Sk Jahiruddin Statistical Mechanics

Stat Mech
NET
1. A cavity contains blackbody radiation in equilibrium at temperature T . The specific heat per
unit volume of the photon gas in the cavity is of the form Cv = γT 3 , where γ is a constant.
The cavity is expandedd to twwice its original volume and then allowed to equilibriate at
temperature T . The new internal energy per unit volume is
(a)4γT 4 (b)2γT 4 (c)γT 4 (d)γT 4 /4
2. Consider a system of N non-interacting spins, each of which has classical magnetic moment
of magnitude µ. The Hamiltonian of the system in an external magnetic field H ~ is ΣN µ~i · H
~ i,
i= 1
th
where µ~i is the magnetic moment of the i spin. The magnetisation per spin at temperature
T is h   i    
2
(a) kµBHT (b) µ coth kµH
BT
− kB T
µH
(c)µ sinh µH
kB T
(d)µ tanh µH
kB T

3. Consider an ideal Bose gas in 3-dimensions with energy-momentum relation ε ∝ ps , with

s > 0. The range of s for which this system may undergo Bose-Einstein condensation at a
non-zero temperature is
(a) 1 < s < 3 (b) 0 < s < 2 (c) 0 < s < 3 (d) 0 < s < ∞
4. A system of N non-interacting spin- 12 is place in an external magnetic field H. The behaviour
of the entropy of the system as a function of energy is given by

5. Assume that the free energy of a magnetic system has an expansion in the order parameter
M of the form F (M, T ) = a(T − Tc )M 2 + bM 4 + cM 6 with a, b and c > 0. As the temperature
is lowered beyond Tc , the system undergoes a phase transition. The behaviour of the order
parameter just below the transition, where (T − Tc ) is very small, is best described by
(a) M ∝ (Tc − T )−1/2 (b) M ∝ (Tc − T )1/2 (c) M ∝ (Tc − T ) (d) M ∝ (Tc − T )3
6. A heater and thermocouple are used to measure and control the temperature T of a sample
at T0 = 250o C. A feedback circuit supplies power P to the heater according to the equation
P = P0 + G(T0 − T ) − D dTdt
with approximately tuned values of the coefficients G and D.
In order to maintain temperature stability in the presence of an external heat perturbation,
which causes small but rapid fluctuations of temperature, it is necessary to
(a) decrease D (b) increase D (c) decrease G (d) increase G
7. A gas of N non-interacting particles is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . Each particle
can be in any one of the possible non-degenerate states of energy 0, 2ε and 4ε. The average
energy per particle of the gas, when βε << 1, is
(a) 2ε (b) 3ε (c) 2ε/3 (d) ε

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8. A one-dimensional chain consists of a set of N rods each of length a. When stretched by

a load, each rod can align either parallel or perpendicular to the length of the chain. The
energy of a rod is −ε when perpendicular to it. When the chain is in thermal equilibrium at
temperature T , its average length is
(a) N a/2 (b) N a (c) N a/(1 + e−2ε/kB T ) (d) N a(1 + e−2ε/kB T )

9. Gas molecules of mass m are confined in a cylinder of radius R and height L with R >> L kept
vertically in the Earth’s gravitational field. The average energy of the gas at low temperatures
such that mgL >> kB T is given by
(a) N kB T /2 (b) 3N kB T /2 (c) 2N kB T (d) 5N kB T /2

10. The number of ways in which N identical bosons can be distributed in two energy levels is
(a) N + 1 (b) N (N − 1)/2 (c) N (N + 1)/2 (d) N

11. The free energy of a gas of N particles in a volume V and at a temperature T is F =

N kB T ln[a0 V (kB T )3/2 /N ] where a0 is a constant. The internal energy of the gas is
(a) (3/2)N kB T (b) (5/2)N kB T
(c) N kB T ln[a0 V (kB T ) /N ] − (3/2)N kB T (d) N kB T ln[a0 V /(kB T )5/2 ]
5/2

12. A system has two normal modes of vibration, with frequencies ω1 and ω2 = 2ω1 . What is the
probability that at temperature T , the system has energy less than 4~ω1 ? [In the following
x = eβ~ω1 and Z is the partition function.]
(a) x3/2 (x + 2x2 )/Z (b) x3/2 (1 + x + x2 )/Z (c) x3/2 (1 + 2x2 )/Z (d) x3/2 (1 + x + 2x2 )/Z

13. Bose condensation occurs in liquid He4 kept at an ambient pressure at 2.17K. At what tem-
perature will Bose condensation will occur in He4 in the gaseous state, the densitY of which
is 1000 times smaller than that of He4 ? [Assume that it is a perfect Bose gas.]
(a) 2.17mK (b) 21.7mK (c) 21.7µK (d) 2.17µK

14. Consider black-body radiation contained in a cavity whose walls are at temperature T . The
radiation is in equilibrium with the walls of the cavity. If the temperature of the walls is
increased to 2T and the radiation is allowed to come to equilibrium at the new temperature,
the entropy of the radiation increases by a factor of
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 8 (d) 16

15. Consider a system of three spins S1 , S2 and S3 , each of which can take values +1 and -1. The
energy of the system is given by E = −J[S1 S2 + S2 S3 + S3 S1 ] where J is a positive constant.
The minimum energy and the corresponding number of spin configurations are
(a) J and 1 (b) −3J and 1 (c) −3J and 2 (d) −6Jand 2

16. The minimum energy of a collection of 6 non-interacting electrons of spin- 21 amd mass m
placed in a one-dimensional infinite square well potential of width L is
(a) 14π 2 ~2 /mL2 (b) 91π 2 ~2 /mL2 (c) 7π 2 ~2 /mL2 (d) 3π 2 ~2 /mL2

17. Consider a one-dimensional Ising model with N spins, at very low temperatures when almost
all spins are aligned parallel to each other. There will be a few spin flips with each flip costing
an energy 2J. In a configuration with r spin flips, the energy of the system is E = −N J + 2rJ
and the number of configurations is CrN ; r varies from 0 to N . The partition function is
 N  N  N
J −N J/kB T J J
(a) kB T (b) e (c) sinh kB T (d) cosh kB T

