Université de Bourgogne, member of Université Bourgogne Franche­Comté

Quantum Solid State Physics

M1 PPN ­ January 2022 (with lecture notes)

Determine if the following statements are true or false. Provide a 10 to 15 lines justi i‐
cation of each answer. All notations, expressions as well as the vocabulary are meant to be
strictly compatible with the lecture notes.
(1) The DRUDE model predicts correctly that bulk copper is not transmitting electroma‐
gnetic waves at frequencies below 100 GHz.
∑
(2) Let us consider a static periodic potential satisfying V(r) = V(r+Rn ) = G VG ei G·r
(where Rn is any direct lattice vector and where G are reciprocal lattice vectors), in
the basis of SOMMERFELD eigenstates |Φk−G ⟩, the matrix element ⟨Φk−G′ |V| Φk−G ⟩ =
Vk+G−G′ .
(3) The theorem of acceleration in reciprocal space enables to determine how a BLOCH
electron pertaining to a band λ is kicked to an upper band λ′ > λ by applying a static
electric ield of 1000 V/m.
(4) In the context of the dynamics of BLOCH electrons, the electrical current density jλ
associated to a partially illed band λ can be viewed as the sum of the current asso‐
ciated to the occupied states (electrons) and of the current associated to the unoc‐
cupied states (holes).
(5) BLOCH oscillations feature a period much longer than the order of magnitude of the
electron mean free path deduced in the context of the DRUDE model.
(6) In the context of the dynamics of BLOCH wavepackets described by the BOLTZMANN
equation, the dependence of the electrical conductivity on the FERMI level results
from the partial derivative of the FERMI‐DIRAC distribution relatively to the tempe‐
rature.
(7) A WANNIER function is a possible representation of a BLOCH wavepacket.