Statistical

Mechanics PH620 Problem set

1. Consider a system of N identical but distinguishable particles, each of which has two energy levels (). Using the microcanonical ensemble, a) find the entropy of the system; b) find the occupation numbers n+ and n in terms of the temperature of the system; c) explain how your result in point (a) (and (b)) would change if the upper energy level has a gfold degeneracy, while the lower energy level is non-degenerate; d) compute the Helmoltz free energy F(T,N) as a function of temperature for case (a); e) explore the limits T 0 and T of the energy, the entropy, and the occupation numbers for case (a); f) can you explain why the maximum (minimum) entropy corresponds to the minimum (maximum) information on the system? 2. Rubber band: Sethna Prob. 5.12. 3. Consider the problem of an isolated particle of mass m moving freely in a one-dimensional box of size L. a) Write down the eigenvalues and the normalized eigenvectors of the Schrodinger equation. Now consider an isolated system of 4 non-interacting particles of mass m placed in such onedimensional box. The energy of the system equals E = 63! , where ! = ! ! 2!

is the lowest eigenvalue of the Schrodinger equation. Find the entropy of the system for the following cases: b) a system of 4 distinguishable spinless particles; c) a system of 4 indistinguishable spinless bosons;

Statistical Mechanics PH620 Problem set

4. Consider a system of N localized particles moving under the influence of a quantum, onedimensional, harmonic-oscillator potential of frequency . The energy of the system is given by 1 = + 2 where M is the total number of quanta in the system. That is,
!

=
! !!

with ni = 0, 1, 2, . . . representing the number of quanta in the ith harmonic oscillator. a) Compute the number of microstates as a function of N and M. b) Using Stirlings approximation, compute the entropy of the system as a function of N and M. c) Compute the temperature T of the system as a function of N and M. Are there any values of N and M for which the temperature T becomes negative? d) Compute the specific heat CV of the system as a function of N and T. Note that in order to do so, you will need to express the total energy of the system as a function of N and T . e) Compute the low-(k ! T ) and high-temperature-(k ! T ) limits of the specific heat, and make a simple plot of its behavior as a function of temperature. 5. Photon Density Matrices: Sethna 7.5 6. Consider the problem of N spin-1/2 particles (e.g. electrons) occupying the N sites of a onedimensional lattice in the presence of a constant magnetic field = ! . a) First consider the problem using the microcanonical ensemble and calculate the entropy of the system as a function of N and E. b) Then consider the problem using the canonical ensemble and i) Show that the partition function for the system, Z(N,T), may be written as, Z(N,T)=[Z1(T)]N, where Z1(T) is the single-particle partition function. Provide explicit expressions for Z1(T) and for the Helmoltz free energy. ii) Obtain the average energy of the system E(N,T). iii) Obtain the entropy of the system S(N, T ). iv) By manipulating the above two expressions, obtain the entropy of the system in

Statistical Mechanics PH620 Problem set

terms of N and E. Compare the expression for S(N,E) to the one obtained in (a) using the microcanonical ensemble. 7. Consider N non-interacting distinguishable molecules. The internal Hilbert space of each molecule can be described by two states 1 and 2. When the Hamiltonian is applied to these states one obtains: H1 = 1 t2, H2 = 2 t1, where both and t are positive constants. Neglect all other degrees of freedom, such as translational or rotational motion of the molecules. a) Find the partition function of the system. b) Find the average energy of the system. c) Find the leading temperature-dependent term of the average energy of the system at low temperatures. d) Find the constant-volume specific heat at low temperatures. 8. A discrete random variable N can have values n = 0, 1, 2, . . . , with probability ! = where the parameter a 1 a) Calculate the moments n and n2. b) Calculate the entropy of the distribution and relate it to its width. Hint: For a 1 the summation over n can be replaced by an integration when appropriate. !!
! !!! !