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18. Non-interacting bosons undergo Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) when trapped in a 3-

dimensional isotropic simple harmonic potential. For BEC to occur, the chemical potential
must be equal to
(a) ~ω/2 (b) ~ω (c) 3~ω/2 (d) 0
19. Two identical bosons each of mass m are placed in a 1-dimensional potential V (x) = 12 mω 2 x2 .
The bosons interact via a weak potential V12 = V0 exp[−mΩ(x1 − x2 )2 /4~] where x1 and x2
denote the co-ordinates of the particles. Given that the ground-state wavefunction of the
1
harmonic oscillator is ψ0 (x) = ( mω
π~
) 4 exp[−mωx2 /2~]. The ground state energy of the two
boson system, to the first order in V0 is
1
(a) ~ω + 2V0 (b) ~ω + V0 Ωω (c) ~ω + V0 (1 + Ωω )− 2 (d) ~ω + V0 Ωω
20. A system of non-interacting spin- 21 charged particles are placed in an external magnetic field.
At low temperature T , the leading behaviour of the excess energy above the ground state
energy depends on T as [c is a constant]
(a) cT (b) cT3 (c) e−c/T (d) c(independent of T )
21. Consider a system of two Ising spins S1 and S2 taking values ±1 with the interaction energy
given by ε = −JS1 S2 , when it is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . At large T , the
average energy of the system varies as C/kB T where C is given by
(a) −2J 2 (b) −J 2 (c) J 2 (d) 4J
22. Consider 2 different systems with 3 identical, non-interacting particles. Both have single
particle states with energies ε0 , 3ε0 , 5ε0 , (ε0 > 0). One system is populated by spin- 21 fermions
and the other by bosons. What is the value of EF − EB where EF and EB are the ground
state energies of the fermionic and bosonic systems respectively?
(a) 6ε0 (b) 2ε0 (c) 4ε0 (d) ε0
23. 3 identical spin- 21 fermions are to be distributed in 2 distinct, non-degenerate energy levels.
The number of ways this can be done is
(a) 8 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 2
24. Which of the graphs below gives the correct qualitative behaviour of the energy density Er (λ)
of blackbody radiation λ at two temperatures T1 and T2 ,(T1 < T2 )?

25. A system can have 3 energy levels: E = 0, ±ε. The energy level E = 0 is doubly degenerate,
while others are non-degenerate. The average energy at inverse temperature β is
ε(eβε − e−βε )
(a) −ε tanh(βε) (b) (c) 0 (d) −ε tanh(βε/2)
1 + eβε + eβε
26. The pressure of a free, non-relativistic Fermi gas in 3-dimensions depends, at T = 0, on the
density of fermions n as
(a) n5/3 (b) n1/3 (c) n2/3 (d) n4/3

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27. The average local internal magnetic field acting on an Ising spin is Hint = αM , where M is the
magnetisation and α is a positive constant. At a temperature T sufficiently close to and above
the critical temperature Tc , the magnetic susceptibility at zero external field is proportional
to
(a) kB T − α (b) (kB T + α)−1 (c) (kB T − α)−1 (d) tanh(kB T + α)

28. An ideal Bose gas is confined inside a container that is connected to a particle reservoir. Each
prticle can occupy a discrete set of single-particle quantum states. If the probability that a
particular quantum state is unoccupied is 0.1, then the average number of bosons in that state
is
(a) 8 (b) 9 (c) 10 (d) 11

29. A collection of N non-interacting spins Si = ±1, i = 1, 2, · · · , N is kept in an external

magnetic field B at temperature T . The Hamiltonian of the system is H = −µBΣi Si . What
should be the minimum value of µB/kB T for which the mean value hSi i ≥ 31 ?
(a) 12 N ln2 (b) 2ln2 (c) 12 ln2 (d) N ln2

30. In a 2-state system, the transition rate of a particle from state 1 to state 2 is t12 and the
transition rate from state 2 to state 1 is t21 . In the steady state, the probability of finding the
particle in state 1 is
t21 t12 t12 t21 t12 − t21
(a) (b) (c) (d)
t12 + t21 t12 + t21 t12 + t21 t12 + t21
31. A system of N non-interacting classical particles each of mass m is in a 2-dimensional harmonic
oscillator potential of the form V (r) = α(x2 +y 2 ), where α is a positive constant. The canonical
partition function of the system at temperature T is [β = 1/kB T ]
N 2N N N
2mπ 2
   
α 2 π 2mπ απ
(a) (b) (c) (d)
2m β αβ 2mβ αβ 2
32. A system of N distinguishable particles, each of which can be in one of the two energy levels 0
and ε, has a total energy nε, where n is an integer. The entropy of the system is proportional
to    
N! N!
(a) N lnn (b) nlnN (c) ln (d) ln
n! n!(N − n)!
33. Consider 3 Ising spins at the vertices of a triangle which interact with each other with a ferro-
magnetic Ising interaction of strength J. The partition function of the system at temperature
T is [β = 1/kB T ]
(a) 2e3βJ + 6e−βJ (b) 2e−3βJ + 6eβJ (c) 2e3βJ + 6e−3βJ + 3eβJ + 3e−βJ (d) (2 cosh βJ)3

34. An ideal Bose gas in d-dimensions obeys the dispersion relation: ε(~k = Ak s ) where A and s
are constants. For Bose-Einstein condensation to occur, the occupancy of excited states
Z ∞ d−s
e s
Ne = c
0 eβ(ε−µ)−1
where c is a constant, should remain finite even for µ = 0. This can happen if
d 1 1 d 1 d 1 d
(a) < (b) < < (c) > 1 (d) < < 1
s 4 4 s 2 s 2 s

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35. For a system of independent, non-interacting 1-dimensional oscillators, the value of free energy
per oscillator in the limit T → 0 is
(a) ~ω/2 (b) ~ω (c) 3~ω/2 (d) 0

36. The partition function of N Ising spins is Z = λN N

1 + λ2 where λ1 , λ2 are functions of temper-
ature but independent of N . If λ1 > λ2 , the free energy per spin in the limit N → ∞ is
(a) −kB T ln(λ1 /λ2 ) (b)−kB T lnλ2 (c) −kB T ln(λ1 λ2 ) (d) −kB T lnλ1

37. The Hamiltonian of a system of N non-interacting spin- 21 particles is H = −µ0 BΣi Siz , where
Siz = ±1 are components of ith spin along an external magnetic field B. At a temperature T ,
µ0 B
such that e kB T = 2, the specific heat per particle is
16 8 16
(a) 25 kB (b) 25 kB ln2 (c) kB (ln2)2 (d) 25 kB (ln2)2

38. An ensemble of non-interacting spin- 21 particles is in contact with a heat bath at temperature
T an is subjected to an external magnetic field. Each particle can be in one of the two
quantum states of energies ±ε0 . If the mean energy per particle is −ε0 /2, then the free energy
per particle is √
ln(4/ 3) ln2
(a) −2ε0 (b) −ε0 ln(3/2) (c) −2ε0 ln2 (d) −ε0
ln3 ln3
39. Which of the following graphs show the qualitative dependence of free energy f (h, T ) of a
ferromagnet in an external magnetic field h, and a temperature T < Tc , where Tc is the
critical temperature?

