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FERMI-DIRAC GASES
1
Okay, why should we want to discuss a Fermi-Dirac gas?
Gosh, its probably because it is necessary for the
understanding of some important problems.
OK, what problems?
Some major problems that can be tackled with this
formalism are free electrons in conductors, free electrons in
white dwarf stars and neutrons in a neutron star.
Fine, lets press on.
1 T=0
f ( )
0
F
The density of states is the same as before except that there are two
possible values for the quantum number of s z : (1 / 2 , 1 / 2)
Hence we have 2 particles per spatial state.Taking this into
consideration gives, from our previous calculation of the density of
states:
4
3/2
2m
g ( )d 4 V 2 d
h
N
0
f ( ) g( )d
T=0K
f ( )
0.97(0)
T=0.2 TF
F 7
Next we are going to treat the electrons in a solid as a gas. This
may seem unreasonable given the strong coulomb interaction
between electrons and the presence of the positively charged
lattice sites. The many-body theory of solids shows that these
effects can be reasonably ignored, at least to a good 1st
approximation.
8
Free electrons in a metal. (This is relevant to conduction in materials,
white dwarfs, He-3, and nuclear matter.)
To a good first approximation, the electrons confined in the interior
of a metal are similar to molecules in a gas, so we speak of an electron
gas. Of course this is a simplification because it ignores, among other
things, the periodic ionic potential, which leads to band structure so
important in semiconductor physics. (An effective mass is often
introduced to partially compensate for the simplifications.)
The metal will be at a fixed temperature and there will be a
corresponding chemical potential, called the fermi level. The potential
energy for the electron gas is as follows:
!
fermi level (T )
(T ) =work function (3-4eV)
9
An electron near the surface of the metal feels a strong attractive force
due to the positive metal ions in its vicinity. To free an electron from
a metal one must give an electron at the fermi level a certain energy ,
called the work function. In the photoelectric effect, this energy is
supplied by absorbing a photon.
Note that the fermi level is not the same as the fermi energy
but, for T TF (T ) (0) F
As shown in your textbook, for Ag, the fermi energy is 5.54eV. This
is high and the most striking property of a fermi gas. Contrast this
with a gas molecule at room temperature, which has an energy of
about 0.025eV. The energy of the electrons at the fermi energy, at
absolute zero, is about that of a gas molecule at a temperature of
about 64,000K.
The energy of an electron gas at T=0K is called the zero point
energy. T 300 K
At room T (Ag) T 0.0047 { F kTF }10
F 6.4 10 K
4
When T TF the gas is said to be in the degenerate region. This
is not to be confused with the degeneracy of an energy level.
2 2
Using equation (1) (0)1 0.0047 0.99998 F
12
(300 K ) 0.99998 F This is why (T ) is often confused with F
T=0
1
g( )
f ( ) T
0
0 F
11
N ( ) f ( )g ( )
T=0
N ( )
F
It is the electrons in the tail of this distribution that can be most
easily extracted from a metal by various processes.
Internal energy of the gas: U N ( ) d
0
3/2
2m 3/2
U f ( )g ( )d 4 V 2 e ( ) / kT
d
0 h 0 1
Again we can make approximations to obtain a series solution
to this equation. 12
3 5 2 T
2
T
4 4
U N F 1 (2)
5 12 TF 16 TF
3
At T=0 U N F This is a large energy. It comes about by
5 the PEP.
13
Specific heat of metals (one of the great accomplishments of the
theory).
The law of Dulong and Petit: cV 3R for all elementary solids
at room temperature. (This is an experimental result.)
This law has a simple explanation based on the principle of
equipartition of energy. Each atom of the solid is considered to be a
linear oscillator with 6 degrees of freedom (vibrating in 3 dimensions
and the oscillator has both kinetic and potential energy).
1
U N6 kT 3NkT 3nRT
2
u
u 3RT c V 3R c V 3R
T V
At lower temperatures the specific heat decreases and , at these
temperatures, a more sophisticated quantum-mechanical approach
14
is required.
Continuing with the electron gas, we associate a specific heat with
the free electrons by defining: dU
Ce
dT V
3 5 T
2
2
T
4
4
Using equation (2) U N F 1 (2)
5 12 TF 16 TF
3 5 2
T 4
T
3
C e N F (approx )
5 6TF TF 4TF TF
N F T 3 T
2 2 3
Ce (approx)
2 TF TF 10 TF
2 T 3 2
T
3
Ce Nk
Since F kTF 2 TF 10 TF
Since we are considering low temperatures it is certainly true that
T is very much smaller than the fermi temperature and so the second
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term is negligible.
2 T 2 kT
Ce
Nk Nk (Notice the linear dependence on T)
2 TF 2 F
At room temperature and for Ag 2
0.025eV
C e nR c e 0.022R
2 5.54eV
This small value explains a puzzle regarding the specific heat of
metals. It was expected that the free electrons, having 3 translational
degrees of freedom, would contribute an additional (3/2)R to the
specific heat (from equipartition theorem). This is obviously
not in agreement with experiment. Our calculation shows that, indeed,
the electronic contribution is small.
