8.

333: Statistical Mechanics I

Re: 2007 Final Exam

Review Problems

The enclosed exams (and solutions) from the previous years are intended to help you
review the material.
********
Note that the rst parts of each problem are easier than its last parts. Therefore,
make sure to proceed to the next problem when you get stuck.
You may nd the following information helpful:
Physical Constants
Electron mass
Electron Charge
Speed of light
Boltzmanns constant

me 9.1 1031 Kg Proton mass

e 1.6 1019 C
Plancks constant/2
c 3.0 108 ms1
Stefans constant
23
1
kB 1.4 10 JK Avogadros number
Conversion Factors
1010 m
1A

1atm 1.0 105 N m2

mp 1.7 1027 Kg
h
1.1 1034 Js1
5.7 108 W m2 K 4
N0 6.0 1023 mol1
1eV 1.1 104 K

Thermodynamics
dE = T dS+dW

For a gas: dW = P dV

For a lm: dW = dA

Mathematical Formulas

limx coth x = 1 + 2e2x + O e4x

limx0 coth x =

dx xn ex =

n+1

dx
exp
ikx

ikx
e
= n=1

fm
(z) =

1
(m1)!

limz fm
(z) =
+
m fm
(1)

x2
2 2

(ik)n
n!
0

( 21 )! =

n!

2 2

2 2 exp 2k

hxn i

x
dx z1
=
ex
m1

(ln z)m
m!

1+

+1 z
=1
m

2
m(m
6

3/2 2.612

2
6

x
3

+ O x2

limN ln N ! = N ln N N

ln eikx = n=1

dfm
dz

(ik)n
n!

hxn ic

= 1z fm1

1)(ln z)2 + f2 (1) =

2 =

1
x

5/2 1.341

2
12

f4 (1) =

3 1.202

7 4
720

4 =

4
90

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 1998

Final Exam

1. Exciton dissociation in a semiconductor: By shining an intense laser beam on a semicon

ductor, one can create a metastable collection of electrons (charge e, and eective mass
me ) and holes (charge +e, and eective mass mh ) in the bulk. The oppositely charged
particles may pair up (as in a hydrogen atom) to form a gas of excitons, or they may
dissociate into a plasma. We shall examine a much simplied model of this process.
(a) Calculate the free energy of a gas composed of Ne electrons and Nh holes, at temper
ature T , treating them as classical non-interacting particles of masses me and mh .
(b) By pairing into an excition, the electron hole pair lowers its energy by . [The binding
energy of a hydrogen-like exciton is me4 /(2
h2 2 ), where is the dielectric constant,
1
and m1 = m1
e + mh .] Calculate the free energy of a gas of Np excitons, treating them
as classical non-interacting particles of mass m = me + mh .
(c) Calculate the chemical potentials e , h , and p of the electron, hole, and exciton
states, respectively.
(d) Express the equilibrium condition between excitons and electron/holes in terms of their
chemical potentials.
(e) At a high temperature T , nd the density np of excitons, as a function of the total
density of excitations n ne + nh .
********
2. The Manning Transition: When ionic polymers (polyelectrolytes) such as DNA are
immersed in water, the negatively charged counter-ions go into solution, leaving behind
a positively charged polymer. Because of the electrostatic repulsion of the charges left
behind, the polymer stretches out into a cylinder of radius a, as illustrated in the gure.
While thermal uctuations tend to make the ions wander about in the solvent, electrostatic
attractions favor their return and condensation on the polymer. If the number of counter
ions is N , they interact with the N positive charges left behind on the rod through the
potential U (r) = 2 (N e/L) ln (r/L), where r is the radial coordinate in a cylindrical
geometry. If we ignore the Coulomb repulsion between counter-ions, they can be described
by the classical Hamiltonian
N 2
r

pi
2
H=
+ 2e n ln
,
2m
L
i=1

where n = N/L.