40. A box of volume V containing N molecules of an ideal gas, is divided by a wall with a hole
into two compartments. If the volume of the smaller compartment is V/3, the variance of the
number of particles in it, is (NET-June-16)
√ √
(a) N/3 (b) 2N/9 (c) N (d) N /3 Ans - (b)

41. A gas of non-relativistic classical particles in one dimension is subjected to a potential V (x) =
α|x| (where α is a constant). The partition function is (β = 1/K = kB T ) (NET June - 2016)
q q q q
(a) β 24πm
α2 ~2
(b) 2πm
β 2 α2 ~2
(c) 8πm
β 2 α2 ~2
(d) 3πm
β 2 α2 ~2
Ans - (c)

42. Consider a gas of Cs atoms at a number density of 1012 atoms/cc. When the typical inter-
particle distance is equal to the thermal de Broglie wavelength of the particles, the temperature
of the gas is nearest to (Take the mass of a Cs atom to be 22.7 × 10−26 kg) (NET June - 2016)

(a) 1 × 10−9 K (b) 7 × 10−5 K (c) 1 × 10−3 K (d) 2 × 10−8 K Ans - (d)

43. Consider a gas of N classical particles in a two-dimensional square box of side L. If the total
energy of the gas is E, the entropy (apart from an additive constant) is (NET-December 2016)

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 √ 
(a) N kB ln (L2 E/N ) (b) N kB ln (LE/N ) (c) 2N kB ln L E/N (d) L2 kB ln (E/N )
Ans - (c)

44. Consider a continuous time random walk. If a step has taken place at time t = 0, the
probability that the next step takes place between t and t + dt is given by btdt, where b is a
constant. What is the average time between successive steps? (NET-December 2016)
p p p p
(a) 2π/b (b) π/b (c) 12 π/b (d) π/2b Ans - (d)

45. The
 partition
 function of a two-level system governed by the Hamiltonian
γ −δ
(NET-December 2016)
−δ −γ
p p
(a) 2 sinh(β γ 2 + δ 2 ) (b) 2 cosh(β γ 2 + δ 2 )
h p p i
(c) 12 cosh(β γ 2 + δ 2 ) + sinh(β γ 2 + δ 2 )
h p p i
(d) 21 cosh(β γ 2 + δ 2 ) − sinh(β γ 2 + δ 2 ) Ans - (b)

46. A silica particle of radius 0.1µm is put in a container of water at T = 300K. The densities of
silica and water are 2000km/m3 and 1000km/m3 , respectively. Due to thermal fluctuations,
the particle is not always at the bottom of the container. The average height of the particle
above the base of the container is approximately (NET-December 2016)
(a) 10− 3m (b) 2 × 10−4 m (c) 10− 4m (d) 5 × 10−5 m Ans - (c)

47. Consider a random walk on an infinite two dimensional triangular lattice, a part of which is
shown in the figure below.

If the probabilities of moving to any of the nearest neighbour sites are equal, what is the
probability that the walker returns to the starting position at the end of exactly three steps?
(NET-December 2016)
(a) 1/36 (b) 1/216 (c) 1/18 (d) 1/12 Ans - (c)

48. An atom has a non-degenerate ground-state and a doubly-degenerate excited state. The
energy difference between the two states is . The specific heat at very low temperatures
(β  1) is given by –(NET-December 2016)
(a) kB (β) (b) kB e−β (c) 2kB (β)2 e−β (d) kB
Ans - (c)

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49. The electrons in graphene can be thought of as a two-dimensional gas with a linear energy-
momentum relation E = |~p|v, where p~ = (px , py ) and v is a constant. If ρ is the number of
electrons per unit area, the energy per unit area is proportional to –(NET-December 2016)
(a) ρ3/2 (b) ρ (c) ρ1/3 (d) ρ2 Ans - (a)

50. A gas of photons inside a cavity of volume V is in equilibrium at temperature T. If the

temperature of the cavity is changed to 2T, the radiation pressure will change by a factor of
—-(NET-June 2017)
(a) 2 (b) 16 (c) 8 (d) 4 Ans - (b)

51. In a thermodynamics system in equilibrium each molecule can exist in three possible states
with probabilities 1/2, 1/3 and 1/6 respectively. The entropy per molecule is —- (NET-June
2017)
(a) kB ln 3 (b) 12 kB ln 2 + 32 kB ln 3 (c) 23 kB ln 2 + 12 kB ln 3 (d) 21 kB ln 2 + 61 kB ln 3
Ans - (c)

52. The single particle energy levels of a noninteracting three dimensional isotropic system,
lebelled by momentum k , are proportional to k 3 . The ratio P̄ / of the average pressure
P̄ to the energy density  at a fixed temperature, is —- (NET-June 2017)
(a) 1/3 (b) 2/3 (c) 1 (d) 3 Ans - (c)

53. The Hamiltonian for three Ising spins S0 , S1 , S2 , taking values ±1, is H = −JS0 (S1 + S2 ).
If the system is in equilibrium at temperature T , the average energy of the system, in terms
of β = (kB T )−1 is —- (NET-June 2017)
1 + cosh(2βJ) sinh(2βJ)
(a) − (b) − 2J[1 + cosh(2βJ)] (c) − 2/β (d) − 2J
2β sinh(2βJ) 1 + cosh(2βJ)
Ans - (d)

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JEST
54. Consider a system of particles in 3 dimensions with momentum p~ and energy E = c|~p|, c
being a constant. The system is maintained at inverse temperature β, volume V and chemical
potential µ. What is the grand partition function of the system?
(a) exp[eβµ 8πV /(βch)3 ] (b) eβµ 6πV /(βch)2 (c) exp[eβµ 6πV /(βch)3 ] (d) eβµ 8πV /(βch)2
55. Consider a system maintained at temperature T with available energy states E1 and E2 each
with degeneracies g1 and g2 . If p1 and p2 are the probabilities of occupancy of these ststes,
what is the entropy of the system?
(a) S = −kB [p1 ln(p1 /g1 ) + p2 ln(p2 /g2 )] (b) S = −kB [p1 ln(p1 g1 ) + p2 ln(p2 g2 )]
g1 g2
(c) S = −kB [p1 ln(p1 ) + p2 ln(p2 )] (d) S = −kB [(1/p1 )ln(p1 /g1 ) + (1/p2 )ln(p2 /g2 )]
56. A collection of N two-level systems with energies 0 and E > 0 is in thermal equilibrium at
temperature T . For T → ∞, the specific heat approaches
(a) 0 (b) N kB (c) 3N kB /2 (d) ∞
57. Consider a system of two particles A and B. Each can occupy one of three possible quantum
states |1i, |2i and |3i. The ratio of the probability that the two particles are in the same
state to the probability that two particles are in different states is calculated for bosons and
classical (Maxwell- Boltzmann) particles. They are respectively
(a) 1, 0 (b) 1/2, 1 (c) 1, 1/2 (d) 0, 1/2
58. Consider a particle with 3 possible spin states: s = 0, ±1. There is a magnetic field h present
and the energy for a spin state s is −hs. The system is at temperature T . Which of the
following is true about the entropy S(T )?
(a) ln3 at T = 0, and 3 at high T (b) ln3 at T = 0, and 0 at high T
(c) 0 at T = 0, and 3 at high T (d) 0 at T = 0, and ln3 at high T
59. Consider 3 situations of 4 particles in a 1-dimensional box of width L with hard walls. In
case(i) the particles are fermions, in case(ii) they are bosons and in case(iii) they are classical.
If the total ground state energy of the 4 particles in these 3 cases are EF ,EB , Ecl respectively,
which of the following is true?
(a) EF =EB =Ecl (b) EF > EB =Ecl (c) EF < EB < Ecl (d) EF > EB > Ecl
60. An ideal gas of non-relativistic fermions in 3-dimensions is at 0K. When both the number
density and the mass of the particles are doubled, then the energy per particle is multiplied
by a factor
(a) 21/2 (b) 1 (c) 21/3 (d) 2−1/3
61. A monoatomic gas consists of atoms with two internal enegy levels: ground state E = 0 and
excited state E1 = E. The specific heat of the gas is
3 E 2 eE/kB T
(a) kB (b)
2 kB T 2 (1 + eE/kB T )2
3 E 2 eE/kB T 3 E 2 eE/kB T
(c) kB + (d) kB −
2 kB T 2 (1 + eE/kB T )2 2 kB T 2 (1 + eE/kB T )2
62. The lowest quantum mechanical energy of a particle confined in a 1-dimensional box of size L
is 2 eV. The energy of the quantum mechanical ground state of a system of 3 non-interacting

