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Internal Energy and Heat Capacity of Ideal Gas

This homework assignment involves calculating thermodynamic properties for several systems using statistical mechanics. Students are asked to: 1) Derive an expression for entropy in terms of the canonical distribution and show it equals the Shannon entropy formula. 2) Calculate thermodynamic properties like energy, pressure, and heat capacity for an ideal gas confined in a 2D disk with a central force. 3) Derive the partition function and check thermodynamic properties for an extreme relativistic gas. 4) Compute the entropy and partition function for a system of magnetic dipoles with two energy states. 5) Calculate the partition function, magnetic moment, and Curie constant for a system of non-interacting spins in an external field.

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252 views2 pages

Internal Energy and Heat Capacity of Ideal Gas

This homework assignment involves calculating thermodynamic properties for several systems using statistical mechanics. Students are asked to: 1) Derive an expression for entropy in terms of the canonical distribution and show it equals the Shannon entropy formula. 2) Calculate thermodynamic properties like energy, pressure, and heat capacity for an ideal gas confined in a 2D disk with a central force. 3) Derive the partition function and check thermodynamic properties for an extreme relativistic gas. 4) Compute the entropy and partition function for a system of magnetic dipoles with two energy states. 5) Calculate the partition function, magnetic moment, and Curie constant for a system of non-interacting spins in an external field.

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zenon7010
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© © 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

Phys 971 Stat Mech: Homework 2

due 9/24/13

1
In this problem you will find an expression for entropy in terms of thePcanonical distribution
−βEs
function ρs = e Z where the partition function Z is given by Z = s e−Es /kT . Start from
∂F
P
S = − ∂T N,V and show that S = −k s ρs ln ρs . This formula (sometimes called the
Shannon Entropy) is accepted as the general definition of entropy, even in situations like
information theory where there is no underlying free energy.

2
An ideal gas of N particles is confined to a two-dimensional disk of radius R. Each particle is
attracted to the center by a force that increases proportional to its distance from the center,
so the Hamiltonian is
N  2 
X pi 1 2
H= + kr
i=1
2m 2 i
where k is the effective spring constant of the central force and m is the mass of the particles.
(a) Write down the partition function for the full system.
(b) Calculate the average energy, pressure, and heat capacity of the system.
(c) Using the single particle partition function, compute the probability that a given
particle is in the shaded region of the figure (greater than a distance a from the center but
less than b).

b
a

3
Pathria 3.15: Show that the partition function QN (V, T ) of an extreme relativistic gas con-
sisting of N monatomic molecules with energy-momentum relationship  = pc, c being the

1
speed of light, is given by
(  3 )N
1 kT
QN (V, T ) = 8πV .
N! hc

Study the thermodynamics of the system, checking in particular that

P V = U/3, U/N = 3kT, and γ = 4/3.

Next, using the inversion formula (3.4.7), derive an expression for the density of states g(E)
of this system.

4
Consider a system of N magnetic dipoles, each of which has an energy + in the ‘up’ state
and − in the ‘down’ state.
a) Enumerate the number of microstates Ω(N, E) accessible to the system at energy E
and show that the entropy is given by Eq. (3.10.9).
   
S N + E N + E N − E N − E
=− ln − ln
Nk 2N  2N  2N  2N 

b) Now consider the same system in the canonical ensemble. Evaluate the partition
function for the N particle system and show that QN = QN
1 .

5
Consider a system of N non-interacting spins of angular momentum J in the presence of an
external field H. The energy levels for each spin are gµB Hm, where m = −J, −J +1 . . . J. a)
Compute the partition function for this system (evaluate all sums). b) Compute the average
magnetic moment for the system. c) Compare your results to the J = 1/2 example from
lecture and the J = ∞ classical case (take the limit J → ∞ and g → 0 such that µB gJ
retains the constant value µ0 ). d) Evaluate the Curie constant for the generic spin J case.

Common questions

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The behavior of spin systems transitions from quantum (for finite J) to classical descriptions (as J approaches infinity) by considering the limits J → ∞ and g → 0 such that the product gμB*J is constant, μ_0. Comparison with the J = 1/2 system shows how quantum effects diminish, resulting in classical statistical behavior .

The canonical ensemble evaluates the partition function for N magnetic dipoles based on summing the exponential terms for each energy state. In this setup, calculating individual spin contributions enables expressing the overall partition function as Q_N = (Q_1)^N, where Q_1 represents the single spin partition function in the canonical ensemble .

To compute the average magnetic moment in a system of non-interacting spins, the partition function can be used. By evaluating temperature and field dependence through Boltzmann distribution, the average magnetic moment is calculated by differentiating the partition function concerning the external magnetic field .

To compute the probability of a particle being in a shaded region in a 2D ideal gas, calculate the integrated partition function over the desired interval. This involves evaluating the partition function over distances from a to b and normalizing against the full partition over the disk to derive the required probability .

For an extreme relativistic gas, the pressure P is related to internal energy U by the relation PV = U/3. This results from the energy-momentum relation ϵ = pc for such gases and affects the derived thermodynamic properties .

The Curie constant can be evaluated by determining the susceptibility of the system in the thermal equilibrium limit. For a generic spin J, it depends on the partition function sums over energy states influenced by the intrinsic parameters J and the field μBgH .

The entropy for a system of N magnetic dipoles, each having energy levels +ϵ and -ϵ, can be derived using the microstates Ω(N, E). The derived expression S = (Nk)[-(Nϵ + E)/2Nϵ]ln(Nϵ + E)/2Nϵ - [(Nϵ - E)/2Nϵ]ln(Nϵ - E)/2Nϵ corresponds to Eq. (3.10.9).

The partition function for an ideal gas confined in a disk with a central force can be written as a product of individual partition functions for each particle. This central force, modeled by the Hamiltonian H = Σ (p_i^2/2m + 1/2 k r_i^2), affects the quantization of energy levels and hence modifies the partition function compared to a free particle scenario by incorporating the potential energy term .

The general definition of entropy in terms of the canonical distribution function is given by S = -k ∑ ρs ln ρs, where ρs is the probability distribution ρs = e^(-βEs)/Z with β = 1/kT and Z being the partition function .

In an extreme relativistic gas, the energy-momentum relationship ϵ = pc influences the form of the partition function and hence the derived density of states. It results in a specific density of states g(E) derived using the inversion formula, reflecting the linear dependence on momentum .

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