2a

R
+
+
+

(a) For a cylindrical container of radius R, calculate the canonical partition function Z in
terms of temperature T , density n, and radii R and a.
(b) Calculate the probability distribution function p (r) for the radial position of a counter
ion, and its rst moment hri, the average radial position of a counter-ion.
(c) The behavior of the results calculated above in the limit R a is very dierent at high
and low temperatures. Identify the transition temperature, and characterize the nature of
the two phases. In particular, how does hri depend on R and a in each case?
(d) Calculate the pressure exerted by the counter-ions on the wall of the container, at
r = R, in the limit R a, at all temperatures.
(e) The character of the transition examined in part (d) is modied if the Coulomb in
teractions between counter-ions are taken into account. An approximate approach to the
interacting problem is to allow a fraction N1 of counter-ions to condense along the polymer
rod, while the remaining N2 = N N1 uctuate in the solvent. The free counter-ions are
again treated as non-interacting particles, governed by the Hamiltonian
N 2
r

pi
2
H=
+ 2e n2 ln
,
2m
L
i=1

where n2 = N2 /L. Guess the equilibrium number of non-interacting ions, N2 , and justify
your guess by discussing the response of the system to slight deviations from N2 . (This is
a qualitative question for which no new calculations are needed.)
********
3

3. Bose gas in d dimensions: Consider a gas of non-interacting (spinless) bosons with an

energy spectrum = p2 /2m, contained in a box of volume V = Ld in d dimensions.
(a) Calculate the grand potential G = kB T ln Q, and the density n = N/V , at a chemical
+
potential . Express your answers in terms of d and fm
(z), where z = e , and
+
fm
(z)

1
=
(m)

xm1
dx.
z 1 ex 1

(Hint: Use integration by parts on the expression for ln Q.)

(b) Calculate the ratio P V /E, and compare it to the classical value.
(c) Find the critical temperature, Tc (n), for Bose-Einstein condensation.
(d) Calculate the heat capacity C (T ) for T < Tc (n).
(e) Sketch the heat capacity at all temperatures.
(f) Find the ratio, Cmax /C (T ), of the maximum heat capacity to its classical limit,
and evaluate it in d = 3
(g) How does the above calculated ratio behave as d 2? In what dimensions are your
results valid? Explain.
********

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 1999

Final Exam

1. Electron Magnetism: The conduction electrons in a metal can be treated as a gas of

fermions of spin 1/2 (with up/down degeneracy), and density n = N/V .
(a) Ignoring the interactions between electrons, describe (in words) their ground state.
Calculate the fermi wave number kF , and the ground-state energy density E0 /V in terms
of the density n.
Electrons also interact via the Coulomb repulsion, which favors a wave function which
is antisymmetric in position space, thus keeping them apart. Because of the full (position
and spin) antisymmetry of fermionic wave functions, this interaction may be described
as an eective spin-spin coupling which favors states with parallel spins. In a simple
approximation, the eect of this interaction is represented by adding a potential
U =

N+ N
,
V

to the Hamiltonian, where N+ and N = N N+ are the numbers of electrons with up and
down spins, and V is the volume. (The parameter is related to the scattering length a by
= 4h2 a/m.) We would like to nd out if the unmagnetized gas with N+ = N = N/2
still minimizes the energy, or if the gas is spontaneously magnetized.
(b) Express the modied Fermi wave numbers kF+ and kF , in terms of the densities
n+ = N+ /V and n = N /V .
(c) Assuming small deviations n+ = n/2 + and n = n/2 from the symmetric state,
calculate the change in the kinetic energy of the system to second order in .
(d) Express the spin-spin interaction density in terms of . Find the critical value of c ,
such that for > c the electron gas can lower its total energy by spontaneously developing
a magnetization. (This is known as the Stoner instability.)
(e) Explain qualitatively, and sketch the behavior of the spontaneous magnetization as a
function of .
********
2. Boson magnetism: Consider a gas of non-interacting spin 1 bosons, each subject to a
Hamiltonian
p~ 2
H1 (~
p, sz ) =
0 sz B ,
2m
where 0 = eh/mc, and sz takes three possible values of (-1, 0, +1). (The orbital eect,
~ , has been ignored.)
p~ p~ eA
(a) In a grand
canonical ensemble ofchemical potential , what are the average occupation

numbers hn+ (~k)i, hn0 (~k)i, hn(~k)i , of one-particle states of wavenumber ~k = p/

~ h?
5

(b) Calculate the average total numbers {N+ , N0 , N }, of bosons with the three possible
+
values of sz in terms of the functions fm
(z).
(c) Write down the expression for the magnetization M (T, ) = 0 (N+ N ), and by
expanding the result for small B nd the zero eld susceptibility (T, ) = M/B |B=0 .
To nd the behavior of (T, n), where n = N/V is the total density, proceed as follows:
(d) For B = 0, nd the high temperature expansion for z(, n) = e , correct to second
order in n. Hence obtain the rst correction from quantum statistics to (T, n) at high
temperatures.
(e) Find the temperature Tc (n, B = 0), of Bose-Einstein condensation. What happens to
(T, n) on approaching Tc (n) from the high temperature side?
(f) What is the chemical potential for T < Tc (n), at a small but nite value of B? Which
one-particle state has a macroscopic occupation number?
(g) Using the result in (f), nd the spontaneous magnetization,
M (T, n) = lim M (T, n, B).
B 0

********
3. 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
{p~i } (with i = 1, , N ), and subject to a Hamiltonian H ({p~i } , {~qi }).