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spin- 12 particles is
(a) 6eV (b) 10eV (c) 12eV (d) 16eV

63. Consider a system of 2N non-interacting spin- 12 particles fixed in position and carrying mag-
netic moment µ. The system is immersed in a uniform magnetic field B. The number of
spin-up particles for which the entropy of the system will be maximum is
(a) 0 (b) N (c) 2N (d) N/2

64. For a system in thermal equilibrium with a heat bath at temperature T , which of the following
equalities is correct?
∂ ∂
(a) hEi = hEi2 − hE 2 i (b) hEi = hE 2 i − hEi2
∂β ∂β
∂ ∂
(c) hEi = hE 2 i + hEi2 (d) hEi = − hE 2 i − hEi2
∂β ∂β
65. A particle in thermal equilibrium has 3 possible states with energies −ε, 0, ε. If the system is
maintained at a temperature T >> ε/kB , the average energy of the particle can be approxi-
mated to
2ε2 2ε2 ε2
(a) (b) − (c) − (d) 0
3kB T 3kB T kB T
66. A blackbody at a temperature 6000K emits radiation whose intensity spectrum peaks at
600nm. If the temperature is reduced to 300K, the spectrum will peak at
(a) 120µm (b) 12µm (c) 12mm (d) 120mm

67. Blackbody radiation at temperature Ti fills a volume V . The system expands adiabatically
and reversibly to volume 8V . The final temperature Tf = xTi , where the factor x is equal to
(a) 0.5 (b) 2.8 (c) 0.25 (d) 1

68. A gas of N molecules of mass m is confined in a cube of volume V = L3 at temperature

T . The box is in a uniform gravitational field −gẑ. Assume that the potential energy of a
molecule is U = mgz where z ∈ [0, L] is the vertical co-ordinate inside the box. The pressure
P (z) at height h is

!
!
mg z − L2 mg z − L2
exp − exp −
N mgL kB T N mgL kB T
(a) P (z) =   (b) P (z) =  
V 2 mgL V 2 mgL
sinh cosh
2kB T 2kB T
kB T N N
(c) P (z) = (d) P (z) = mgz
V V
69. A 2-dimensional box in a uniform magnetic field B contains N/2 localised spin- 12 particles
with magnetic moment µ and N/2 spinless particles which do not interact with each other.
The average energy of thesystem at temperature T is  
1 µB 1 µB
(a) 3N kB T − N µB sinh (b) N kB T − N µB tanh
2 kB T  2 kB T 
1 1 µB 3 1 µB
(c) N kB T − N µB tanh (d) N kB T + N µB cosh
2 2 kB T 2 2 kB T

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1


70. For a quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator with energies En = n + 2
~ω, where n =
0, 1, 2, · · · , the partition function is
~ω ~ω
e kB T ~ω ~ω e 2kB T
(a) ~ω
−1
(b) e 2kB T
−1 (c) e 2kB T
+1 (d) ~ω
−1
e 2kB T e kB T
71. If the men square fluctuations in energy of a system in equilibrium at temperature T is
proportional to T α , then the energy is proportional to —(JEST-2017)
(a) T α−2 (b) T α/2 (c) T α−1 (d) T α Ans - (c)
p2x + p2y
72. If the Hamiltonian of a particle is H = + xy, then hx2 + xy + y 2 i at temperature T is
2m
equal to —(JEST-2017)
1 3
(a) kB T (b) kB T (c) 2kB T (d) kB T Ans - (a)
2 2
73. A system of particles on N lattice sites is in eqilibrium at temperature T and chemical potential
µ. Mutiple occupancy of the sites is forbiden. The binding energy of a particle at each site is
−. The probability of no site being occupied is —(JEST-2017)
1 − exp[β(µ + )] 1
(a) (b)
1 − exp[(N + 1)β(µ + )] [1 + exp[β(µ + )]]N
1 1 − exp[−β(µ + )]
(c) N
(d) Ans - (b)
[1 + exp[−β(µ + )]] 1 − exp[−(N + 1)β(µ + )]

74. Two classical particles are distributed among N (> 2) sites on a ring. Each site can accomodate
only one particle. If two particles occupy two nearest neighbour sites, then the energy of the
system is increased by . The average energy of the system at temperature T is —-(JEST-
2017)
2e−β 2N e−β  2N e−β
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(N − 3) + 2e− β (N − 3) + 2e− β N (N − 2) + 2e− β
Ans - (a)

75. A cylinder at temperature T = 0 is separated into two compartments A and B by a free sliding
piston. Compartments A and B are filled by Fermi gases made of spin 1/2 and 3/2 particles
respectively. If particles in both the compartments have same mass, the ratio of equilibrium
density of the gas in compartment A to that of gas in compartment B is —-(JEST-2017)
1 1 1
(a) 1 (b) 2/5 (c) 2/5 (d) 2/3 Ans - (c)
3 2 2
76. Let a particle of mass 1 × 10−9 Kg, constrained to have one dimensional motion, be initially
at the origin (x = 0m). The particle is in equilibrium with a thermal bath (KB T = 10−8 J.
What is hx2 i of the particle atfer time t = 5s? Ans = 250

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Sk Jahiruddin Statistical Mechanics

