MECÁNICA ESTADÍSTICA AVANZADA

Taller Capı́tulos 5-8

I Two non-interacting particles inhabit a potential well such that the orbital motion of each particle gives rise
to an energy spectrum E(n) = nε, the n-th energy level having a degeneracy g(n) = 2n + 1. Consider spin-0
particles obeying Bose-Einstein statistics, spin- 21 particles obeying Fermi-Dirac statistics and spin-s particles
obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. Assuming that the energy is spin independent,
(a) find the canonical partition function of the system when it is in contact with a heat reservoir at fixed
temperature T and
(b) investigate the relationship between the partition functions obtained for the three types of statistics.

II Consider a linear chain of N + 1 atoms, each of mass m, with harmonic forces (which might be modelled by
N springs of spring constant K) acting between nearest neighbours. Taking the atoms at each end of the
chain to be fixed, find the dispersion relation for longitudinal waves on the chain. For the case when N is
very large, find the density of states and an expression for the internal energy at temperature T . Evaluate
the internal energy explicitly in the high- and low-temperature limits.
III Consider a three-dimensional gas of bosons for which the single-particle energy is given by

|p|2
εp,n = + αn
2m
where α is a positive constant and n = −j, . . . , j is an integer.
(a) Find expresions, valid in the thermodynamic limit, for the pressure P , and the mean number of particles
per unit volume N/V in terms of the temperature T and the fugacity z = eβµ .
(b) Write down the condition for Bose-Einstein condensation.