(a) Classical version: Write down the expression for classical partition function, Z Z [H].
Show that it is invariant under the rescaling q~1 ~q1 , p~1 p~1 / of a pair of conjugate
variables, i.e. Z [H ] is independent of , where H is the Hamiltonian obtained after the
above rescaling.

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

p~i 2
i

2m

+ V ({~qi }) .

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

2

V
p~1
=
~q1 ,
m
~q1
6

where the brackets denote thermal averages. (You may formulate your answer in the
classical language, as a possible quantum derivation is similar.)
(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.
********

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2000

Final Exam

1. Freezing of He3 : At low temperatures He3 can be converted from liquid to solid by
application of pressure. A peculiar feature of its phase boundary is that (dP/dT )melting is
negative at temperatures below 0.3 o K [(dP/dT )m 30atm o K 1 at T 0.1 o K]. We
will use a simple model of liquid and solid phases of He3 to account for this feature.
(a) In the solid phase, the He3 atoms form a crystal lattice. Each atom has nuclear spin
of 1/2. Ignoring the interaction between spins, what is the entropy per particle ss , due to
the spin degrees of freedom?
A3 per atom. What
(b) Liquid He3 is modelled as an ideal Fermi gas, with a volume of 46
is its Fermi temperature TF , in degrees Kelvin?
(c) How does the heat capacity of liquid He3 behave at low temperatures? Write down an
expression for CV in terms of N, T, kB , TF , up to a numerical constant, that is valid for
T TF .
(d) Using the result in (c), calculate the entropy per particle s , in the liquid at low
temperatures. For T TF , which phase (solid or liquid) has the higher entropy?
(e) By equating chemical potentials, or by any other technique, prove the Clausius
Clapeyron equation (dP/dT )melting = (s ss )/(v vs ), where v and vs are the volumes
per particle in the liquid and solid phases respectively.
A3 per atom. Using this information, plus
(f) It is found experimentally that v vs = 3
the results obtained in previous parts, estimate (dP/dT )melting at T TF .
********
2. Non-interacting bosons: Consider a grand canonical ensemble of non-interacting bosons
with chemical potential . The oneparticle states are labelled by a wavevector q~, and have
energies E(~q).
(a) What is the joint probability P ({n~q }), of nding a set of occupation numbers {nq~}, of

the oneparticle states, in terms of the fugacities z~q exp [( E(~q))]?

(b) For a particular ~q, calculate the characteristic function hexp [ikn~q ]i.

(c) Using the result of part (b), or otherwise, give expressions for the mean and variance

of n~q . occupation number hnq~ i.

(d) Express the variance in part (c) in terms of the mean occupation number hn~q i.

(e) Express your answer to part (a) in terms of the occupation numbers {hn~qi}.

(f) Calculate the entropy of the probability distribution for bosons, in terms of {hn~q i}, and

comment on its zero temperature limit.

********

3. Hard rods: A collection of N asymmetric molecules in two dimensions may be modeled

as a gas of rods, each of length 2l and lying in a plane. A rod can move by translation of
its center of mass and rotation about latter, as long as it does not encounter another rod.
Without treating the hard-core interaction exactly, we can incorporate it approximately
by assuming that the rotational motion of each rod is restricted (by the other rods) to an
angle , which in turn introduces an excluded volume () (associated with each rod).
The value of is then calculated self consistently by maximizing the entropy at a given
density n = N/V , where V is the total accessible area.

excluded
volume

2l

(a) Write down the entropy of such a collection of rods in terms of N , n, , and A (),

the entropy associated to the rotational freedom of a single rod. (You may ignore the

momentum contributions throughout, and consider the large N limit.)

(b) Extremizing the entropy as a function of , relate the density to , A, and their

derivatives , A ; express your result in the form n = f (, A, , A ).

(c) Express the excluded volume in terms of and sketch f as a function of [0, ],

assuming A .

(d) Describe the equilibrium state at high densities. Can you identify a phase transition

as the density is decreased? Draw the corresponding critical density nc on your sketch.