TIFR
77. A quantum system has 3 energy levels -0.12 eV, -0.2 eV and -0.44 eV respectively. 3 electrons
are distributed among these levels. At a temperature 1727o C, the system has total energy
-0.68 eV. The free energy of the system is approximately
(a) +1.5 eV (b) +0.3 eV (c) −0.1 eV (d) −0.3 eV (e)−1.0 eV (f)−1.5 eV
78. A system having non-degenerate energy eigenstates is populated by N identical spin-zero
particles and 2N identical spin-half particles. There are no interactions between any of these
particles. If N =1000, the entropy of the system is equal to
(a) 13.82kB (b) 0 (c) 693.1kB
(d) 1000kB (e)5909.693kB (f)6909kB
79. A closed, thermally-insulated box contains 1 mole of an ideal monatomic gas G in thermo-
dynamic equilibrium with blackbody radiation B. The total internal energy of the system is
U = UG + UB where UG and UB (∝ T 4 ) are the energies of the ideal gas and radiation re-
spectively. If UG = UB at a certain temperature T0 K, then the energy required to raise the
temperature from T0 K to (T0 + 1) K, in terms of the gas constant R, is
(a) 7.5R (b) 6R (c) 1.5R (d) 0.33R
80. When a gas is enclosed in an impermeable box and heated to a high temperature T , some of
the neutral atoms lose an electron and become ions. If the number density of neutral atoms,
ions and electrons are Na , Ni and Ne respectively, these can be related to average volume Va
occupied by an atom/ion and the ionisation energy E by the relation
(a) Ne (Na + Ni ) = (Na /Va ) exp(−E/kB T ) (b) Na (Ne + Ni ) = (Na /Va ) exp(−E/kB T )
(c) Ne Ni = (Na /Va ) exp(+E/kB T ) (d) Ne Ni = (Na /Va ) exp(−E/kB T )
81. Consider an ensemble of microscopic quantum mechanical systems with two energy levels
E1 and E2 , where E1 < E2 . Which of the following graphs best describes the temperature
dependence of the average energy hEi of the system?

82. The entropy S of a black hole is known to be of the form S = αkB A where A is the surface
area of the black hole and α is a constant, which can be written in terms of c (velocity of
light in vacuum), ~ (reduced Planck’s constant) and GN (Newton’s constant of gravitation).
Taking the radius of the black hole as R = 2GcN2 M , it follows that the entropy is
G2 M 2 kB ~ckB G2N M 2 kB GN M 2 kB
(a) N (b) (c) (d)
λ(~c)4 λGN M λ~c4 λ~c
83. N particles are distributed among 3 states having energies E = 0, kB T and 2kB T respectively.
If the total equilibrium energy of the system is 138.06 kB T , find the number N of particles.

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84. A classical ideal gas consisting of N (N → ∞) particles confined in a box of volume V at

temperature T and pressure p. The probability that, at any instant of time, a small sub-
volume v0 becomes totally void (i.e. no particles inside), due to a spontaneous statistical
fluctuation, is
(a) exp(−v0 /V ) (b) exp(−N v0 /V ) (c) (−v0 /V ) exp(−pV /N T ) (d) pv0 /N T

85. A binary star is observed to consist of a blue star B (peak wavelength 400 nm) and a red
star R (peak wavelength 800 nm) orbiting each other. As observed from the Earth, B and R
appear equally bright. Assuming that the stars radiate as perfect blackbodies, it follows that
the ratio of volumes VB /VR of the two stars is
(a) 1/64 (b) 64 (c) 16 (d) 1/16

86. A system at temperature T has 3 energy states: 0,±ε. The entropy of the system in the low
temperature (T → 0) and high temperature (T → ∞) are respectively
(a) ST →0 = 0, ST →∞ = kB exp(−3) (b) ST →0 = ST →∞ = kB ln3
(c) ST →0 = 0, ST →∞ = kB ln3 (d) ST →0 = 0, ST →∞ = 3kB /2

87. Consider the CO molecule as a system of 2 point particles which has both translational and
rotational degrees of freedom. Using classical statistical mechanics, the molar specific heat
CV of CO gas is given in terms of Boltzmann constant kB by
(a) 52 kB (b) 2kB (c) 32 kB (d) 12 kB

88. A gas of photons is enclosed in a container of fixed volume at an absolute temperature T .

Noting that the photon is a massless particle (i.e. its energy and momentum are related by
E = pc), the number of photons in the container will vary as
(a) T (b) T 2 (c) T 3 (d) T 4

89. Two blackbodies radiate energy at temperatures T1 and T2 (T1 > T2 ). The energy radiated
per unit time per unit solid angle per unit surface area of a blackbody in the frequency range
ν to ν + dν is B(ν)dν. Which one of the following graphs has the correct form?

90. In a monatomic gas, the first excited state is only 1.5eV above the ground state, while the
other excited states are much higher up. The ground state is doubly-degenerate, while the
first excited state has a 4-fold degeneracy. If now the gas is heated to a temperature of 7000
K, the fraction of atoms in the excited state will be approximately
(a) 0.42 (b) 0.3 (c) 0.14 (d) 0.07

91. The energy per oscillator of an isolated system of a large number of non-interacting, identical
fermions in a 1-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential is 5~ω/4 where ω is the angular

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Sk Jahiruddin Statistical Mechanics

frequency of the harmonic oscillator. The entropy of the system per oscillator is given by
(a) 0.25 (b) 0.56 (c) 0.63 (d) 0.75

92. Consider a system of non-interacting particles with integer angular momentum J at a temper-
ature T . This system is placed in a magnetic field B in the z direction. The energy of a state
with Jz = m~ is Em = mµB B with µB > 0. The fractional magnetization of the particles as
a function of µB B/kB T can be represented as —-(TIFR-2017)

ans -(a)

93. A quantum mechanical system consists of a one-dimensional infinite box, as indicated in the
figures below.

3 (three) identical non-interacting spin 1/2 particles, are first placed in the box, and the ground
state energy of the system is found to be E0 = 18eV . If 7 (seven) such identical particles
are placed in the box, what will be the ground state energy, in units of eV? (TIFR-2017)
Ans = 132

94. Cosmic ray muons, which decay spontaneously with proper lifetime 2.2µs are produced in the
atmosphere, at a height of 5 km above sea level. These move straight downwards at 98% of
the speed of light. Find the percent ratio 100 × (NA /NB ) of the number of muons measured
at the top of two mountains A and B, which are at heights 4, 848m and 2, 682m respectively
above mean sea level. (TIFR-2017) Ans = 052

95. In two dimensions, two metals A and B, have the number density of free electrons in the ratio
nA : nB = 1 : 2. The ratio of their Fermi energies is (TIFR - 2017)
(a) 2:3 (b) 1:2 (c) 1:4 (d) 1:8 Ans -(b)

96. Two identical bosons may occupy any of two energy levels 0,  where  > 0 lowest energy state
is doubly-degenerate and the excited state is non-degenerate. Assume that the two-particle

