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Physics Midterm for Students

The document is a midterm exam for a course on Condensed Matter Physics, consisting of four problems covering topics such as ion density in the ionosphere, free electron gas, low-temperature conductivity, and lattice structures. Each problem includes multiple parts that require theoretical derivations and qualitative explanations. The exam has a total of 50 marks and is designed to assess students' understanding of key concepts in condensed matter physics.

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Vikk Star
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47 views3 pages

Physics Midterm for Students

The document is a midterm exam for a course on Condensed Matter Physics, consisting of four problems covering topics such as ion density in the ionosphere, free electron gas, low-temperature conductivity, and lattice structures. Each problem includes multiple parts that require theoretical derivations and qualitative explanations. The exam has a total of 50 marks and is designed to assess students' understanding of key concepts in condensed matter physics.

Uploaded by

Vikk Star
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PH208 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS 1

MIDTERM EXAM
MAXIMUM MARKS: 50 DURATION: 3 Hours

Problem 1
We know from experience that the ionosphere (begins from about 50 km above
the earth’s surface) reflects radio waves of ≈ 5 MHz and higher frequencies.
1. [2] Using simple scaling estimate the ion density in the ionosphere.
2. [1.5] Would you expect this to be same at all times of the day and night?
3. [1.5] Can you provide a qualitative explanation of why distant radio
stations are often better heard at night?

Problem 2
Consider the free and independent electron gas in one dimension.
1. [2] Express the Fermi energy in terms of electronic density n.
2. [2 + 2] Obtain the electronic density of states per unit length for
ℏ2 k 2
(a) Parabolic dispersion : ϵ(k) =
2m
(b) Relativistic dispersion : ϵ(k) = ck
3. [3] Using Sommerfeld expansion, obtain low-temperature specific heat
for both of the cases.
4. (a) [2] Using Sommerfeld expansion express the chemical potential µ
as a function of temperature T for both of the cases.
(b) [4] How does the shift in chemical potential µ from µ(T = 0) as
temperature increases differ in the two cases of parabolic and rel-
ativistic dispersion? Explain the reason of this difference physi-
cally/pictorially without resorting to Sommerfeld expansion.

1
Problem 3
1. [6] Starting with the Boltzmann equation in relaxation time approxima-
tion:
!  ϵ −µ
∂f0 ∇µ
  
f (k) = f0 (k) + − τ(ϵk )v k · −e E + − k ∇T
∂ϵk e T

Derive the low temperature dc conductivity and show that this is the same
ne2 τ
as the expression σ = obtained from Drude model. Assume (i) uni-
m
form electric field along x− axis, (ii) chemical potential and tempearture
are constant throughout the system. Take relaxation time τ to be inde-
pendent of energy.
1 ∂ϵk
2. [4] Usually the group velocity v k is given by . Let’s say we re-
ℏ ∂k
dk
place this with the following : v k = × ω(k)ẑ. Using this form and
dt
dk
the semiclassical equation of motion ℏ = F show that for a constant
dt
electric field E = E x̂ you get a current along ŷ which is proportional to
E 2 . (This is known as the non-linear Hall effect.)

Problem 4
1. Consider the 2D triangular lattice (with lattice parameter a) as shown
here in figure 1:
(a) [3] Identify two sets of primitive translation vectors for the Bravais
lattice.
(b) [1.5] Draw the Wigner-Seitz cell in the real space for any one choice.
(c) [2] What are the reciprocal lattice vectors of the above Bravais
lattice for any one choice of the lattice vectors ?
(d) [1.5] Draw the Wigner-Seitz cell in the reciprocal space.
(e) [2] Indicate the corresponding lattice planes in real-space for any
two reciprocal lattice vectors as your wish.
2. [10] Now consider the honeycomb lattice as shown here in figure 2. Is
this lattice a Bravais lattice ? If not then how can you convert into a
Bravais lattice ? Now repeat the parts of the previous question.

2
Figure 1: Triangular Lattice

Figure 2: Honeycomb Lattice

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