Harish Chandra Research Institute

Statistical Mechanics
Assignment # 5, Due: 27 February

Anshuman Maharana Winter 2019

1) A system consists of 3 identical non-interacting fermions. There are 4 energy levels (Ea )
accessible to the each fermion. Tabulate the energy eigenstates of the system, characterising
each of them by na , the number of fermions at each energy level. What is the total number
of linearly independent energy eigenstates of the system ? [10 points]

2) A system consists of 2 identical non-interacting bosons. There are 3 energy levels (Ea )
accessible to each boson. Tabulate the energy eigenstates of the system, characterising each
of them by na , the number of fermions at each energy level. What is the total number of
linearly independent energy eigenstates of the system ? [10 points]

3) A system consists of N identical non-interacting fermions. There are M energy levels (Ea )
accessible to the each of the fermions. What is the total number of linearly independent
energy eigenstates of the system ? [10 points]

4) Consider two identical particles in one dimension of mass m under the influence of a
potential V (x) = 21 mω 2 x2 (both particles experience the same potential) at temperature T.

(a) Assuming Maxwell Boltzmann statistics for the particles, write down the expression for
the partition for the system (in the canonical ensemble). Let Z1 (β, ω) be the partition
function of a single simple harmonic oscillator at temperature T (with β = kB1T ) and
angular frequency ω. Express your answer in terms of Z1 (β, ω).

(b) Assuming Bose Einstein statistics for the particles, write down the expression for the
partition for the system (in the canonical ensemble). Let Z1 (β, ω) be the partition
function of a single simple harmonic oscillator at temperature T (with β = kB1T ) and
angular frequency ω. Express your answer in terms of Z1 (β, ω) and Z1 (2β, ω).
[10 points]

5) A spin half particle with no translational degrees of freedom is under the influence of a
~ = B0 ẑ at temperature T. Compute the density matrix of the particle. Use
magnetic field B
this to compute the expectation value of the spin of the electron along the x-axis. [10 points]

6) A harmonic oscillator in one dimension of mass m with angular frequency ω is at tem-

perature T . Compute its density matrix in position basis. You will require the Mehler’s
identity:
∞
tn 2ξηt − t2 (ξ 2 + η 2 )
 
X 1
Hn (ξ)Hn (η) n = √ exp 2
(1)
n=0
2 n! 1 − t 2 1 − t

1
Prove this by starting from the generating functional for Hermite polynomials
∞
−s2 +2ξs
X Hn (ξ)
F (ξ, s) ≡ e = sn . (2)
n=0
n!
2
By taking s = t(η +iu) in (2), multiplying both sides by e−u , integrating over u and making
use of the integral representation of Hermite polynomials
Z +∞
2n 2
Hn (η) = √ du (η + iu)n e−u (3)
π −∞

What is the probability distribution of the oscillator in position space ? Obtain the high
and low temperature limits. [20 points]