Consider a collection of 10,000 atoms of rubidium- 87 , confined inside a box of volume (10-5m)3.

(a) Calculate ε0, the energy of the ground state. (Express your answer in both joules and electron-volts.)

(b) Calculate the condensation temperature, and compare kTctoε0.

(c) Suppose that T=0.9TcHow many atoms are in the ground state? How close is the chemical potential to the ground-state energy? How many atoms are in each of the (threefold-degenerate) first excited states?

(d) Repeat parts (b) and (c) for the case of 106atoms, confined to the same volume. Discuss the conditions under which the number of atoms in the ground state will be much greater than the number in the first excited state.

Short Answer

Expert verified

(a). The energy of the Rubidium in the ground state is 7.1×10-14.

(b). Condensation temperature is 8.6×10-8K.

(c). The number of particles in excited state is less than that of the number of particles in ground state.

(d). The number of particles in ground state is greater than that of the number of particles in excited state.

Step by step solution

01

Step 1. Given information

The energy levels of a particle confined to an infinite well with walls located at x=0andx=Lwill be,

En=n2h28mL2

Plank's Constant, h=6.626×10-34J.s

Mass of particle, m=14.4×10-26kg

Length of box, L=10-5m

andnis the positive integer(n=1,2,3,...)

02

Step 2. (a) Considering a free particle inside a box with lengths L1, L2, and L3 along the axis x, y, and z  respectively

Therefore the energy levels of particle confined to this box are,

Enx,ny,nz=Enx+Eny+Enz

=nx2h28mLx2+ny2h28mLy2+nz2h28mLz2

=h28mnx2Lx2+ny2Ly2+nz2Lz2

here the box is taken as cube, so Lx=Ly=Lz=L. Thus the equation become

Enx,ny,nt=h28mL2nx2+ny2+nz2 ( Equation-1)
03

Step 3. Now finding the value of ε0,  For the ground state, nx,ny,nz=(1,1,1). 

Therefore the equation-1 become

ε0=h28m(1)2L2+(1)2(L)2+(1)2(L)2

=h28m3L2

ε0=3h28mL2 (Equation-2)

04

Step 4. Substituting the value of  h, L, m in Equation-2

we get,

ε0=36.626×10-34J·s2814.4×10-26kg10-52

=1.14×10-32J

Converting the values from JtoeV.

ε0=1.14×10-32J1.0eV1.602×10-49J

=7.1×10-14eV

The energy of the Rubidium in the ground =7.1×10-14eV.

05

Step 5. (b) To find the Condensate temperature,Tc we have kBTc=0.527h22πmNV23

Here,

N/V= number of atoms per unit volume,

kB= Boltzmann constant =8.617×10-5eV/K

V=L3= Volume of box

Substituting the value of V=L3in above equation,

kBTC=0.527h22πm2NL323

=0.5272πh2mL2(N)23

06

Step 6. Substituting the value of 83ε0 for h2mL2

we get,

kBTc=0.5272π83ε0(N)23

kBTcε0=(0.224)(N)23

substituting N=10000

kBTcε0=(0.224)(10,000)23

=104

Tc=(104)ε0kB

Substituting the value of ε0,kB

Tc=(104)7.1×10-14eV8.617×10-5eV/K

=8.6×10-8K

Therefore, Condensation temperature=8.6×10-8K

07

Step 7. (c) To find the number of atoms in ground state, we have 

the relation between temperature and condensate temperature,

T=0.9Tc

TTc=0.9

The formula for number of atoms in ground state is,

N0=1-TTe32N

N0=1-(0.9)32N

=(0.146)N

As N=10000,

N0=1460

Therefore number of atoms in ground state=1460

08

Step 8. To find the number of atoms in excited state, we have

Formula of chemical potential, μ=ε0-kBTN0

ε0-μ=kBTN0

Substituting T=0.9Tc,

ε0-μ=kB0.9TcN0

=0.9kBTcN0

Puting the value of kB,Tc,andN0,

ε0-μ=0.98.617×10-5eV/K8.6×10-8K1460

ε0-μ=4.6×10-15eV

=(0.065)7.1×10-14eV

=(0.065)ε0

μ=ε0-(0.065)ε0

The formula for the energy of first excited state is,

ε1=h28mL222+12+12

=6h28mL2

=23h28mL2

Substituting 3h28mL2=ε0

ε1=2ε0

The formula for number of atoms in excited state is

N1=1eε1-μ/kBT-1

Puting the value of ε1,μ,kB,T, we get

N1=1e2ε0-ε0-(0.065)ε0/kB0.9Tc-1

=1eε0+(0.065)ε0/(0.9)kBTc-1

=1e(1.065)ϵ0/(0.9)kBTc-1

Substituting the values of ε0,kB,Tc, we get

N1=1e(1.065)7.1×10-14eV(0.9)8.617×10-5eV/K8.6×10-8K-1

=87

Thus, in one excited state we have 87particles and for three excited state we have 3(87)=261

Since, 261<1460

Therefore, The number of particles in excited state is less than that of the number of particles in ground state.

