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PHY 418: Statistical Mechanics I
Prof. S. Teitel: stte@pas.rochester.edu ---- Spring 2021

Unit 3

Unit 1Unit 2Unit 3Unit 4

Quantum Ensembles

April 1 to April 28

Your response to Discussion Question 8 is due Tuesday, April 6 at 5pm.
Your solutions to Problem Set 8 are due Thursday, April 8, at 5pm.
Your response to Discussion Question 9 is due Tuesday, April 13 at 5pm.
Your solutions to Problem Set 9 are due Thursday, April 15, at 5pm.
Your response to Discussion Question 10 is due Tuesday, April 20 at 5pm.
Your solutions to Problem Set 10 are due Thursday, April 22, at 5pm.
Your response to Discussion Question 11 is due Tuesday, April 27 at 5pm.
Your solutions to Problem Set 11 are due Thursday, April 29, at 5pm.

In this unit we continue our discussion of statistical mechanics, but now applied to systems that obey quantum mechanics. We will discuss formally what we mean by a quantum ensemble, and the quantum density matrix. We will discuss how the symmetry of the wavefunction leads to two different types of particles, bosons and fermions. Most of our discussions will be based on systems of non-interacting particles (because that is the only case that is easy to solve analytically!). Yet we will see that, even for non-interacting particles, quantum statistics leads to non-classical correlations between particles. We will see that, for non-interacting particles, it is the grand canonical ensemble that is easiest to work with. We will discuss the leading quantum corrections to the classical limit, and then discuss situations where quantum effects are dominant. We will return to the problem of the specific heat of solids and see why the Law of Dulong and Petit fails. We will discuss blackbody radiation, the Sommerfeld model for conduction electrons in a metal, Pauli paramagnetism, and Bose-Einstein condensation.

Below is a list of links to course notes for each topic in this unit, followed by links to recorded video lectures.

Notes and Video Lectures

  • Notes 3-1Video 3-1 [83 min] - Quantum Ensembles and the Density Matrix

  • Notes 3-2Video 3-2 [36 min] - Quantum Many Particle Systems -- Bosons vs Fermions

  • Notes 3-3Video 3-3 [71 min] - Particle in a Box States, the Two Particle Density Matrix

  • Notes 3-4Video 3-4 [45 min] - Quantum Partition Function for Non-Interacting Particles

  • Notes 3-5Video 3-5 [42 min] - Average Occupation Numbers and Comparison of Quantum and Classical Ideal Gases

  • Notes 3-6Video 3-6 [78 min] - The Quantized Harmonic Oscillator as Bosons, the Debye Model for the Specific Heat of a Solid

  • Notes 3-7Video 3-7 [44 min] - Black Body Radiation

  • Notes 3-8Video 3-8 [61 min] - The Quantum Ideal Gas and the Leading Quantum Correction to the Ideal Gas Law

  • Notes 3-9Video 3-9 [73 min] - The Degenerate Fermi Gas, the Sommerfeld Model for Electrons in a Conductor

  • Notes 3-10Video 3-10 [81 min] - Pauli Paramagnetism of the Electron Gas

  • Notes 3-11Video 3-11 [66 min] - The Ideal Bose Gas and Bose-Einstein Condensation