8.

333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2007

Test 3

Review Problems
The third in-class test will take place on Wednesday 11/28/07 from
2:30 to 4:00 pm. There will be a recitation with test review on Monday 11/26/07.
The test is closed book, but if you wish you may bring a one-sided sheet of formulas.
The test will be composed entirely from a subset of the following problems. Thus if you
are familiar and comfortable with these problems, there will be no surprises!
********

You may nd the following information helpful:

Physical Constants
Electron mass
Electron Charge
Speed of light
Boltzmanns const.

me 9.1 1031 kg
e 1.6 1019 C
c 3.0 108 ms1
kB 1.4 1023 JK 1

Proton mass
Plancks const./2
Stefans const.
Avogadros number

mp 1.7 1027 kg
h 1.1 1034 Js1

5.7 108 W m2 K 4
N0 6.0 1023 mol1

Conversion Factors
1010 m
1A

1atm 1.0 105 N m2

1eV 1.1 104 K

Thermodynamics
dE = T dS+dW

For a gas: dW
= P dV

dx xn ex =

n!

n+1

dx exp ikx

eikx = n=0

cosh(x) = 1 +

x2
2!

x2
2 2

(ik)n
n!

x4
4!

For a wire: dW
= Jdx

Mathematical Formulas
1
!=
2

2 2

2
= 2 exp 2k

limN ln N ! = N ln N N

ln eikx = n=1

hxn i
+

sinh(x) = x +

Surface area of a unit sphere in d dimensions

Sd =

2 d/2
(d/21)!

x3
3!

(ik)n
n!
x5
5!

hxn ic

1. DebyeH
uckel theory and ring diagrams: The virial expansion gives the gas pressure
as an analytic expansion in the density n = N/V . Long range interactions can result
in non-analytic corrections to the ideal gas equation of state. A classic example is the
Coulomb interaction in plasmas, whose treatment by DebyeH
uckel theory is equivalent
to summing all the ring diagrams in a cumulant expansion.
For simplicity consider a gas of N electrons moving in a uniform background of positive
charge density N e/V to ensure overall charge neutrality. The Coulomb interaction takes
the form

e2
V(qi qj ) , with V(q ) =
c.
UQ =
|
|
4
q

i<j
The constant c results from the background and ensures that the rst order correction

vanishes, i.e. d3 q V(q ) = 0.

(a) Show that the Fourier transform of V(q ) takes the form

2
2

V ( ) = e / for 6= 0 .
0
for
=0

0
(b) In the cumulant expansion for U Q , we shall retain only the diagrams forming a
c
ring; which are proportional to
3
d q1
d3 q
R =

V(q1 q2 )V(q2 q3 ) V(q q1 ).

V
V
Use properties of Fourier transforms to show that

1
d3
V (
) .
R = 1
3
(2 )
V
0
(c) Show that the number of ring graphs generated in U Q is
c

S =

( 1)!
( 1)!
N!

N .
2
2
(N )!

(d) Show that the contribution of the ring diagrams can be summed as
ln Zrings = ln Z0 +

()

=2

V
ln Z0 +
2

S R

4 2 d
(2)3
2

2
ln 1 + 2
,


where = e2 N/V is the inverse Debye screening length.

(Hint: Use ln(1 + x) = =1 (x) /.)

(e) The integral in the previous part can be simplied by changing variables to x = /,
and performing integration by parts. Show that the nal result is
ln Zrings = ln Z0 +

V 3

12

(f) Calculate the correction to pressure from the above ring diagrams.
(g) We can introduce an eective potential V (q q ) between two particles by integrating
over the coordinates of all the other particles. This is equivalent to an expectation value
that can be calculated perturbatively in a cumulant expansion. If we include only the
loop-less diagrams (the analog of the rings) between the particles, we have

V (q q ) = V (q q ) +

(N )

=1

d3 q
d3 q1

V(q q1 )V(q1 q2 ) V(q q ).

V
V

Show that this sum leads to the screened Coulomb interaction V (q ) = exp(|q |)/(4|q |).
********
2. Virial coecients:
Consider a gas of particles in d-dimensional space interacting
through a pair-wise central potential, V(r), where
V(r) =

+ for 0 < r < a,

for a < r < b,

0
for b < r < .

(a) Calculate the second virial coecient B2 (T ), and comment on its high and low tem
perature behaviors.
(b) Calculate the rst correction to isothermal compressibility

1 V
T =
.
V P T,N
(c) In the high temperature limit, reorganize the equation of state into the van der Waals
form, and identify the van der Waals parameters.
(d) For b = a (a hard sphere), and d = 1, calculate the third virial coecient B3 (T ).
********
3

3. Dietericis equation: A gas obeys Dietericis equation of state:

P (v b) = kB T exp

a
kB T v

where v = V /N .

(a) Find the ratio P v/kB T at the critical point.

(b) Calculate the isothermal compressibility T for v = vc as a function of T Tc .

(c) On the critical isotherm expand the pressure to the lowest non-zero order in (v vc ).

