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PC2174A 2022 Tutorial 05

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31 views1 page

PC2174A 2022 Tutorial 05

Uploaded by

Nicky Nel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PC2174A: Mathematical Methods in Physics I

Tutorial 5

1. Integrate the function


!−1/2
x2 y 2 3
z(x, y) = x y 1 − 2 − 2 ,
a b
over the region of the first quadrant inside the ellipse
x2 y 2
+ 2 = 1,
a2 b
using the substitutions x = a sin θ cos ϕ and y = b sin θ sin ϕ .

2. Define a coordinate system u, v whose origin coincides with that of the usual x, y system and
whose u-axis coincides
 with the x-axis, whilst the v-axis makes an angle α with it. By considering
the integral I = exp(−ρ2 ) da , where ρ is the radial distance from the origin, over the area defined
by 0 ≤ u < ∞ , 0 ≤ v < ∞ , prove that
 ∞  ∞   α
exp −u2 − v 2 − 2uv cos α du dv = .
0 0 2 sin α

3. In this problem, we will examine some typical Gaussian integrals and their uses in statistical
thermodynamics where higher dimensional multiple integrals are very commonly used.
(a) Evaluate the following Gaussian integral,
 ∞
2
I≡ e−αx dx , α > 0,
−∞

by considering the double integral I 2 over the entire xy-plane. Hence, deduce the following
general formula, for integer n ≥ 0:
 ∞
(2n)! π
r
2
x2n e−αx dx = , α > 0.
−∞ n!22n α2n+1
(b) Assume that the energy E of a system is given by the sum of N independent quadratic terms:
N
αi x2i ,
X
E=
i=1

where αi > 0 are constants and xi are some variables. In statistical thermodynamics, the average
energy is given by
 ∞  ∞
⟨E⟩ = ··· E P (x1 , x2 , · · · , xN ) dx1 dx2 · · · dxN ,
−∞ −∞

Here, the Boltzmann distribution P (x1 , x2 , · · · , xN ) is given by


e−βE
P (x1 , x2 , · · · , xN ) =  ∞ ∞ ,
−∞
· · · −∞ e−βE dx1 dx2 · · · dxN
where β ≡ 1/kT and k is the Boltzmann constant. Calculate the average energy.

Last updated: October 23, 2022 12:36 am

Page 1 of 1 Semester I, 2022/23

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