞) − n̄FD (∞) = 1 − 0 = 1.
−∞ (e −∞ dϵ kT

Since ex /(ex + 1)2 is symmetric about x = 0, the second term is an odd function of x and will
therefore be zero. The last term is given by the standard integral
Z ∞
x2 ex π2
x 2
dx = .
−∞ (e + 1) 3

With this, the number of fermions becomes

 3/2
3 π2 π 2 (kT )2 √√
 
2 3/2 2 −1/2 µ
N ≈ g0 (1)µ + 0 + (kT ) µ =N +N .
3 8 3 ϵF 8 ϵ3/2 √µ
F

By dividing by N , it can be seen that µ is approximately equal to ϵF with a correction propor-

tional to (kT /ϵF )2 . Assuming this term to be small, µ in the second term can be substituted
by ϵF and the chemical potential can then be calculated to be
3/2 3/2
π 2 (kT )2 π 2 (kT )2 √
 
µ µ
1= + ≈ +
ϵF 8 ϵ3/2 √µ ϵF 8 ϵ3/2 ϵ1/2
F F F

NPHY 621 4/7

 "   #2/3
π 2 kT 2 √ π 2 kT 2
 
µ
=⇒ = 1− ≈1− ,
ϵF 8 ϵF 12 ϵF
where (1 + x)q ≈ 1 + qx for |x| ≪ 1 was used in the last step.

Question 3.1: (10)

Consider the Helmholtz free energy F , which must attain the minimum possible value at equi-
√
librium with the temperature T and volume V held fixed . In a system of photons, the number
√
of photons N is not constrained, but rather takes on whatever value will minimize F . If N
then changes infinitesimally, F should be unchanged and hence, for the chemical potential at
equilibrium it must hold that
∂F √
µ= = 0.
∂N T,V
(NOTE: This is a much more formal proof than the chemical reaction argument given in the
text book. Therefore, only two marks will be awarded for the chemical reaction approach.)
Substituting this into the Bose-Einstein distribution yields the Planck distribution
1 √
n̄Pl = .
eϵ/kT −1
q
The wavelength of a photon in a box of length L is λ = 2L/n, where n = n2x + n2y + n2z is
the magnitude of a vector in n-space, with nx , ny , and nz the number of anti-nodes for the
wave along the x-, y-, and z-direction, respectively, and all positive integers. The energy of the
photon is
hc hcn √
ϵ = hf = = ,
λ 2L
where h is Planck’s constant and c is the speed of light in vacuum. The average energy of the
oscillators is then
√
ZZZ
XXX hcn 1
U =2 ϵ n̄Pl (ϵ) = 2 hcn/2LkT
dnx dny dnz ,
n n n
2L e −1
x y z

where the factor of two accounts for the two possible polarizations of a photon and the sums
were changed to integrals since any very large number of modes are possible. Since the integrand
is only dependent on the magnitude of ⃗n, a change can be made from Cartesian to spherical
√
coordinates in n-space . Keeping in mind that ⃗n is only defined in the first octant yields
∞ Z π/2 Z π/2 ∞
n3 √
Z Z
hc n 2 πhc
U= n sin θ dϕ dθ dn = dn.
L 0 0 0 ehcn/2LkT −1 2L 0 ehcn/2LkT −1

Substituting n = 2Lϵ/hc back, with dn/dϵ = 2L/hc, ϵ(n = 0) = 0, and ϵ(n = ∞) = ∞, allows
for the average energy to be written as
∞ 3 ∞ √
Z Z
πhc 2Lϵ 1 2L
U= dϵ = V u(ϵ) dϵ,
2L 0 hc eϵ/kT − 1 hc 0

where V = L3 is the volume and

8π ϵ3 √
u(ϵ) =
(hc)3 eϵ/kT − 1

is the Planck spectrum.

NPHY 621 5/7

Question 3.2: (10)

Consider a box of volume V that has totally reflective sides on the inside, a hole with opening
area A, and is filled with a photon gas at temperature T . All photons travel with the same
speed c in vacuum, regardless of their wavelengths, so low-energy photons will escape through
√
the hole with the same probability as high-energy photons . The photons that escape now,
during a time interval dt, were once pointed at the hole from somewhere within a helispherical
√
shell with radius R and thickness c dt . Let θ be the angle between the line connecting the
mid point of the shell with the opening to some point on the shell (ranging from 0 to π/2) and
√
let ϕ range from 0 to 2π as the point traces out a circle on the shell . Consider a chunk of the
shell with volume
√
volume of chunk = R dθ R sin θ dϕ c dt.
The total energy in the chunk is
U 2 √
energy in chunk = cR sin θ dθ dϕ dt.
V
But not all the photons will escape through the hole because most are pointed in the wrong
direction. The probability of a photon being pointed in the right direction is equal to the
apparent area of the hole as seen from the chunk, A cos θ, divided by the total area of an
imaginary sphere centred on the chunk, 4πR2 (since the photons in the chunk can end up
√
anywhere on the surface of a sphere) :

A cos θ
propability of escape = .
4πR2
The amount of energy escaping from the chunk is therefore
A cos θ U 2 √
energy escaping from chunk = cR sin θ dθ dϕ dt,
4πR2 V
and integrating over all angles, gives the total energy escaping in the time interval dt:
Z 2π Z π/2
Ac dt U
total energy escaping = dϕ cos θ sin θ dθ
4π V 0 0
π/2
√

Ac dt U 1
= [ϕ]2π
0 sin2
θ
4π V 2 0
Ac dt U
= (2π − 0)(1 − 0)
8π V
Ac dt U √
= .
4 V
Dividing by area and time, yields the power emitted per unit area,

c 8π 5 (kT )4 √
power per unit area = = σT 4 ,
4 15(hc)3

where σ = 2π 5 k 4 /15h3 c2 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, with k Boltzmann’s constant and h

Planck’s constant.

NPHY 621 6/7