THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES CHARACTERIZING THE BLOCH

ELECTRONS IN MAGNETIC FIELDS

Zs. Szakcs

Department of Physics, North University of Baia Mare, str. Victoriei, nr. 76, RO-431122, Baia Mare, Romania


Abstract
We study the thermodynamic properties characterizing the Bloch electrons described by the Harper-
equation with anisotropy, such as grandcanonical potential, entropy, specific heat and energetic level occupancy
number. For this purpose one resort to the density of states derivated before. At low temperatures we found
oscillatory-like behaviors of the grandcanonical potential versus the applied magnetic field. In this case plateaus
are present in the dependence of the level occupancy number on the chemical potential. The behavior of entropy
and specific heat is similar with those found in other theoretical models. The anisotropy parameter dependence
of the specific heat, at different temperatures, shows a peaked structure which is able to serve as a signature for
the experimentally observed dynamically induced phase transitions, or magnetic phases.
Keywords: Bloch electrons, Harper equation, low dimensional systems.


1.Introduction
The density of states (DOS) for a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a
transversal magnetic field has received much attention [1]. This leads to the derivation of
thermodynamic properties by fixing the number of electrons or the chemical potential,
respectively [2]. Dealing with non-interacting electrons on a two dimensional lattice in the
presence of an uniform transversal magnetic field we have to resort to the celebrated Harper
equation [3]
( )
n n n n
E n + + +

+ 1 2 1
cos 2 h (1)
where n is the site number, a k
2 2
is a Brillouin-phase, while a denotes the lattice
spacing. The anisotropy parameter which discriminates between metallic ( ) 1 < and the
insulator phases ( ) 1 > has also been accounted for. The 1 case corresponds to a metal-
insulator phase transition point. The second Brillouin phase a k
1 1
gets introduced
according with the Bloch-wavefunction representation of
n
. The number of magnetic flux
quanta per unit cell, which plays the role of a commensurability parameter, is denoted to be
, /
2
h e a B B
d
in which case . 2

h Here we shall restrict ourselves to rational values

of the parameter such as , / Q P where P and Q are coprime integers. Our main
emphasis in this paper is on the study of thermodynamic properties in terms of generalized
density of states (DOS) such as given by equation ) 25 ( in [4]. This concerns the grand-
canonical potential, the entropy, the specific heat, as well the level occupancy number.

2. Basic formulae
Fixing the chemical potential we have to resort grand-canonical potential per unit
volume:
( )
( ) dE
T k
E
E D T T
B
Q

,
_

,
_

exp 1 ln , ) , , (
2 2
2 2
(2)
where
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )

,
1
,
1
E D
Q N
E D
Q
k
N
k s
Q
Q s
(3)
and
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2 2
2 2
2
, 2 2
,
16
, 2 2
Re
2
1
,
+

1
1
]
1

,
_

+

E P b
dE
E dP
b
E P b
K
Q b
E D
Q
k
Q
k
Q
k Q
k

(4)
We have to recall that E denotes the dimensionless energy such as obtained via
, / 2
0

d
E E where
0
is the energy amplitude characterizing the underlying energy
dispersion law. Accordingly, the chemical potential is , / 2
0

d
where stands for the
dimensionless realization. The dimensionless temperature is then given by T . / 2
0

d B
T k
The complete elliptic integral of the first kind is denoted by , K while stands for the
Heaviside function. The equation displayed above concerns the grand-canonical ensemble for
a fixed value of the Q denominator, while the P numerator exhibits the admissible values
needed. However we have also the opportunity to consider the fixed value of the Q P/ ratio
in which case the density
( )
( ) , E D
Q
gets replaced by
( )
( ) , E D
Q
k
correspondingly. ( ) , , T
should be rewritten as ( ). , , , T One has ,
Q
b such that energy bands are defined by
virtue of the inequalities:
( )
( ) b E P b
Q
k
2 2 , 2 2 + , where ( ) Q N k
s
,..., 2 , 1 denotes the
number of distinct realizations of the energy polynomial. It is understood that
( )
( ) , E P
Q
k
is a
polynomial of degree Q in E , which depends in a nontrivial manner on
.
One has e.g.
( ) ( ) ( ) , 1 6 4 3
s s s
N N N ( ) ( ) , 2 8 5
s s
N N but ( ) . 3 7
s
N Note that these polynomials are
also useful for the derivation of total bandwidths and of Lyapunov exponents. Choosing e.g.
5 Q and resorting to ( ) 7 in [4], one would then have to consider the polynomials
( )
( )
( )
( )