********
4. Two dimensional Coulomb gas:
Consider a classical mixture of N positive, and N
negative charged particles in a two dimensional box of area A = L L. The Hamiltonian
is
2N
2N

pi 2
H=

ci cj ln |qi qj | ,
2m
i=1
i<j
where ci = +c0 for i = 1, N , and ci = c0 for i = N + 1, 2N , denote the charges of
the particles; {qi } and {pi } their coordinates and momenta respectively.
(a) Note that in the interaction term each pair appears only once, and that there is no
self interaction i = j. How many pairs have repulsive interactions, and how many have
attractive interactions?
(b) Write down the expression for the partition function Z(N, T, A) in terms of integrals
over {qi } and {pi }. Perform the integrals over the momenta, and rewrite the contribution
of the coordinates as a product involving powers of {qi }, using the identity eln x = x.
(c) Although it is not possible to perform the integrals over {qi } exactly, the dependence
of Z on A can be obtained by the simple rescaling of coordinates, qi = qi /L. Use the
2
results in parts (a) and (b) to show that Z A2Nc0 N/2 .
(d) Calculate the two dimensional pressure of this gas, and comment on its behavior at
high and low temperatures.

(e) The unphysical behavior at low temperatures is avoided by adding a hardcore which

prevents the coordinates of any two particles from coming closer than a distance a. The

appearance of two length scales a and L, makes the scaling analysis of part (c) questionable.

By examining the partition function for N = 1, obtain an estimate for the temperature Tc

at which the short distance scale a becomes important in calculating the partition function,

invalidating the result of the previous part. What are the phases of this system at low and

high temperatures?

********
4

5. Exact solutions for a one dimensional gas: In statistical mechanics, there are very
few systems of interacting particles that can be solved exactly. Such exact solutions are
very important as they provide a check for the reliability of various approximations. A
one dimensional gas with short-range interactions is one such solvable case.
(a) Show that for a potential with a hard core that screens the interactions from further
neighbors, the Hamiltonian for N particles can be written as
H=

N
N

p2i
+
V(xi xi1 ).
2m
i=1
i=2

The (indistinguishable) particles are labelled with coordinates {xi } such that
0 x1 x2 xN L,
where L is the length of the box conning the particles.
(b) Write the expression for the partition function Z(T, N, L). Change variables to 1 =
x1 , 2 = x2 x1 , , N = xN xN1 , and carefully indicate the allowed ranges of
integration and the constraints.

(c) Consider the Gibbs partition function obtained from the Laplace transformation

Z(T, N, P ) =
dL exp(P L)Z(T, N, L),
0

and by extremizing the integrand nd the standard formula for P in the canonical ensem
ble.
N
(d) Change variables from L to N+1 = L i=1 i , and nd the expression for Z(T, N, P )
as a product over one-dimensional integrals over each i .

(e) At a xed pressure P , nd expressions for the mean length L(T, N, P ), and the density

n = N/L(T, N, P ) (involving ratios of integrals which should be easy to interpret).

Since the expression for n(T, P ) in part (e) is continuous and non-singular for any
choice of potential, there is in fact no condensation transition for the one-dimensional
gas. By contrast, the approximate van der Waals equation (or the mean-eld treatment)
incorrectly predicts such a transition.
(f) For a hard sphere gas, with minimum separation a between particles, calculate the
equation of state P (T, n). Compare the excluded volume factor with the approximate
result obtained in earlier problems, and also obtain the general virial coecient B (T ).
********
6. One dimensional chain: A chain of N +1 particles of mass m is connected by N massless

springs of spring constant K and relaxed length a. The rst and last particles are held

xed at the equilibrium separation of N a. Let us denote the longitudinal displacements

of the particles from their equilibrium positions by {ui }, with u0 = uN = 0 since the end
particles are xed. The Hamiltonian governing {ui }, and the conjugate momenta {pi }, is
H=

N1

i=1

N2

p2i
K
2
+
u21 +
(ui+1 ui ) + u2N1 .
2m
2
i=1

(a) Using the appropriate (sine) Fourier transforms, nd the normal modes {u
k }, and the
corresponding frequencies {k }.
(b) Express the Hamiltonian in terms of the amplitudes of normal modes {u
k }, and evaluate
the classical partition function. (You may integrate the {ui } from to +).

2
(c) First evaluate |u
k | , and use the result to calculate u2i . Plot the resulting squared
displacement of each particle as a function of its equilibrium position.
(d) How are the results modied if only the rst particle is xed (u0 = 0), while the other
end is free (uN 6= 0)? (Note that this is a much simpler problem as the partition function
can be evaluated by changing variables to the N 1 spring extensions.)
********
7. Black hole thermodynamics: According to Bekenstein and Hawking, the entropy of a
black hole is proportional to its area A, and given by
S=

kB c3

A .

4Gh

(a) Calculate the escape velocity at a radius R from a mass M using classical mechanics.
Find the relationship between the radius and mass of a black hole by setting this escape
velocity to the speed of light c. (Relativistic calculations do not modify this result which
was originally obtained by Laplace.)
(b) Does entropy increase or decrease when two black holes collapse into one? What is the
entropy change for the universe (in equivalent number of bits of information), when two
solar mass black holes (M 2 1030 kg) coalesce?