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system is in thermal equilibrium at a temperature T. Calculate the average energy hEi. What
hEi
will be the leading term of at low temperature? (TIFR - 2017) Ans = 2/3
exp (−β)
97. A one-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator of natural frequency ω is in thermal equilib-
rium with a heat bath at temperature T . The mean value hEi of the energy of the oscillator
can be written as — (TIFR - 2017)
       
~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω
(a) sech (b) csch (c) coth (d) tanh
2 2kB T 2 2kB T 2 2kB T 2 2kB T

Ans - (c)

98. The cosmic microwave background radiation in the Universe has a blackbody distribution
corresponding to a temperature 2.735 K. In a certain cosmological model, it was assumed
that the universe consists purely of radiation and is undergoing adiabatic expansion. In this
model it was predicted that the volume of the Universe will be tripled in the next 1010 years.
The corresponding blackbody radiation temperature would be — (TIFR - 2017)
(a) 0.9116 K (b) 2.078 K (c) 1.896 K (d) 1.526 K Ans - (c)

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JAM
99. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(a) Indistinguishable particles obey Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics.
(b) All particles of an ideal Bose gas occupy a single energy state at T = 0.
(c) The integral spin particles obey Bose-Einstein statistics.
(d) Protons obey Fermi-Dirac statistics.
100. Consider a system of N non-interacting distinguishable spin- 12 particles, each of magnetic
moment µ ~ such that
~ . The system is at an equilibrium temperature T in a magnetic field B,
~
n particles have magnetic moments aligned parallel to B.
(a)Find the energy E and entropy S of the system.
(b) Using the relation between E ans S, find T . Hence determine the ratio n/N in terms of
µ, B, T . [Use lnN ! = N lnN − N .]
101. The chemical potential of an ideal Bose gas at any temperature is
(a) necessarily negative (b) either zero or negative
(c) necessarily positive (d) either zero or positive
102. The blackbody spectrum of an object O1 is such that its radiant intensity (i.e. intensity per
unit wavelength interval) is maximum at a wavelength of 200 nm. Another object O2 has
maximum radiant intensity at 600 nm. The ratio of power emitted per unit area by O1 to
that by O2 is
(a) 1/81 (b) 1/9 (c) 9 (d) 81
103. 3 identical, non-interacting particles, each of spin 1/2 and mass m, are moving in a 1-
dimensional infinite potential well given by:
V (x) = 0 for 0 < x < a
V (x) = ∞ for x ≤ 0 and x ≥ a.
The energy of the lowest energy state of the system is
π 2 ~2 2π 2 ~2 3π 2 ~2 5π 2 ~2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
ma2 ma2 ma2 2ma2
104. When the temperature of a blackbody is doubled, the maximum value of its spectral energy
density, with respect to that at initial temperature would become
(a) 1/16 times (b) 8 times (c) 16 times (d) 32 times
105. Let NM B , NBE and NF D denote the number of ways in which 2 particles can be distributed
in 2 energy levels according to Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics
respectively. Then NM B : NBE : NF D is
(a) 4 : 3 : 1 (b) 4 : 2 : 3 (c) 4 : 3 : 3 (d) 4 : 3 : 2
106. A blackbody at temperature T emits radiation at a peak wavelength λ. If its temperature
becomes 4T , the new peak wavelength is
1 1 1
(a) 256
λ (b) 64
λ (c) 16
λ (d) 14 λ
107. According to Wien’s theory of blackbody radiation, the spectral energy density in a blackbody
cavity at temperature T is given as:
α
uT (λ)dλ = 3 5 exp(−β/λT )dλ (1)
cλ
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where α and β are constants and c is the speed of light. Further, the intensity of radiation
uT C R∞
coming out of the cavity is where uT = 0 uT (λ)dλ is the total energy density of
4
radiation. Given that Stefan-Boltzmann constant σ = 5.6 × 10−8RW m−2 K−4 and λmax T =
∞
2.9 × 10−3 m K, find the value of α and β. The value of integral 0 x3 e−x dx = 6.
p2 1
108. In 1-dimension, an ensemble of N classical particles has energy of the form E = x + kx2 .
2m 2
The average internal energy of the system at temperature T is
(a) 32 N kB T (b) 12 N kB T (c) 3N kB T (d) N kB T
109. A system comprises of 3 electrons. There are 3 single-particle energy levels accessible to each
of these electrons. The number of possible configurations for this system is
(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 6 (d) 7
110. A system consists of N number of particles, N  1. Each particle can have one of the two
energies E1 and E1 + ε(ε > 0). If the system is at equilibrium at temperature T , the average
number of particles with energy E1 is
N N N
(a) (b) ε/kT (c) −ε/kT (d) N e−ε/kT
2 e +1 e +1
111. Consider a system of N particles obeying classical statistics, each of which can have an energy
0 or E. The system is in thermal contact with a reservoir maintained at a temperature T .
Let k denote the Boltzmann constant. Which one of the following statements regarding the
total energy U and the heat capacity C of the system is correct? —-(JAM-2017)
NE NE eE/kT
(a)U = and C=k
1 + eE/kT kT (1 + eE/kT )2
N E2 NE eE/kT
(b)U = and C=k
kT (1 + eE/kT ) kT (1 + e−E/kT )2
NE N E2 eE/kT
(c)U = and C=k
1 + eE/kT (kT )2 (1 + eE/kT )2
NE N E2 eE/kT
(a)U = and C=k
1 + eE/kT (kT )2 (1 + eE/kT )2
Ans - (c or d)
112. A white dwarf star has volume V and contains N electrons so that the density of electrons is
N/V
n= Taking the temperature of the star to be 0K, the average energy per electron in
.
3~2 2
the star is 0 = (3π 2 n) 3 , where m is the mass of the electron. The electronic pressure in
10m
the star is —-(JAM-2017)
1 2
(a) n0 (b) 2n0 (c) n0 (d) n0 Ans - (d)
3 3
113. In the radiation emitted by a black body, the ratio of the spectral densities at frequencies 2ν
and ν will vary with ν as —-(JAM-2017)
 −1  −1    
(a) ehν/kB T − 1 (b) ehν/kB T + 1 (c) ehν/kB T − 1 (a) ehν/kB T − 1
Ans - (b)

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114. MSQ Consider a one dimensional harmonic oscullator of angular frequency ω. If 5(five)
identical particles occupy the energy levels of this oscillator at zero temperature, which of the
following statement (s) about their ground state energy E0 is (are) correct? —-(JAM-2017)
13
(a) If the particles are electrons, E0 = ~ω.
2
25
(b) If the particles are protons, E0 = ~ω.
2
25
(c) If the particles are spin-less fermions, E0 = ~ω.
2
5
(d) If the particles are bosons, E0 = ~ω. Ans - (a,c,d)
2

