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7)
We will consider the gas of fermions in the degenerate regime, where the density n
exceeds by far the quantum density nQ, or, in terms of energies, where the Fermi energy
exceeds by far the temperature. We have seen that for such a gas is positive, and we’ll
confine our attention to the limit in which is close to its T=0 value, the Fermi energy EF.
~ kBT
/ EF
occupancy
1 kBT/EF
T =0
EF
h2 3
n
2/3
6.6 10 110
34 2
29 2 / 3
J 110 18 J 6 eV
8m
31
8 9 10
- at room temperature, this
TF EF / k B few eV few 10 K 4
Fermi gas is strongly
degenerate (EF >> kBT).
EF
h 2 3N
2/3
6.6 10
34 2
3
8.5 10 28
2/3
1 1 EF
n 0.9 exp 1 9 1 EF k BT ln 9
EF EF k BT
exp 1 exp 1 1
k BT k BT
1 EF 1
0.1 exp 2 2 EF k BT ln 9
2k BT ln 9 0.11 eV 2 EF B k T 9
exp 1
k BT
Problem (Final 2005, cont.)
(b)
(c) Using the assumptions of (b), calculate the ratio N1/N0 where N1 is the number of
“current-carrying” electrons, N0 is the total number of electrons in the conduction
band. Assume that within the range where the occupancy varies between 0.1 and
0.9, the occupancy varies linearly with energy (see the Figure), and the density of
states is almost energy-independent. The density of states for the three-
dimensional Fermi gas:
occupancy
3N
g 3/ 2
2 EF
- EF
E F / 2
3N 3
N1 n g d
E F / 2 2 EF
3/ 2
EF 0.5 N
4 EF
N 0.012
Thus, at T=300K, the ratio of the “current-carrying” electrons to all electrons in the
conduction is 0.012 or 1.2 %.
The Heat Capacity of a Cold Fermi Gas
One of the greatest successes of the free electron model and FD statistics is the
explanation of the T dependence of the heat capacity of a metal.
So far, we have been dealing with the Fermi gas at T =
0. To calculate the heat capacity, we need to know how
the internal energy of the Fermi gas, U(T), depends on
the temperature. Firstly, let’s predict the result
qualitatively.
By heating a Fermi gas, we populate some states
above the Fermi energy EF and deplete some states
below EF. This modification is significant within a
narrow energy range ~ kBT around EF (we assume that
kBT the system is cold - strong degeneracy).
The fraction of electrons that we “transfer” to higher energies ~ kBT/EF, the energy increase
for these electrons ~ kBT. Thus, the increase of the internal energy with temperature is
proportional to N(kBT/EF) (kBT) ~ N (kBT)2 /EF.
U T k B2T k T 3
CV N is much smaller (by B 1) than CV Nk B for an ideal gas
T V EF EF 2
The Fermi gas heat capacity is much smaller than that of a classical ideal gas with the
same energy and pressure. This is because only a small fraction kBT/EF of the electrons
are excited out of the ground state. As required by the Third Law, the electronic heat
capacity in metals goes to 0 at T 0.
The Heat Capacity of a Cold Fermi Gas (cont.)
A bit more quantitative approach: the difference
in energy between the gas at a finite temperature U T g f , T d U0
0
and the gas in the ground state (T = 0):
occupancy
When we consider the energies very close to µ ~ EF,
we will ignore the variation in the density of states, and
evaluate the integral with g() g(EF). The density of
states at the Fermi level is one of the most important
properties of a metal, since it determines the number
of states available to the electrons which can change
with respect to EF
their state under “weak” excitations.
So long as kBT << EF, the distribution function f() is symmetric about EF. By heating up a
metal, we take a group of electrons at the energy - (with respect to EF), and “lift them
up” to . The number of electrons in this group g(EF)f()d and each electron has
increased its energy by 2 :
- the lower limit is 0,
U U 0 2 g E F f , T d
we integrate from EF
0
x 2 2
U U 0 2 g EF d 2 k BT g EF dx k BT 2 g E F
2
0
exp 1 0
exp x 1 12 6
dU T 2 2
3/ 2
1 2m 3 n k T
g EF k B2T g EF Ce
1/ 2
Ce EF Nk B B
dT 3 2 2 2 2 EF 2 EF
- much less than the “equipartition” C. The small heat capacity is a direct consequence
of the Pauli principle: most of the electrons cannot change their energy.
Experimental Results
At low temperatures, the heat capacity of metals can be represented as the sum of
two terms:
CV K1T K 2T
3
At T < 10 K, this linear (electronic) term dominates in the total heat capacity of
metals: the other term due to lattice vibrations “dies out” at T 0 faster, as T 3.
Pressure of the Fermi Gas
The internal energy and pressure of an ideal F
3
gas goes to 0 as T0. This is not the case U 0 N ,V g d N EF
for a degenerate Fermi gas ! 0
5
2/3
2 2 N 3 2N 2 N
2/3
Prel
For the relativistic degenerate matter, the equation of state is “softer” n4/3
3
k
GF:k 2
2
P n E FThe number of electrons per unit volume with k<k
5 3
nG
At T=0, all the states up to kF are occupied: kF k F3
n 2
3
k F 3 2 n 1/ 3
Nobel 1983 The Fermi pressure of a degenerate electron gas prevents the gravitational
collapse of the star if the star is not too massive (the white dwarf).
An estimate the upper limit of the white dwarf’s mass (the Chandrasekhar mass):
M M 3
Total number of electrons in the star ~ the number of protons: Ne ne
mp m p 4R 3
GM 2 proton mass
Total potential (gravitational) energy of the star: U g C g Cg ~ 1
R
Kin. energy of the Fermi gas of electrons (relativistic case): -Ug
energy
1/ 3
K
M 2 M 3 c M 4 / 3
K CF N e EF CF c 3 4/3
m p m p 4R 3 mp R