PHYSICS 831

Statistical Mechanics, Fall 2015

Homework 8, 50 points
November 9 - 18, 2015
Quantum gases.
1. /12/ Consider an originally empty cavity filled only with equilibrium
electromagnetic radiation at temperature T . This is not yet a full equlibirum because electron-positron pairs are created and annihilated by the
processes like 2 *
) e+ + e .
a. Show that at equilibrium the chemical potentials + and of positrons
and electrons are equal to zero.
b. Calculate equilibrium densities n+ and n of positrons and electrons
at temperature T = 8 keV.
c. Compare energies of positron and electron gases with the energy of the
black body radiation in the same volume. Estimate at what temperature
these contributions are approximately equal.
2. /14/ A potential U (z) depending only on the vertical coordinate is applied
to a Bose gas of particles of mass m.
a. Find the level density () for this system assuming U (z) > 0 (repulsion), as in a trap.
b. Find the critical temperature Tc for the Bose condensation of this gas
(if the condensation takes place) for U (z) = z with > 0.
3. /12/ At low temperature, T  F , find the lowest order thermal correction
to the energy, grand canonical potential, entropy and pressure of the Fermi
gas with the quadratic dispersion law.
/Remember that the natural variables for the grand canonical potential
are T, V and ./
4. /12/ Consider a heavy nucleus with atomic weight A (Z protons and N
neutrons, Z + N = A) as a degenerate Fermi gas with the wave vector
at Fermi surface kF = 1.36 fm1 and a standard dispersion law, (p) =
p2 /2m, where masses of protons and neutrons are taken equal. The mass
formula for the energy of a nucleus contains the so-called symmetry energy,
Esym = b

(N Z)2
.
2A

(1)

Find the value of the parameter b if the effect of symmetry energy comes
from the Fermi energy of the two-component nucleon gas that would have
a minimum value in the symmetric matter with N = Z.
/It is convenient to parameterize N = (A/2) + , Z = (A/2) and
1

consider the case of  A/2. Assume that neutrons and protons share
the same volume./