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GATE

115. A monatomic crystalline solid comprises of N atoms, out of which n are in interstitial positions.
If the available interstitial sites are N 0 , then the number of possible microstates is
(N 0 + n)! N! N 0! N! N! N 0!
(a) (b) (c) (d)
n!N ! n!(N + n)! n!(N 0 + n)! n!(N 0 − n)! n!(N − n)! n!(N 0 − n)!
116. A system of N localised, non-interacting spin- 12 ions, each of magnetic moment µ is kept in an
external magnetic field H. If the system is at equilibrium at temperature T , then Helmholtz
free energy of the system is
   
(a) N kB T ln cosh kµH
BT
(b) −N k B T ln 2 cosh µH
kB T
   
µH µH
(c) N kB T ln 2 cosh kB T (d) −N kB T ln 2 sinh kB T

117. Consider a radiation cavity of volume V at temperature T .

(i) The density of states at energy E of the quantised radiation (photons) is
8πV 8πV 8πV 8πV
(a) 3 3 E 2 (b) 3 3 E 3/2 (c) 3 3 E (d) 3 3 E 1/2
hc hc hc hc

(ii) The average number of photons in equilibrium inside the cavity is proportional to
(a) T (b) T 2 (c) T 3 (d) T 4

118. The partition function of a single gas molecule is Za . The partition function of N such non-
interacting gas molecules is then given by
(a) (Za )N /N ! (b) (Za )N (c) N (Za ) (d) (Za )N /N

119. A system has energy levels: E0 , 2E0 , 3E0 , · · · where the excited states are triply degenerate.
4 non-interacting bosons are placed in this system. If the total energy of these bosons is 5E0 ,
the number of microstates is
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5

120. An ensemble of quantum harmonic oscillators is kept at finite temperature
T = 1/kB β.

(i) The partition function of a single oscillator with energy levels n + 21 ~ω is given by
e−β~ω/2 e−β~ω/2 1 1
(a) Z = (b) Z = (c) Z = (d) Z =
1 − e−β~ω 1 + e−β~ω 1 − e−β~ω 1 + e−β~ω

(ii) The average number of energy quanta of the oscillators is given by

1 e−β~ω 1 e−β~ω
(a) hni = (b) hni = (c) hni = (d) hni =
eβ~ω −1 eβ~ω − 1 eβ~ω + 1 e−β~ω + 1
121. Thermodynamic variables of a system can be volume V , pressure P , temperature T , number
of particles N , internal energy E, chemical potential µ etc. For a system to be microcanonical
(MC), canonical (CE) and grand canonical (GC) ensembles, the parameters required are
(a) MC:(N, V, T ); CE:(E, N, V ); GC:(V, T, µ) (b) MC:(E, N, V ); CE:(N, V, T ); GC:(V, T, µ)

(c) MC:(V, T, µ); CE:(N, V, T ); GC:(E, N, V ) (d) MC:(E, N, V ); CE:(V, T, µ); GC:(N, V, T )

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122. A system of N localised, non-interacting spin- 12 particles of magnetic moment µ each is kept
in a constant external magnetic field B in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . The mag-
netisation of the system is
       
µB µB µB µB
(a) N µ coth kB T (b) N µ tanh kB T (c) N µ sinh kB T (d) N µ cosh kB T

123. 2 identical particles have to be distributed among 3 energy levels. Let rB , rF and rC represent
the ratios of probabilities of finding 2 particles to that of 1 particle in a given energy state.
The subscripts B, F, C correspond to whether the particles are bosons, fermions or classical
particles respectively. Then rB : rF : rC is
(a) 1/2 : 0 : 1 (b) 1 : 1/2 : 1 (c) 1 : 1/2 : 1/2 (d) 1 : 0 : 1/2

124. A photon gas is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T . The mean number of photons in
an energy state ε = ~ω is
       −1    −1
(a) exp k~ω
BT
+ 1 (b) exp ~ω
kB T
− 1 (c) exp ~ω
kB T
+ 1 (d) exp ~ω
kB T
− 1

125. Consider a system of 2 non-interacting classical particles which can occupy any of the 3 energy
levels: E = 0, ε and 2ε with degeneracies g(E) = 1, 2, 4 respectively. Thee mean energy of the
system is
   
4 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 8 exp(−2ε/kB T ) 2 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 4 exp(−2ε/kB T )
(a)ε (b)ε
1 + 2 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 4 exp(−2ε/kB T ) 1 + 2 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 4 exp(−2ε/kB T )
   
2 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 8 exp(−2ε/kB T ) exp(−ε/kB T ) + 2 exp(−2ε/kB T )
(c)ε (d)ε
1 + 2 exp(−ε/kB T ) + 4 exp(−2ε/kB T ) 1 + exp(−ε/kB T ) + exp(−2ε/kB T )
126. The probability that an energy level ε at temperature T is unoccupied by a fermion of chemical
potential µ is
1 1 1 1
(a)   (b)   (c)   (d)  
exp kε−µ
BT
+ 1 exp ε−µ
kB T
− 1 exp µ−ε
kB T
+ 1 exp µ−ε
kB T
−1

127. Conider a 2-level quantum system with energies ε1 = 0 and ε2 = ε.

(i) The Helmholtz free energy of the system is given by
(a) −kB T ln(1 + e−ε/kB T ) (b) kB T ln(1 + e−ε/kB T ) (c) (3/2)kB T (d) ε − kB T

(ii) The specific heat of the system is given by

ε e−ε/kB T ε2 e−ε/kB T ε2 e−ε/kB T ε2 e−ε/kB T
(a) (b) (c) − (d)
kB T (1 + e−ε/kB T )2 kB T 2 (1 + e−ε/kB T ) (1 + e−ε/kB T )2 kB T 2 (1 + e−ε/kB T )2
128. A collection of N atoms is exposed to a strong resonant electromagnetic radiation with Ng
atoms in ground state and Ne atoms in excited state, such that Ng + Ne = N . This collection
of 2-level atoms will have the following population distribution:
(a) Ng  Ne (b) Ng  Ne (c) Ng ≈ Ne ≈ N/2 (d) Ng − Ne ≈ N/2

129. A system of N non-interacting classical point particles is constrained to move on a 2-dimensional

surface of a sphere. The internal energy of the system is
(a) 23 N kB T (b) 12 N kB T (c) N kB T (d) 25 N kB T

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130. Which of the following atoms cannot exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation even in principle?
(a) H11 (b) He42 (c) N a23
11
40
(d) K19

131. CO2 molecule has the first few energy levels separated by approximately 2.5 meV. At a tem-
perature of 300K, the ratio of number of molecules in the 4th excited state to that in the 2nd
excited state is
(a) 0.5 (b) 0.6 (c) 0.8 (d) 0.9
π 2 V (kB T )3
132. The partition function of a gas of photons is given as: lnZ = .
45~3 c3
(i) The specific heat of the photon gas varies with temperature as