09

Step 9. (d) The new value of N=106,

Substituting the value of N=106in equation kBTcε0=(0.224)(N)23

kBTCε0=(0.224)10623

=2240

Tc=(2240)ε0kB

Puting the value of ε0,kB

Tc=(2240)7.1×10-14eV8.617×10-5eV/K

=1.85×10-6K

therefore the condensate temperature ==1.85×10-6K=1.85×10-6K

10

Step 10. For the number of particles in ground state

we have,

N0=(0.146)N

Substituting the value of N=106

N0=(0.146)106

=1.46×105

Therefore the number of particles in ground state=1.46×105

11

Step 11. To find the number of particles in excited state

Substituting the new value of N0,Tc,kBin the equation ε0-μ=0.9kBTcN0

ε0-μ=0.98.617×10-5eV/K1.85×10-6K1.46×105

=9.8×10-16eV

=(0.0138)7.1×10-14eV

(0.014)ε0

μ=ε0-(0.014)ε0

Formula for energy of first excited state = ε1=23h28mL2

substituting 3h28mL2=ε0

ε1=2ε0

Formula for the number of atoms in the excited state = N1=1eϵ1-μ/kBT-1

Substituting the value of ε1,μ,kB,T

N1=1e2ε0-c0-(0.014)ε0/kB0.9Tc-1

=1e(1.014)ϵ0/(0.9)kBTc-1

Putting the values of ε0,kB,Tc

N1=1e(1.014)7.1×10-14ev/(0.9)8.617×10-5eV/K1.85×10-6K-1

1990

Thus, in one excited state we have 1990particles and for the three excited states we have 3(1990)=5970

Since, 5970<1.46×105

Therefore, the number of particles in ground state is greater than that of the number of particles in excited state.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Suppose you have a "box" in which each particle may occupy any of 10single-particle states. For simplicity, assume that each of these states has energy zero.

(a) What is the partition function of this system if the box contains only one particle?

(b) What is the partition function of this system if the box contains two distinguishable particles?

(c) What is the partition function if the box contains two identical bosons?

(d) What is the partition function if the box contains two identical fermions?

(e) What would be the partition function of this system according to equation 7.16?

(f) What is the probability of finding both particles in the same single particle state, for the three cases of distinguishable particles, identical bosom, and identical fermions?

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Consider a gas of nidentical spin-0 bosons confined by an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential. (In the rubidium experiment discussed above, the confining potential was actually harmonic, though not isotropic.) The energy levels in this potential are ε=nhf, where nis any nonnegative integer and fis the classical oscillation frequency. The degeneracy of level nis(n+1)(n+2)/2.

(a) Find a formula for the density of states, g(ε), for an atom confined by this potential. (You may assume n>>1.)

(b) Find a formula for the condensation temperature of this system, in terms of the oscillation frequency f.

(c) This potential effectively confines particles inside a volume of roughly the cube of the oscillation amplitude. The oscillation amplitude, in turn, can be estimated by setting the particle's total energy (of order kT) equal to the potential energy of the "spring." Making these associations, and neglecting all factors of 2 and πand so on, show that your answer to part (b) is roughly equivalent to the formula derived in the text for the condensation temperature of bosons confined inside a box with rigid walls.

In the text I claimed that the universe was filled with ionised gas until its temperature cooled to about 3000 K. To see why, assume that the universe contains only photons and hydrogen atoms, with a constant ratio of 109 photons per hydrogen atom. Calculate and plot the fraction of atoms that were ionised as a function of temperature, for temperatures between 0 and 6000 K. How does the result change if the ratio of photons to atoms is 108 or 1010? (Hint: Write everything in terms of dimensionless variables such as t = kT/I, where I is the ionisation energy of hydrogen.)

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where the partial derivative is taken at fixed temperature and volume. Show also that the mean square number of particles is

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