PHYS 445 Lecture 30 - Low temperature Fermi gas 30 - 1

Lecture 30 - Low temperature Fermi gas

What's Important:
• heat capacity for ideal Fermi gas
Text: Reif

Heat capacity for ideal Fermi gas

This lecture contains a somewhat lengthy mathematical examination of non-interacting

Fermi gases at low temperatures. First, the mean energy E of the gas is determined,
which permits the calculation of the heat capacity Cv via
E
Cv = (30.1)
T

Mean energy

As shown in previous lectures, a gas of fermions without interactions obeys the

number distribution
1
ni = ß ( i − ) , (30.2)
e +1

where µ is alternatively the Fermi energy F. Converting this to a continuum

distribution gives the mean number of electrons in the momentum range p to p + dp as
V d3p
n (p)d p = 2 3 ß ( i − )
3

h e +1

where the factor of two comes from the spin-1/2 nature of the electrons. For the
problem at hand, it is more useful to know the distribution of electron energies, rather
than momenta, and so we convert using
d 1 p 2m
= p 2 / 2m → = • 2p = =
dp 2m m m
or
m
dp = d . (30.3)
2m

Integrating over angles with ∫anglesd 3p = 4πp 2dp, Eq. (30.2) becomes

[number of electrons between and +d ] =

V dp
2 3 4πp 2 ß ( − )
h e +1
V m d
= 2 3 4π(2m ) ß( − ) (30.4)
h 2m e +1
d
≡ D( ) ß ( − )
e +1

© 2001 by David Boal, Simon Fraser University. All rights reserved; further resale or copying is strictly prohibited.
PHYS 445 Lecture 30 - Low temperature Fermi gas 30 - 2

The density of states factor D( ) is given by

2 m
3/2

D( ) = 2 V 2  1/2
. (30.5)
π  h 

Just to make the notation a little easier, define

1
f ( ) ≡ ß( − ) , (30.6)
e +1

which permits Eq. (30.4) to be written as

[number of electrons between and +d ] = f( )D( )d . (30.7)

Compared to the ground state distribution at T = 0, how much energy ∆E does a Fermi
gas have at T > 0?

1
less energy here
ni

more energy
here
F =
At T = 0, the energy is
E(T=0) = FN
where
N = ∫o∞f( )D( )d .

At T > 0, this changes to

E = ∫o∞ f( )D( )d .

Thus
∆E = ∫o∞ f( )D( )d - F ∫o∞f( )D( )d
= ∫o∞ ( - F) f( )D( )d . (30.8)

Calculation of specific heat

Knowing the energy change, we can now evaluate the specific heat through
E
Cv = .
T

Now, the only temperature dependent term in Eq. (30.8) is f( ), so the derivative is
∞
E f( )
Cv = = ∫( − F ) D( )d . (30.9)
T 0 T

© 2001 by David Boal, Simon Fraser University. All rights reserved; further resale or copying is strictly prohibited.
PHYS 445 Lecture 30 - Low temperature Fermi gas 30 - 3

Over most of the integration range in Eq. (30.9), D( ) is a slowly varying function,
because D( ) ~ 1/2. Therefore, we can take D( ) out of the integral and evaluate it at
the place where the integrand has its largest value, namely F, leaving
∞
(eß ( − F ) + 1)−1
Cv = D( F )∫ ( − F ) d
0
T
∞
eß ( − F )

F )∫ ( −
−
= D( + 1)−2
ß( )
F )(−1)(e d
F

0
T

The remaining derivative is straightforward:

eß ( − F ) 1 ß( − F )
= −( − F ) e ,
T kBT 2

and leads to
∞

)(−1)(eß ( + 1) (−1)( −
−2 1
)∫ ( − − −
Cv = D( ) ß( )
F F
F
F ) 2 e
F
d
0
k BT
or
∞ −
eß ( )
1 F

k BT 2 ∫0
Cv = D( F ) ( − 2
F) d . (30.10)
(e + 1)
ß( − ) 2
F

Next, we change variables to the dimensionless quantity x = ß( - F)

∞
1 ex
Cv = D( F ) ∫
3 2
(k T ) x 2 dx
k BT 2 B −ß F ( )
e x
+ 1
∞
ex
= D( ∫x
2 2
F )k BT dx
(e + 1)
x 2
−ß F

At low temperatures, ß F is large, and the lower limit of the integral can be taken to -∞.
The resulting integral has the exact value (see Reif)
∞
ex π2
∫ (e x + 1)2 =
2
x dx
−∞
3

This, together with the expression for D( F), gives

2 m π2
3/2

Cv = 2 1/2 2
k TV
π  h2 
F B
3
2 m
3/2

= 1/2
Vk B2T (30.11)
3  h2  F

1  2m 
3/2

= 1/2
Vk B2T
6  h2  F

© 2001 by David Boal, Simon Fraser University. All rights reserved; further resale or copying is strictly prohibited.
PHYS 445 Lecture 30 - Low temperature Fermi gas 30 - 4

The important result here is that Cv is linear in temperature, as is observed

experimentally. To get rid of the V term in Eq. (30.11), we invert the expression for the
Fermi energy
h 2  3π 2N 
2/3

F =
2m  V 
⇓
 2m
3/2
3π 2N
V 2  =
 h  3/2
F

such that
π2 k
Cv = Nk B B T
2 F

π2 T
Cv = Nk B
2 TF

© 2001 by David Boal, Simon Fraser University. All rights reserved; further resale or copying is strictly prohibited.