(ii) The pressure of the photon gas is

π 2 (kB T )3 π 2 (kB T )4 π 2 (kB T )4 π 2 (kB T )3/2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
15~3 c3 8~3 c3 45~3 c3 45~3 c3
133. A system has 2 energy levels with energies ε and 2ε. The lower level is 4-fold degenerate while
the upper level is doubly degenerate. If there are N non-interacting classical particles in the
system, which is in thermodynamic equilibrium at temperature T , the fraction of particles in
the upper level is
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1 + eε/kB T 1 + 2eε/kB T 2eε/kB T + 4e2ε/kB T 2eε/kB T − 4e2ε/kB T
134. Consider a system whose 3 energy levels are 0, ε and 2ε. The energy level ε is 2-fold degenerate
and the other energy levels are non-degenerate. The partition function of the system with
β = 1/kB T is given by
(a) 1 + 2e−βε (b) 2e−βε + e−2βε (c) (1 + e−βε )2 (d) 1 + e−βε + e−2βε

135. A paramagnetic system consisting of N spin- 21 particles is kept in an external magnetic field.
It is found that N/2 spins are aligned parallel and the remaining N/2 spins are aligned anti-
parallel to the magnetic field. The statistical entropy of the system is
(a) 2N kB ln2 (b) (N/2)kB ln2 (c) (3N/2)kB ln2 (d) N kB ln2

136. Consider a linear collection of N independent spin- 21 particles, each at a fixed location. The
entropy of the system is
(a) 0 (b) N kB (c) (1/2)N kB (d) N kB ln2

137. Consider a gas of atoms obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. The average value of ei~a·~p over
all the moments p~ of each of the particles (where ~a is a constant vector, a is the magnitude,
m is the mass of each atom, T is the temperature and kB is Boltzmann constant) is

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1 2 3 2
(a) 1 (b) 0 (c) e− 2 a mk BT
(d) e− 2 a mk BT

138. There are 4 energy levels: E, 2E, 3E and 4E (where E > 0). The canonical partition function
of 2 particles, if these are
(i) 2 identical fermions
(a) e−2βE + e−4βE + e−6βE + e−8βE (b) e−3βE + e−4βE + e−5βE + e−6βE + e−7βE
−βE −2βE −3βE −4βE 2
(c) (e +e +e +e ) (d) e−2βE − e−4βE + e−6βE − e−8βE

(ii) 2 distinguishable particles

a) e−2βE + e−4βE + e−6βE + e−8βE (b) e−3βE + e−4βE + e−5βE + e−6βE + e−7βE
−βE −2βE −3βE −4βE 2
(c) (e +e +e +e ) (d) e−2βE − e−4βE + e−6βE − e−8βE

139. At a given temperature T , the average per particle of a non-interacting gas of two-dimensional
classical harmonic oscillators is kB T .

140. Which one of the following is a fermion?

(a) α particle (b) Be42 nucleus (c) hydrogen atom (d) deuteron

141. For a system of 2 bosons, each of which can occupy any of the 2 energy levels: 0 and ε, the
mean energy of the system at temperature T is
εe−βε + 2εe−2βε 1 + εe−βε 2εe−βε + εe−2βε εe−βε + 2εe−2βε
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1 + 2e−βε + e−2βε 2e−βε + e−2βε 2 + e−βε + e−2βε 2 + e−βε + e−2βε
142. Consider a system of 3 fermions which can occupy any of the 4 available energy states with
equal probability. The entropy of the system is
(a) kB ln2 (b) 2kB ln2 (c) 2kB ln4 (d) 3kB ln4

143. In Bose-Einstein condensates, the particles

(a) have strong inter-particle attraction. (b) condense in real space.
(c) have overlapping wavefunctions. (d) have large and positive chemical potential.

144. Consider a system of N non-interacting spin- 21 particles, each having a magnetic moment mu
in a magnetic field B~ = B ẑ. If E be the total energy of the system, the number of accessible
microstates Ω is given by
 
E
N− !
N! µB
(a) Ω =     (b) Ω =  
1 E 1 E E
N− ! N+ ! N+ !
2 µB 2 µB µB
   
1 E 1 E N!
(c) Ω = N− ! N+ ! (d) Ω =  
2 µB 2 µB E
N+ !
µB
145. For a blackbody radiation in a cavity, photons are created and annihilated freely as a result
of emission and absorption by the walls of the cavity. This is because
(a) the chemical potential of the photons is zero. (b) photons obey Pauli exclusion principle.
(c) photons are spin-1 particles. (d) the entropy of the photons is very large.

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Sk Jahiruddin Statistical Mechanics

146. Consider a system having 3 energy levels with energies: 0, 2ε and 4ε, with respective degen-
eracies 2, 2 and 3. Four bosons of spin-0 have to be accommodated in these levels such that
the total energy of the system is 10ε. The number of ways in which it can be done is .

147. The average energy U of a 1-dimensional quantum oscillator of frequency ω and in contact
with a heat bath at temperature T is given by
   
1 1 1 1
(a) U = ~ω coth β~ω (b) U = ~ω sinh β~ω
2  2  2  2 
1 1 1 1
(c) U = ~ω tanh β~ω (d) U = ~ω cosh β~ω
2 2 2 2
148. The total power emitted by a spherical blackbody of radius R at temperature T is P1 . Let P2
be the power emitted by another spherical blackbody of radius R/2 at temperature 2T . The
ratio (P1 /P2 ) is . [Give your answer upto two decimal places.]

149. A 2-level system has energies 0 and E. The level with zero energy is non-degenerate, while
the level with energy E is triply-degenerate. The mean energy of a classical particle in this
system at temperature T is
Ee−E/kB T Ee−E/kB T 3Ee−E/kB T 3Ee−E/kB T
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1 + 3e−E/kB T 1 + e−E/kB T 1 + e−E/kB T 1 + 3e−E/kB T
150. Consider a 2-dimensional electron gas with a density of 1019 m−2 . The Fermi Energy of the
system is eV (up to two decimal places) (me = 9.31×10−31 kg, h = 6.626×10−34 Js, e =
−19
1.602 × 10 C) ——– GATE(2017) Ans = 2.32 to 2.40

151. Consider N non-interacting, distinguishable particles in a two-level system at temperature T .

The energies of the levels are 0 and ε. In the high temperature limit (kB T  ε), what is the
population of particles in the level with energy ε? ——— GATE(2017)
N N 3N
(a) (b) N (c) (d) Ans - (a)
2 4 4
152. Consider two particles and two non-degenerate quantum levels 1 and 2. Level 1 always contains
a particle. Hence, what is the probability that level 2 also contain a particle for each of the two
cases. (i) When the two particles are distinguishable (ii) when the two particles are Bosons.
——— GATE(2017)
(a) (i) 1/2 and (ii) 1/3 (b) (i) 1/2 and (ii) 1/3
(c) (i) 2/3 and (ii) 1/2 (d) (i) 1 and (ii) 0 Ans - (c)

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