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Spring 2008 P 2

This document outlines instructions for a qualifying exam consisting of 8 physics problems. Candidates are instructed to solve 6 of the 8 problems, which are of equal weight. Mathematical tables and formula sheets are provided, and calculators are allowed. The document also provides various physical constants and fully describes the 8 exam problems involving topics like Poisson's equation, scattering theory, classical mechanics, and plasma physics. Candidates are asked to clearly mark the problems they have solved to be graded.

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paimo
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43 views

Spring 2008 P 2

This document outlines instructions for a qualifying exam consisting of 8 physics problems. Candidates are instructed to solve 6 of the 8 problems, which are of equal weight. Mathematical tables and formula sheets are provided, and calculators are allowed. The document also provides various physical constants and fully describes the 8 exam problems involving topics like Poisson's equation, scattering theory, classical mechanics, and plasma physics. Candidates are asked to clearly mark the problems they have solved to be graded.

Uploaded by

paimo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Spring 2008 Qualifying Exam

Part II
Mathematical tables are provided. Formula sheets are provided.
Calculators are allowed.
Please clearly mark the problems you have solved and want to be graded.
Do only mark the required number of problems.
Physical Constants:
Planck constant: h = 6.6260755 10-34 Js, = 1.05457266 10-34 Js
Boltzmann constant: kB = 1.380658 10-23 J/K
Elementary charge: e = 1.60217733 10-19 C
Avogadro number: NA = 6.0221367 1023 particles/mol
Speed of light: c = 2.99792458 108 m/s
Electron rest mass: me = 9.1093897 10-31 kg
Proton rest mass: mp = 1.6726231 10-27 kg
Neutron rest mass: mn = 1.6749286 10-27 kg
Bohr radius a0 = 5.29177 10-11 m
Compton wavelength of the electron: c = h/(me c) = 2.42631 10-12 m
Permeability of free space: 0 = 4 10-7 N/A2
Permittivity of free space: 0 = 1/0c2
Gravitational constant: G = 6.6726 10-11 m3/(kg s2)

Solve 6 out of the 8 problems! (All problems carry the same weight. In questions with
sub-questions (a) and (b), questions (a) and (b) are weighted equally.)
Problem 1:
In a vacuum diode, electrons are emitted from a hot cathode, at potential zero, and
accelerated across a gap to the anode, which is held at positive potential V. The cloud of
moving electrons within the gap rapidly builds up to the point where it reduces the field
at the surface of the cathode to zero, i.e. /z = 0 at z = 0. Assume that the plate areas A
are large relative to their separation d so that edge effects are negligible (A >> d2). Then
the potential , the charge density , and the electron speed v are all functions of the
location z, only.
(a) Write Poisson's equation for the region between the plates. Express the charge
density in terms of the current density, i.e., show
2
j
(z)
.
2
0 v(z)
z

Does the current density vary as a function of z? Assume the electrons start from rest at
the cathode (z = 0) and find their speed at point z where the potential is (z).
(b) Find the relationship between current and voltage for a space-charge limited DC
current by solving the second-order differential equation for (z).
(Hint: Differentiate the 2nd order Poisson equation first, then integrate.)

Problem 2:
A thin uniform rod of length L and rotates with a constant angular velocity around a
fixed point A. (See figure!) Find the angle of inclination by either finding the EulerLagrange equations of motion, or by using methods based on dAlemberts principle.

Problem 3:
Consider the reaction
p + p p +p ++
Assume that the masses of proton and Lambda are 1 GeV/c2.
(a) Consider a laboratory frame in which one of the two initial state protons is at rest.
What is the "threshold" energy, i.e. the minimum energy that the incident proton must
have for the reaction to be kinematically possible?
(b) For the reaction at threshold as described in part (a), what is the mean distance that
the Lambda travels before it decays? The mean lifetime of the Lambda in its rest frame
is ~ 2.6*10-10 s.

Problem 4:
A spinless particle of mass M is scattered by a central potential of finite range such that
the wave function at low energies and for large r is well described by
(r ) e ikz

e i(kr )
sin ,
kr

where is a phase shift for s-wave scattering.


(a) Find the total low-energy cross section in terms of the quantities defined.
(b) Find the phase shift if the slow particle scatters off a central potential of the form
V(r) = V0, for r < a, V(r) = 0, for r > a.

Problem 5:
A particle of mass m moves under an attractive central force with magnitude A/r3.
(a) Find the condition for which it moves with constant radial speed.
(b) For this special case, find the orbital equation r(), where r and are polar
coordinates.

Problem 6:
A tenuous plasma consists of free electric charges of mass m and charge e (where e is
positive). There are n charges per unit volume. Assume that the density is uniform and
that the interactions between the charges may be neglected. Also assume that the charges
can be treated classically.
A linearly-polarized electromagnetic wave of frequency is incident on the plasma.
Let the electric field component of the plane wave be E = E0exp(i(kx - t)).
(a) Starting from the Lorentz-force equation, solve the equation of motion for a single
charge and find the current density j and the conductivity of the plasma as a function of
.
(b) Assume a plane wave of the form E = E0exp(i(kx - t)) propagates in the plasma
with conductivity . Starting from Maxwells equations, find the dispersion relation
the relation between k and for the electromagnetic wave in the plasma and the index
of refraction as a function of .

Problem 7:
Assume that the highest energy (Fermi energy) of an electron inside a block of metal is
5 eV and that the work function of the metal, i.e. the additional energy that is necessary to
remove an electron from the metal, is 3 eV.
(a) Estimate the distance through which the wave function of an electron at the Fermi
level penetrates the barrier responsible for the work function, assuming that the width of
the 3eV barrier is much greater than the penetration distance. (In this estimate you can
assume that the barrier is a simple step function.)

(b) Estimate the transmission coefficient (i.e., provide a numerical value for it) for an
electron at the Fermi level if the 3 eV barrier is now assumed have a width of 20 .
Note: the probability of transmission through a barrier of width a is given by
4E
E
1

V0
V0
T
2m(V0 E
4E
E
1
sinh 2
a
2

V0
V0

Problem 8:
A coupled pendulum is composed of two masses, 3m and m, and two strings of equal
length L as shown.

At t = 0 the system is released from rest with the upper (heavier) mass not displaced from
its equilibrium position and the lower mass displaced to the right a distance a.
x2(0) = 0, x1(0) = a << L.
(a) Find the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion.
(b) Find the eigen-frequencies or normal modes, and find an expression for the
subsequent motion of the lower mass, x1(t).

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