What is the critical angle c at the transition? You dont need to calculate c explicitly,

but give an (implicit) relation dening it. What value does adopt at n < nc ?

********

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2003

Final Exam

1. Helium 4: 4 He at low temperatures can be converted from liquid to solid by application

of pressure. An interesting feature of the phase boundary is that the melting pressure is
reduced slightly from its T = 0K value, by approximately 20Nm2 at its minimum at
T = 0.8K. We will use a simple model of liquid and solid phases of 4 He to account for this
feature.
(a) By equating chemical potentials, or by any other technique, prove the Clausius
Clapeyron equation (dP/dT )melting = (s ss )/(v vs ), where (v , s ) and (vs , ss ) are the
volumes and entropies per atom in the liquid and solid phases respectively.
(b) The important excitations in liquid 4 He at T < 1 K are phonons of velocity c. Cal
culate the contribution of these modes to the heat capacity per particle CV /N , of the
liquid.
(c) Calculate the low temperature heat capacity per particle CVs /N , of solid 4 He in terms
of longitudinal and transverse sound velocities cL , and cT .
(d) Using the above results calculate the entropy dierence (s ss ), assuming a single
sound velocity c cL cT , and approximately equal volumes per particle v vs v.
Which phase (solid or liquid) has the higher entropy?
(e) Assuming a small (temperature independent) volume dierence v = v vs , calculate
the form of the melting curve. To explain the anomaly described at the beginning, which
phase (solid or liquid) must have the higher density?
********
2. Surfactant Condensation: N surfactant molecules are added to the surface of water
over an area A. They are subject to a Hamiltonian
H=

p~i 2
i=1

2m

1
V(~ri ~rj ),
2 i,j

where ~ri and p~i are two dimensional vectors indicating the position and momentum of
particle i.
(a) Write down the expression for the partition function Z(N, T, A) in terms of integrals
over ~ri and p~i , and perform the integrals over the momenta.
The interparticle potential V(~r) is innite for separations |~r | < a, and attractive for

|~r | > a such that a 2rdrV(r) = u0 .

(b) Estimate the total nonexcluded area available in the positional phase space of the
system of N particles.
10

(c) Estimate the total potential energy of the system, assuming a constant density n = N/A.
Assuming this potential energy for all congurations allowed in the previous part, write
down an approximation for Z.
(d) The surface tension of water without surfactants is 0 , approximately independent of
temperature. Calculate the surface tension (n, T ) in the presence of surfactants.
(e) Show that below a certain temperature, Tc , the expression for is manifestly incorrect.
What do you think happens at low temperatures?
(f) Compute the heat capacities, CA and write down an expression for C without explicit
evaluation, due to thesurfactants.
********
3. Dirac Fermions are non-interacting particles of spin 1/2. The one-particle states come
in pairs of positive and negative energies,

E (~k) = m2 c4 + h2 k 2 c2

independent of spin.
(a) For any fermionic system of chemical potential , show that the probability of nding
an occupied state of energy + is the same as that of nding an unoccupied state of
energy . ( is any constant energy.)

(b) At zero temperature all negative energy Dirac states are occupied and all positive
energy ones are empty, i.e. (T = 0) = 0. Using the result in (a) nd the chemical
potential at nite temperatures T .
(c) Show that the mean excitation energy of this system at nite temperature satises
E(T ) E(0) = 4V

d3~k
E + (~k)

(2 )3 exp E (~k) + 1

(d) Evaluate the integral in part (c) for massless Dirac particles (i.e. for m = 0).
(e) Calculate the heat capacity, CV , of such massless Dirac particles.
(f) Describe the qualitative dependence of the heat capacity at low temperature if the
particles are massive.
********

11

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2004

Final Exam

1. Neutron star core: Professor Rajagopals group has proposed that a new phase of QCD
matter may exist in the core of neutron stars. This phase can be viewed as a condensate
of quarks in which the low energy excitations are approximately
E(~k) = h
2

2
|~k | kF

2M

The excitations are fermionic, with a degeneracy of g = 2 from spin.

(a) At zero temperature all negative energy states are occupied and all positive energy
ones are empty, i.e. (T = 0) = 0. By relating occupation numbers of states of energies
+ and , or otherwise, nd the chemical potential at nite temperatures T .

