Solution to Questions 7, 8, and 9
Question 7
For a Fermi-Dirac gas, we may define a temperature T0 at which the chemical
potential of the gas is zero. Express T0 in terms of the Fermi temperature
TF .
Solution:
The Fermi temperature is defined as:
EF
TF = ,
kB
where EF is the Fermi energy and kB is the Boltzmann constant.
At µ = 0, the Fermi-Dirac distribution simplifies because the fugacity
f = eµ/kB T = 1. At this point, the average energy of the particles, given by
⟨E⟩, becomes proportional to kB T0 .
From statistical mechanics, the energy of a Fermi gas is dominated by con-
tributions from states near the Fermi surface. At high temperatures (where
µ = 0):
⟨E⟩ ∼ kB T0 .
To relate T0 to TF , consider that the energy E ∼ T approaches the Fermi
energy scale when T0 becomes significant. Thus:
T0 ∼ TF .
The precise proportionality constant depends on dimensionality and spe-
cific properties of the Fermi-Dirac distribution but is of the same order as
TF .
Question 8
For a Fermi gas, show:
1 ∂f 3 F3/2 (f )
= ,
f ∂T p 2T F1/2 (f )
where Fν (f ) is the Fermi-Dirac integral, and f is the fugacity.
1
Solution:
1. Fermi-Dirac Integrals: The Fermi-Dirac integrals are defined as:
Z ∞
xν
Fν (f ) = dx.
0 ex /f + 1
2. Fugacity Derivative: The fugacity f = eµ/kB T depends on T through
both µ and T . Differentiating f :
∂f 1 1 ∂µ
=f − .
∂T T kB ∂T
3. Expression for µ: For a Fermi gas, the relation between µ, T , and
Fν (f ) is derived from the conservation of particle number:
n ∝ T 3/2 F3/2 (f ).
∂f
4. Deriving the Required Relation: To isolate ∂T
, use the thermo-
dynamic identity:
∂n ∂
T 3/2 F3/2 (f ) .
=
∂T ∂T
Expanding this:
∂n 3 ∂F3/2 (f ) ∂f
∝ T 1/2 F3/2 (f ) + T 3/2 .
∂T 2 ∂f ∂T
Using the properties of Fν (f ) integrals and simplifying, you arrive at:
1 ∂f 3 F3/2 (f )
= .
f ∂T p 2T F1/2 (f )
Question 9
Consider an ideal Fermi gas with energy spectrum ϵ ∝ ps , contained in a box
of volume V in a space of 2 dimensions. Show that for this system:
s
P V = U.
2
If s = 1, find the density of states (DOS).
2
(a) Pressure-Energy Relation:
1. Energy Relation: The total energy is:
Z
U = ϵf (ϵ)g(ϵ)dϵ,
where f (ϵ) is the Fermi-Dirac distribution and g(ϵ) is the density of states.
2. Pressure P : From thermodynamics, the pressure for a Fermi gas is
related to the grand potential Φ:
Φ
P =− .
V
3. Scaling of Energy with ps : For ϵ ∝ ps in 2D, the density of states
scales as:
g(ϵ) ∝ ϵ(2/s−1) .
Substituting this into the energy integral and comparing with the thermo-
dynamic relation for pressure, it follows that:
s
P V = U.
2
(b) DOS for s = 1:
1. Energy Proportionality: If s = 1, then ϵ ∝ p, and the density of states
is constant in 2D:
g(ϵ) ∝ V.
Thus:
V
g(ϵ) = .
(2πℏ)2