,
~
,
5 5
1
E P E P and
( )
( )
( )
( )
+
,
~
,
5 5
2
E P E P for 1 k and , 2 k respectively, in which
cases 4 , 1 P and . 3 , 2 P Under such conditions the number of electrons, the entropy and
the specific heat are defined as usual [2],[5] :
B T
N
,

,
_

,
B
T
S
,

,
_

and
B
T
T C
,
2
2

,
_

in which the volume is fixed to unity. It is understood that this formulae
work up to the needed dimensional rescalings.

3. Results and Discussions
The grand canonical potential
The B / 1 -dependence of the grand-canonical potential is of a special interest. For this
purpose we shall invoke this time just a certain number of selected Q P/ -quantities like
{ }, 6 / 5 , 6 / 1 / Q P { }, 5 / 4 , 5 / 1 { }, 4 / 3 , 4 / 1 { }, 7 / 5 , 7 / 2 { }, 3 / 2 , 3 / 1 { }, 5 / 3 , 5 / 2 { } 7 / 4 , 7 / 3 and , 2 / 1
where the ratios in curly brackets are equivalent ones.

Fig.1. The oscillations of the grand canonical potential as a function of the inverse of magnetic field for T=0.02
(solid line), T=0.05 (dashed line). One has =2.5, !=0.75
Proceeding by interpolation, we found oscillatory-like behaviors, such as displayed in
Fig. 1 for 02 . 0 T (solid curve) and 05 . 0 T (dotted curve). One realizes that such
oscillations are more pronounced at lower temperatures, as one might expect. The lack of
symmetry is due to the influence of anisotropy parameter ( 75 . 0 ). However, these
oscillations can be viewed as manifestations of the de Hass-van Alphen (dHvA) ones. Further
details concerning such oscillatory behavior are also worth of being mentioned [5]
The level occupancy number
W are able to establish the dependence of the level occupancy number N on chemical
potential . The most interesting low-temperature features can be observed if we chose the
chemical potential confined as [ ], 2 2 , 2 2 + so that [ ] 3 , 3 for . 5 . 0 The tree
different behaviors of the dependence of N on is displayed in Fig.2. The most stringent
feature is the plot of plateaus when . 0 T The understanding is that at 0 T one deals with
the integrated DOS, in which case the plateaus reflect the presence of corresponding energy-
gaps. When the temperature increases the sharp edges of the plateaus become smooth and the
gaps enclose. For the above mentioned system parameters ( ) 5 / 1 / , 5 . 0 Q P the gap is
totally enclosed for 2 . 0 T . We have to remark the existence of nearly universal crossing
points. For temperatures below the gap enclosure temperature all the curves intersect at the
same Q -points both for 0 < and for ,. 0 > and . 0 These points are the midbands and
the ones located at the centre of the gaps. Above the gap enclosure temperature the only
universal crossing point remaining is . 0 These crossing points have to be established in
accordance with the conditions like 0 / T N and 0 /
2 2
T N , and can be found both in
Hubbard models and by accounting for experimental data [6].