The reason that it is small is as follows. Even though the
kinetic energies of the free electrons are much greater than the thermal
energy of the particles in a gas, the change in energy (dU/dT) of the
electrons is small. Only the electrons near the fermi level can
increase their energies because of the availability of unoccupied
states, and only a small fraction of the free electrons are near F 16
The entropy of the electron gas:
đ Q
CV đ Q C V dT ( V constant ) TdS C V dT
dT V T
Ce
For the free electrons S T dT
0
2 T T 32
T
3
1
S Nk dT
0 T
2 T 10 TF
F
2 T T
2
3
S Nk ( 3)
2 TF 10 TF
17
Helmholtz thermodynamic potential. F=U-TS
Eqn(2) –T[eqn(3)]
3 5 2 T
2
T 4
4
F NkTF 1
5 12 TF 16 TF
2 T 2 T
3
T Nk
2 TF 10 TF
3 2 T
2
3 T 4
4
F NkTF
5 4 TF 80 TF
2 T
2
4 T
4
NkTF
2 TF 20 TF
3 2 T
2
T
4
4
F NkTF
5 4 TF 80 TF
18
The pressure of an electron gas: Now that we have the Helmholtz
function, we can calculate the pressure. (potentials yield properties)
F Our first chore is then to write F explicitly in terms
P
V T ,N of the volume!!! h 3N
2 2/3
kTF aV 2 / 3
2m 8 V
3 2T 2 kTF 4T 4 kTF
Rewriting F F N kTF 2
4
5 4TF 80TF
3 2T 2 k 2 4T 4 k 4
F N kTF 3
5 4(kTF ) 80(kTF )
3 2 / 3 2 2 2 2/3
T k V 4 4 4 2
T kV
F N aV 3
5 4a 80a
3 a(2 / 3) 2T 2 k 2 (2 / 3) 4T 4 k 4 2V
P N 5/3
1/ 3
3
5 V 4 aV 80 a
19
N 2 a 2T 2 k 2V 2 / 3 4T 4 k 4V 2
P
V
2/3
6a
3
and a kTF V 2 / 3
5 V 40a
N 2 2T 2 k 2 4T 4 k 4
P kTF
V 5 6kTF 40(kTF )3
2 NkTF 5 2T 2 k 2 5 4T 4 k 4
P 1
5 V 12(kTF )2 80(kTF )4
2 NkTF
2 4
5 2 T 4 T
P 1
5 V 12 TF 16 TF
2U
Comparing with equation (2) (slide 15) P
3 V
N
Example: For Ag 5.91 1028 m 3 TF 64 103 K
V
kg 2N
10.5 10 3
3
A 107 Since T TF P kTF
m 5V 20
2 5.91 1028
P
5
m 3
1. 38 10
K
23 J
64 10 3
K 2. 1 1010
Pa
P 2.1 105 atm
22
White Dwarf Stars. These stars have masses comparable to the mass
of the sun and radii comparable to the radius of the Earth. Therefore
they are extremely dense. The core temperature is of the order of 107 K
Under these conditions the atoms are completely ionized so we
have nuclei and an electron gas. At the white dwarf stage the H has
been used up in thermonuclear reactions, fusion is greatly reduced, the
star cools and begins to collapse. This collapse is stopped by the
pressure of the electron gas.
In an elementary discussion of white dwarfs, several
approximations are made. Relativistic effects are not usually dominant
so it is not too egregious to make a non-relativistic calculation. All
densities are assumed uniform (perhaps the most serious
approximation).
The first white dwarf discovered was Sirius B, so we shall use
it as an example.
M 2.09 1030 kg R 5.57 106 m V 7.23 1020 m3 T 107 K
23
A
The white dwarf consists of light elements and hence 2
Z
Let Nnuc be the number of nuclei in the star and A the average
mass number. The total mass, M, is then M=NnucAMH
Since the atoms are completely ionized the number of electrons is:
N=ZNnuc
M Z M M 2.09 1030 kg
N ZN nuc Z N 6.30 1056
AM H A M H 2M H 2(1.66 10 27 kg)
2/3 2/3
h 3N
2
34
(6.63 10 J s ) 2
3 6.30 10 56
F
20 3
2m 8 V 2(9.11 10 31 kg ) 8 7.23 10 m
F 5.34 10 14 J 0.333 MeV
25
We will write U=U( R ) and determine the radius at equilibrium
The gravitational U can be obtained by building up the star
by bringing in mass elements from infinity. We obtain
3 GM 2 a 3
UG UG a GM 2
5 R R 5
2/3 2/3 2 / 3
3 3 h 3N 2
3 h 3N
2
4 3
U e N F N N R
5 5 2m 8 V 5 2m 8 3
26
2/ 3 2/ 3
3 h 3N 3
2
1 3 Nh 9N 2
1
Ue N
5 2m e 8 4 R 2
5 2m e 32
2
R2
2/3
b 3h 2
9
Ue 2 b N 5/3
R 10me 32 2
a b dU
U 2 For equilibrium 0
R R dR
a 2b 2b
2
3 0 R (equilibrium)
R R a
2/3 2/3
3h 9
2
5 h 2 5/3
N 9
R 2 N
2
5/3
2
10me 32 3GM 2
meGM 32 2
34 2/3
(6.63 10 J s) (6.30 10 )
2 56 5 / 3
9
R
11 N m
2
32 2
(9.11 10 kg ) 6.67 10
31
2
(2. 09 10 30
kg )2
kg 27
R 7.15 106 m (measured R 5.57 10 6 m )
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If the mass of a star is sufficiently large so that the electrons are
relativistic, a stable equilibrium is not possible. The largest
possible mass is called the Chandrasekhar limit. This limit is
about 1.44 solar masses. A star exceeding this mass collapses,
the density approaches that of nuclear matter and the electrons
combine with the protons (inverse β-decay) to form a neutron
star. Now a degenerate neutron gas stabilizes the star. Again there
is a limiting mass, which is about three solar masses.
More massive stars collapse to form black holes.
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