(c) The internal energy of the black hole is given by the Einstein relation, E = M c2 . Find
the temperature of the black hole in terms of its mass.
(d) A black hole actually emits thermal radiation due to pair creation processes on its
event horizon. Find the rate of energy loss due to such radiation.
(e) Find the amount of time it takes an isolated black hole to evaporate. How long is this
time for a black hole of solar mass?
6

(f) What is the mass of a black hole that is in thermal equilibrium with the current cosmic

background radiation at T = 2.7K?

(g) Consider a spherical volume of space of radius R. According to the recently formulated

Holographic Principle there is a maximum to the amount of entropy that this volume of

space can have, independent of its contents! What is this maximal entropy?

********
8. Quantum harmonic oscillator: Consider a single harmonic oscillator with the Hamil
tonian
p2
m 2 q 2
h d
H=
+
, with p =
.
2m
2
i dq
(a) Find the partition function Z, at a temperature T , and calculate the energy hHi.

(b) Write down the formal expression for the canonical density matrix in terms of the
eigenstates ({|ni}), and energy levels ({n }) of H.

(c) Show that for a general operator A(x),

A
exp [A(x)] 6=
exp [A(x)] ,
x
x
while in all cases

tr {exp [A(x)]} = tr
x

unless

A
A,
= 0,
x

A
exp [A(x)] .
x

(d) Note that the partition function calculated in part (a) does not depend on the mass
m, i.e. Z/m = 0. Use this information, along with the result in part (c), to show that
2

m 2 q 2
p
=
.
2m
2

(e) Using the results in parts (d) and (a), or otherwise, calculate q 2 . How are the results
in Problem #6 modied at low temperatures by inclusion of quantum mechanical eects.
(f) In a coordinate representation, calculate hq ||qi in the high temperature limit. One
approach is to use the result

exp(A) exp(B) = exp (A + B) + 2 [A, B]/2 + O( 3 ) .

(g) At low temperatures, is dominated by low energy states. Use the ground state
wave-function to evaluate the limiting behavior of hq ||qi as T 0.
7

(h) Calculate the exact expression for hq ||qi.

********
9. Relativistic Coulomb gas: Consider a quantum system of N positive, and N negative
charged relativistic particles in box of volume V = L3 . The Hamiltonian is
H=

2N

i=1

c|pi | +

2N

i<j

ei ej
|ri rj |

where ei = +e0 for i = 1, N , and ei = e0 for i = N + 1, 2N , denote the charges of

the particles; {ri } and {pi } their coordinates and momenta respectively. While this is too
complicated a system to solve, we can nonetheless obtain some exact results.
(a) Write down the Schrodinger equation for the eigenvalues n (L), and (in coordinate
space) eigenfunctions n ({ri }). State the constraints imposed on n ({ri }) if the particles
are bosons or fermions?
(b) By a change of scale ri = ri /L, show that the eigenvalues satisfy a scaling relation
n (L) = n (1)/L.
(c) Using the formal expression for the partition function Z(N, V, T ), in terms of the
eigenvalues {n (L)}, show that Z does not depend on T and V separately, but only on a
specic scaling combination of them.
(d) Relate the energy E, and pressure P of the gas to variations of the partition function.
Prove the exact result E = 3P V .
(e) The Coulomb interaction between charges in in d-dimensional space falls o with sepa
d2
ration as ei ej / |ri rj | . (In d = 2 there is a logarithmic interaction.) In what dimension
d can you construct an exact relation between E and P for non-relativistic particles (ki

netic energy i p2i /2m)? What is the corresponding exact relation between energy and
pressure?
(f) Why are the above exact scaling laws not expected to hold in dense (liquid or solid)
Coulomb mixtures?
********
10. The virial theorem is a consequence of the invariance of the phase space for a system
of N (classical or quantum) particles under canonical transformations, such as a change of
scale. In the following, consider N particles with coordinates {qi }, and conjugate momenta
{pi } (with i = 1, , N ), and subject to a Hamiltonian H ({pi } , {qi }).

(a) Classical version: Write down the expression for the classical partition function, Z
Z [H]. Show that it is invariant under the rescaling q1 q1 , p1 p1 / of a pair of
conjugate variables, i.e. Z [H ] is independent of , where H is the Hamiltonian obtained
after the above rescaling.
8

(b) Quantum mechanical version: Write down the expression for the quantum partition
function. Show that it is also invariant under the rescalings q1 q1 , p1 p
1 /, where
pi and qi are now quantum mechanical operators. (Hint: start with the time-independent
Schrodinger equation.)
(c) Now assume a Hamiltonian of the form
H=

pi 2
i

2m

+ V ({qi }) .

Use the result that Z [H ] is independent of to prove the virial relation

p1 2
m

V
q1 ,
q1

where the brackets denote thermal averages.

(d) The above relation is sometimes used to estimate the mass of distant galaxies. The
stars on the outer boundary of the G-8.333 galaxy have been measured to move with
velocity v 200 km/s. Give a numerical estimate of the ratio of the G-8.333s mass to its
size.
********

MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu

8.333 Statistical Mechanics I: Statistical Mechanics of Particles

Fall 2013

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