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Quantum 2

Particles can be classified as bosons or fermions based on their spin. Bosons have integer spin while fermions have half-integer spin. This leads bosons and fermions to obey different statistics. The document also discusses partition functions for ideal gases of fermions and how the Fermi-Dirac distribution describes the occupancy of single-particle states.

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Segun Macpherson
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18 views5 pages

Quantum 2

Particles can be classified as bosons or fermions based on their spin. Bosons have integer spin while fermions have half-integer spin. This leads bosons and fermions to obey different statistics. The document also discusses partition functions for ideal gases of fermions and how the Fermi-Dirac distribution describes the occupancy of single-particle states.

Uploaded by

Segun Macpherson
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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Bosons and fermions

One of the fundamental results of relativistic quantum field theory is that all
particles can be classified into two groups.

Bosons: particles with zero or integer spin (in units of ħ). Examples: photons,
all nuclei with even mass numbers. The wavefunction of a system of bosons is
symmetric under the exchange of any pair of particles: Ψ(...,Qj,...Qi,..)=
Ψ(...,Qi,...Qj,..). The number of bosons in a given state is unlimited.

Fermions: particles with half-integer spin (e.g., electrons, quarks, all nuclei with
odd mass numbers); the wavefunction of a system of fermions is anti-
symmetric under the exchange of any pair of particles: Ψ(...,Qj,...Qi,..)= -
Ψ(...,Qi,...Qj,..). The number of fermions in a given state is zero or one (the
Pauli exclusion principle).

In the early 20th century it became evident that atoms and molecules with
even numbers of electrons are more chemically stable than those with odd
numbers of electrons. In 1922, Niels Bohr updated his model of the atom by
assuming that certain numbers of electrons (for example 2, 8 and 18)
corresponded to stable "closed shells".

Pauli looked for an explanation for these numbers, which were at first only
empirical. He found an essential clue in a 1924 paper by Edmund C. Stoner
which pointed out that for a given value of the principal quantum number (n),
the number of energy levels of a single electron in the alkali metal spectra in
an external magnetic field, where all degenerate energy levels are separated,
is equal to the number of electrons in the closed shell of the noble gases for
the same value of n. This led Pauli to realize that the complicated numbers of
electrons in closed shells can be reduced to the simple rule of one electron per
state, if the electron states are defined using four quantum numbers. For this
purpose he introduced a new two-valued quantum number, identified by
Goudsmit and Uhlenbeck as electron spin.

The spin-statistics relation was first


formulated in 1939 by Markus Fierz, and
was rederived in a more systematic way by
Wolfgang Pauli in 1940. A more conceptual
argument was provided by Julian
Wolfgang Pauli Schwinger in 1950.
(1900-1958)
The Bose or Fermi character of composite objects: the composite objects that
have even number of fermions are bosons and those containing an odd number
of fermions are themselves fermions.

(an atom of 3He = 2 electrons + 2 protons + 1 neutron ⇒ hence 3He atom is a


fermion)

In general, if a neutral atom contains an odd # of neutrons then it is a fermion,


and if it contains en even # of neutrons then it is a boson.

The difference between fermions and bosons is specified by the possible


values of ni:

fermions: ni = 0 or 1 bosons: ni = 0, 1, 2, .....

distinguish. particles Bose statistics Fermi statistics

n1 n2 n1 n2 n1 n2
1 1 1 1
2 1 2 1 2 1
1 2
2 2 2 2
3 1 3 1 3 1
1 3
3 2 3 2 3 2
2 3
3 3 3 3
4 1 4 1 4 1
1 4
4 2 4 2 4 2
2 4
4 3 4 3 4 3
3 4

Consider two non-interacting particles in a 1D box of length L. The total energy


is given by 2
h
En1 ,n2 =
8mL2
( 2
n1 + n2
2
)
The Table shows all possible states for the system with the total energy
2 2
n1 + n2 ≤ 25
Problem (partition function, fermions) (1)

Calculate the partition function of an ideal gas of N=3 identical fermions in


equilibrium with a thermal reservoir at temperature T. Assume that each particle
can be in one of four possible states with energies ε1, ε2, ε3, and ε4. (Note that N
is fixed).

ε1 1 1 1 0 The Pauli exclusion principle leaves only


four accessible states for such system.
ε2 1 0 1 1 (The spin degeneracy is neglected).
ε3 1 1 0 1
ε4 0 1 1 1
the number of particles in the
single-particle state
a state with Ei

The partition function (canonical ensemble):

Z 3 = ∑ exp{− β Ei }
Ei

= exp{− β [ε1 + ε 2 + ε 3 ]} + exp{− β [ε1 + ε 3 + ε 4 ]}


+ exp{− β [ε1 + ε 2 + ε 4 ]} + exp{− β [ε 2 + ε 3 + ε 4 ]}
Problem (partition function, fermions) (2)
Calculate the grand partition function of an ideal gas of fermions in equilibrium
with a thermal and particle reservoir (T, µ). Fermions can be in one of four
possible states with energies ε1, ε2, ε3, and ε4. (Note that N is not fixed).

ε4
ε3
each level εI is a sub-system
ε2 independently “filled” by the
reservoir

ε1
Y
Z= Zi
i
X
ni ("i µ) ("i µ)
Zi = e =1+e
ni =0,1

Z=
= Π !"1+ exp β µ − εi #$
{ ( )}
i

= !"1+ exp β µ − ε1 #$!"1+ exp β µ − ε 2 #$!"1+ exp β µ − ε3 #$!"1+ exp β µ − ε 4 #$


{ ( )} { ( )} { ( )} { ( )}
= 1+ exp {β (µ − ε )} + exp {β (µ − ε )} + exp {β (µ − ε )} + exp {β (µ − ε )}
1 2 3 4

+exp {β ( 2µ − ε − ε )} + exp {β ( 2µ − ε − ε )} + ...


1 2 2 3
Fermi-Dirac distribution

Y
Z= Zi
i
X
ni ("i µ) ("i µ)
Zi = e =1+e
ni =0,1
The probability of a state to be occupied by a fermion:

1 ni ("i µ)
P ("i , ni ) = e ni = 0, 1
Zi
The mean number of fermions in a particular state:

1 @ 1
hni i = Zi =
Zi @µ 1 + e ("i µ)

(µ is determined by T and
1 the particle density)
hniFD (") = " µ X
1+e kT
hniFD ("i ) = hN i
i
1

~ kT At T = 0, all the states with ε <


µ have the occupancy = 1, all
the states with ε > µ have the
occupancy = 0 (i.e., they are
T =0 unoccupied). With increasing T,
0 the step-like function is
“smeared” over the energy
range ~ kT.
(with respect to µ) ε=µ

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