Fig.2. The level occupancy number versus the
chemical potential for several temperatures: T=0
(solid curve), T=0.2 (dotted curve) and T=1 (dashed
curve). One has P/Q=1/5, !=0.5
Fig.3. The level occupancy number as a function of
temperature for eight values like =0.5,0.7,1,
1.2,1.5,2.22,2.3 which are located successively from
the bottom to the top. There is P/Q=1/5, !=0.5.
The dependence of level occupancy number on the temperature is displayed in Fig.3.
for eight increasing values of the chemical potential ( , 5 . 0 , 7 . 0 , 5 . 1 , 2 . 1 , 22 . 2 33 . 2 ). The
corresponding plots are located successively from the bottom to the top. At low temperatures
ne has both increasing and decreasing tails until the gap enclosure temperature is achieved,
but at larger ones the curves tend asymptotically towards . 5 . 0 N
Entropy and specific heat
The temperature dependence of the entropy and specific heat is displayed in Fig 4. and
5., respectively for 85 . 0 (solid curve) and 5 . 2 (dotted curve). In addition there is
5 / 1 / Q P and 5 . 0 in both cases.

Fig.4. The entropy as a function of temperature for
=0.85 (solid curve), =2.5 (dashed curve). One has
P/Q=1/5, !=0.75

Fig.5. The specific heat as a function of temperature
for =0.85, (solid line), = 2.5 (dashed line) The
insert shows the low temperature behaviour. One has
P/Q=1/5, and !=0.75
At low temperatures one remarks the increasing rate of activation of both S and C
when the chemical potential is larger, as indicated in the inserts in Fig. 4. and 5. Such a
behavior can be explained by resorting to heavy fermions [7]. Similarities can be observed
with Hubbard models [6] or electronic models in multibarrier potential [8]. When 2 . 0 T the
entropy gets larger when is smaller. However the sensitivity of the specific heat on the
chemical potential is more complex, as shown in Fig. 5. The double peaked behavior of the
specific heat can easily be observed. While in the 85 . 0 case the first peak is barely a
small hump as increases towards 5 . 2 is clearly presented. The 2 . 0 T point, when the
gaps enclose, can be easily identified too in the plot. The crossing point between the plots for
the specific heat located at 1 T is also an universal crossing point where curves for any
cross, with the properties 0 / C and . 0 /
2 2
T C
A further interesting point is the appearance of the pair-peak structures in the
dependence of the specific heat for 05 . 0 T as shown by the solid curve in Fig.6. It can
easily be observed that the peaks height exponentially decreases with . The other curves
show that such pair-peaks are increasingly lost at larger temperatures. It should be mentioned
that these peaked structures are supported by experimental data [11] and they are able to serve
as a signature of dynamically induced phase transitions [9], or magnetic phases [10] .

Fig.6. The specific heat as a function of anisotropy parameter ! for T=0.05 (solid curve), T=0.17 (dashed curve),
T=0.5 (dotted curve), T=0.75 (dot-dashed curve). One has P/Q=1/5, =2.5.

4. Conclusions
In conclusion, we succeeded determining the behavior of thermodynamic properties for
the electrons described by the Harper equation for fixed Q values using the DOS determined
in ref. 3, using the grand canonical ensemble. The studied quantities were: the grand canonical
potential, the level occupancy number, the entropy and specific heat. We took into account the
dependence of these quantities on magnetic field, chemical potential, temperature and
anisotropy parameter. The existence of the magnetic oscillations of the grand canonical
potential was pointed out as a manifestation of the de Haas-van Alphen oscillation. The
chemical potential dependence of the level occupancy number shows plateaus at 0 T
corresponding to the energy gaps. Increasing the temperature the sharp edges become
smoother until the gaps enclose. At a further increase of the temperature the tendency is
asymptotic to . 5 . 0 N The existence of 1 2 + Q nearly universal crossing points is observed
for temperatures below the gap enclosure temperature, but for higher temperatures the only
point of this kind remaining is . 0 The behavior of entropy and specific heat displays an
exponential activation at low temperatures. The dependence of specific heat on temperature
shows doubly peaked behavior, where the peak for lower values of the chemical potential is
barely observable, but for increasing the peak at low temperatures clearly develop. The
existence of universal crossing points is underlined in this case, too. The dependence of the
specific heat on the anisotropy parameter exhibits a pair-peak structure, where the peak height
is exponentially dumped for higher and T values. The similarities with other theoretical
models like (Hubbard models and multibarrier potentials) and with experimental data is
pointed out.

Acknowledgements
Useful discussions with E. Papp and C. Micu are acknowledged.

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