(b) Assuming a constant density of states near k = kF , i.e. setting d3 k 4kF2 dq with
q = |~k | kF , show that the mean excitation energy of this system at nite temperature is
k2
E(T ) E(0) 2gV F2

dq

E + (q )
exp ( E + (q )) + 1

(c) Give a closed form answer for the excitation energy by evaluating the above integral.
(d) Calculate the heat capacity, CV , of this system, and comment on its behavior at low
temperature.
********
2. Critical point behavior: The pressure P of a gas is related to its density n = N/V , and
temperature T by the truncated expansion
c
b
P = kB T n n 2 + n 3
2
6

where b and c are assumed to be positive temperature independent constants.

(a) Locate the critical temperature Tc below which this equation must be invalid, and
the corresponding density nc and pressure Pc of the critical point. Hence nd the ratio
kB Tc nc /Pc .

(b) Calculate the isothermal compressibility T = 1 V , and sketch its behavior as a

V

P T

function of T for n = nc .

(c) On the critical isotherm give an expression for (P Pc ) as a function of (n nc ).

(d) The instability in the isotherms for T < Tc is avoided by phase separation into a liquid

of density n+ and gas of density n . For temperatures close to Tc , these densities behave

as n nc (1 ). Using a Maxwell construction, or otherwise, nd an implicit equation

12

for (T ), and indicate its behavior for (Tc T ) 0. (Hint: Along an isotherm, variations
of chemical potential obey d = dP/n.)
********
3. Relativistic Bose gas in d dimensions: Consider a gas of non-interacting (spinless)
bosons with energy = c |p~ |, contained in a box of volume V = Ld in d dimensions.

(a) Calculate the grand potential G = kB T ln Q, and the density n = N/V , at a chemical
+
potential . Express your answers in terms of d and fm
(z), where z = e , and
+
fm
(z)

1
=
(m 1)!

xm1
dx.
z 1 ex 1

(Hint: Use integration by parts on the expression for ln Q.)

(b) Calculate the gas pressure P , its energy E, and compare the ratio E/(P V ) to the
classical value.
(c) Find the critical temperature, Tc (n), for Bose-Einstein condensation, indicating the
dimensions where there is a transition.

(d) What is the temperature dependence of the heat capacity C (T ) for T < Tc (n)?

(e) Evaluate the dimensionless heat capacity C(T )/(N kB ) at the critical temperature
T = Tc , and compare its value to the classical (high temperature) limit.
********

13

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2005

Final Exam

1. Graphene is a single sheet of carbon atoms bonded into a two dimensional hexagonal
lattice. It can be obtained by exfoliation (repeated peeling) of graphite. The band struc
ture of graphene is such that the single particles excitations behave as relativistic Dirac
fermions, with a spectrum that at low energies can be approximated by


E (~k) = hv ~k .

There is spin degeneracy of g = 2, and v 106 ms1 . Recent experiments on unusual

transport properties of graphene were reported in Nature 438, 197 (2005). In this problem,
you shall calculate the heat capacity of this material.
(a) If at zero temperature all negative energy states are occupied and all positive energy
ones are empty, nd the chemical potential (T ).
(b) Show that the mean excitation energy of this system at nite temperature satises
E(T ) E(0) = 4A

d2~k
E + (~k)

(2 )2 exp E (~k ) + 1

(c) Give a closed form answer for the excitation energy by evaluating the above integral.
(d) Calculate the heat capacity, CV , of such massless Dirac particles.
(e) Explain qualitatively the contribution of phonons (lattice vibrations) to the heat ca
pacity of graphene. The typical sound velocity in graphite is of the order of 2 104 ms1 .
Is the low temperature heat capacity of graphene controlled by phonon or electron contri
butions?
********
2. Quantum 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|p~i | +

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 {p~i } 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?
14

(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 p~2i /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?
********
3. Non-interacting Fermions: Consider a grand canonical ensemble of non-interacting
fermions with chemical potential . The oneparticle states are labelled by a wavevector
~k, and have energies E(~k).


(a) What is the joint probability P ( n~k ), of nding a set of occupation numbers n~k ,
of the oneparticle states?

(b) Express your answer to part (a) in terms of the average occupation numbers n~k .

(c) A random variable has a set of discrete outcomes with probabilities pn , where n =
1, 2, , . What is the entropy of this probability distribution? What is the maximum
possible entropy?

(d) Calculate the entropy of the probability distribution for fermion occupation numbers

in part (b), and comment on its zero temperature limit.

(e) Calculate the variance of the total number of particles N 2 c , and comment on its zero
temperature behavior.
(f) The number uctuations of a gas is related to its compressibility T , and number
density n = N/V , by
2
N c = N nkB T T .

