Physics 6011, Spring 2015, Homework 8, Version 1

Due: Monday, March 9, noon

Important note: solutions for some or all of the problems in this assignment can be found
in various sources. In particular, the paramagnet problem and the Einstein solid problem
are explicitly solved in most Statistical Mechanics textbooks. It is of course reasonable and
encouraged to read other portions of the class textbook (or other textbooks if you so desire),
to discuss with classmates, or to ask questions to the instructor. However, please resist the
temptation to read (or copy) the solutions to any of the problems, and try your best to solve
the problems by your own effort.
0. Time spent (5 pts.)
At the top of the first page of your solution, please leave 5 lines of space for the grades (and any general
comments) to be written.
Just after that, please write a table containing the following columns. Each column should report
only one time. In all cases, the times reported should refer to work done after the deadline for the
previous homework. Columns: i) One column for the total time spent on reading assignments ii) One
column for the total time spent reading/studying in preparation to work on the homework iii) One
column per problem containing the time spent working on that problem (please answer individually for
each problem), iv) One column for the total time spent on the course (in hours), including everything
you did for the course except the 3 hours of lectures and the discussion hour. This week, your table
should report 6 times: 1 for reading assignments, 1 for reading in preparation for homework, 3 for
times spent in each problem, and 1 for the total time.
1. Adiabatic Processes in Paramagnets
(In this problem, use only Thermodynamics.) Consider a Curie paramagnet, for which the magnetization M is given by M = CH/T , with H the magnetic field, T the temperature, and C a constant.
Assume that the work in this case is given by dW
= HdM .
(a) By using the first and second laws of thermodynamics, show that in this particular case the energy
E(M, T ) is a function of T only. Assuming the heat capacity CM at constant magnetization to
be constant, show that during a reversible adiabatic process


1
M2
exp
= constant
T
2CCM
(b) Show that the efficiency |W |/Q> for a Carnot cycle with the magnet as the working substance
is equal to = 1 T< /T> .
2. Entropy of mixing
(a) Problem 1.11 from Pathria, 3rd edition.
(b) Problem 1.13 from Pathria, 3rd edition.
3. A molecular crystal
Consider a crystal containing N noninteracting molecules, where each molecule has r + 1 states of
energies 0, , 2, , r respectively.

(a) Compute, as functions of T and N , the canonical partition function Q(T, N ), the free energy
A(T, N ), the internal energy E(T, N ), the heat capacity C(T, N ), and the entropy S(T, N ) for
this system.
(b) Why is there only one relevant specific heat here, (i.e. as opposed to having Cp 6= Cv )?
4. A paramagnet
Consider now a crystal containing N paramagnetic ions of angular momentum J in a magnetic field
B. Each ion has an energy gB Bm, where m = J, , J.
(a) Draw two side-by-side energy level diagrams (i.e. a set of horizontal lines, such that the vertical
position of each of the lines represents the energy of a state), one representing the possible energies
of one of the molecules in the previous question and the other representing the possible energies
of a paramagnetic ion. Remember that the zero of energy is arbitrary, and use this to shift one
of the diagrams vertically so that the lowest state in the two diagrams correspond to each other.
Show that the paramagnet problem maps onto the problem of the molecular crystal discussed
above and find the connections between the parameters in the two problems.
(b) Use these connections, and the results you just obtained for the case of the molecules, to compute
the canonical partition function Q(T, N ), the free energy A(T, N ), the internal energy E(T, N ),
the heat capacity C(T, N ), and the entropy S(T, N ) for the paramagnet.
PN
(c) Additionally, compute the expectation value hM i of the magnetization M = i=1 mi , its variance h(M )2 i, the isothermal susceptibility T = hM i/B|T , and find the relation between
h(M )2 i and T .
5. An Einstein solid
Consider a crystal containing N identical atoms. As a crude approximation, assume that each atom is
under the effect of a 3D harmonic potential which keeps it localized, and that atoms do not interact
with each other. We have therefore 3N simple harmonic oscillators, all of them with the same angular
frequency .
(a) Show that this problem is equivalent to the r limit of the molecular crystal problem, and
find the relations between the parameters of the two problems.
(b) Use these connections, and the results you obtained for the case of the molecules, to compute the
canonical partition function Q(T, N ), the free energy A(T, N ), the internal energy E(T, N ), the
heat capacity C(T, N ), and the entropy S(T, N ) for the Einstein solid.
(c) Additionally, compute the expectation value hni i of the quantum number for each of the harmonic
oscillators, and show that it is equal to the mean occupation number for photons (Chandler p. 91,
Pathria Sec. 7.2), or equivalently to the Bose-Einstein occupation number in the case when the
chemical potential is zero (Pathria Section 6.3, Chandler p. 95)
(d) Compute the variance h(ni )2 i of the occupation number for oscillator i (1 i 3N ), and the
correlation hni nj i between the occupation numbers for two oscillators i and j.
Some possibly useful formulas

PN

i=1

i = N (N + 1)/2

PN

i=0

zi =

z N +1 1
z1

x x hxi

h(x)2 i = h(x hxi)2 i = hx2 i hxi2