Give a numerical estimate of the compressibility of the fermi gas in a metal at T = 0 in

3 eV 1 .
units of A
********

15

8.333: Statistical Mechanics I

Fall 2006

Final Exam

1. Freezing of He4 : At low temperatures He4 can be converted from liquid to solid by
application of pressure. An interesting feature of the phase boundary is that the melting
pressure is reduced slightly from its T = 0K value, by approximately 20Nm2 at its
minimum at T = 0.8K. We will use a simple model of liquid and solid phases of 4 He to
account for this feature.
(a) By equating chemical potentials, or by any other technique, prove the Clausius
Clapeyron equation (dP/dT )melting = (s ss )/(v vs ), where (v , s ) and (vs , ss ) are the
volumes and entropies per atom in the liquid and solid phases respectively.
(b) The important excitations in liquid 4 He at T < 1K are phonons of velocity c. Calculate
the contribution of these modes to the heat capacity per particle CV /N , of the liquid.
(c) Calculate the low temperature heat capacity per particle CVs /N , of solid 4 He in terms
of longitudinal and transverse sound velocities cL , and cT .
(d) Using the above results calculate the entropy dierence (s ss ), assuming a single
sound velocity c cL cT , and approximately equal volumes per particle v vs v.
Which phase (solid or liquid) has the higher entropy?
(e) Assuming a small (temperature independent) volume dierence v = v vs , calculate
the form of the melting curve. To explain the anomaly described at the beginning, which
phase (solid or liquid) must have the higher density?
********
2. Squeezed chain: A rubber band is modeled as a single chain of N massless links of xed
length a. The chain is placed inside a narrow tube that restricts each link to point parallel
or anti-parallel to the tube.
(a) Ignoring any interactions amongst the links, give the number of congurations of the

chain, (L, N ), where L is the endtoend length of the chain.

(b) Use Stirlings approximation to express the result for entropy as a function of N and

x = L/(N a).

The tube is now uniformly squeezed such that stretched congurations are energet
ically favored. For this problem, assume a simplied form of this energy that depends
inversely on the local link density, such that the energy of a uniformly stretched state is

L
a2
E(L, N ) = L
=
N x2 .
2
N
2
(Use this formula for energy for all states of given L and N in the remainder of this
problem.)
16

(c) Calculate the free energy F (T, L, N ), and the force J(T, L, N ) acting on the end points
of the chain. (The work done on expanding the chain is dW
= JdL.)
(d) Sketch the isotherms J(x, T ) at high and low temperatures, and identify the tempera
ture Tc when the behavior changes.
(e) What is the condition for stability of the chain? What portion of the above isotherms
are inherently unstable.
(f) Using the form for J obtained in part (c), nd an expression for the unforced (J = 0)
chain length that is valid as T approaches Tc from below.
********
3. Graphene bilayer: The layers of graphite can be peeled apart through dierent exfo
liation processes. Many such processes generate single sheets of carbon atoms, as well as
bilayers in which the two sheets are weakly coupled. The hexagonal lattice of the single
layer graphene, leads to a band structure that at low energies can
be approximated by

1 layer ~
E
(k) = tk (ak), as in relativistic Dirac fermions. (Here k = ~k , a is a lattice spac
ing, and tk is a typical in-plane hopping energy.) A weak hopping energy t between the
two sheets of the bilayer modies the low energy excitations drastically, to
E bilayer
(~k)

t2k

2t

(ka)2

i.e. resembling massive Dirac fermions. In addition to the spin degeneracy, there are two
branches of such excitations per unit cell, for an overall degeneracy of g = 4.

(a) For the undoped material with one electron per site, at zero temperature all negative

energy states are occupied and all positive energy ones are empty. Find the chemical

potential (T ).

(b) Show that the mean excitation energy of this system at nite temperature satises
E(T ) E(0) = 2gA

d2~k
E + (~k )

(2 )2 exp E (~k) + 1

(c) Give a closed form answer for the excitation energy of the bilayer by evaluating the
above integral.
(d) Calculate the heat capacity, CA , of such massive Dirac particles.
(e) A sample contains an equal proportion of single and bilayers. Estimate (in terms of the
hopping energies) the temperature below which the electronic heat capacity is dominated
by the bilayers.
********
17

MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu

8.333 Statistical Mechanics I: Statistical Mechanics of Particles

Fall 2013

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