The deduction of Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distrbiutions

In summary, the partion function in the grand canonical emsemble is equal to the product of the partion function in the canonical ensemble and the function that sums over all possible state assignments.
  • #1
Lebnm
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I am studyng the deduction of Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distribution, but I'm not understanding one part. If we have a system of ##N## identical non-interaction particles, with energies levels ##\varepsilon _{l}## and occupation number ##n_{l}## (this is the number of particles with the same energy ##\varepsilon_{l}##), the total energy and the partion function in the canonical emsemble are $$E(\{n_{l}\}) = \sum_{l} \varepsilon _{l} n_{l}, \ \ \ Z_{N} = \sum _{\{n_{l}\}} e^{-\beta E(\{n_{l}\})} = \sum _{\{n_{l}\}}\prod _{l}e^{-\beta n_{l}\varepsilon_{l}},$$where ##\{n_{l}\}## means tha the sum is over all possible sets of values of number occupations, such that ##\sum_{l} n_{l} = N##. Now, the partion function in the grand canonical emsemble is $$Q = \sum _{N} e^{\beta \mu N} Z_{N}.$$ The book I am reading say that this is equal to $$Q = \prod _{l} \sum _{n_{l}}[e^{-\beta(\varepsilon - \mu)}]^{n_{l}}$$ but I don't understand why. Note that the sum passed from a sum over the set ##\{n_{l}\}## to a sum over the values of ##n_{l}##.
 
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  • #2
Okay, let me see if I can go through it in more detail.

Let's let a "state" ##s## be an assignment of occupation numbers to each energy level ##l##. So ##n_{sl}## is the occupation number of energy level ##l## in state ##s##. Then in terms of ##s## we can write:

##Z_N = \sum_s e^{-\beta \sum_l n_{sl} \epsilon_l} \delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}##
## = \sum_s (\Pi_l e^{-\beta n_{sl} \epsilon_l}) \delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}##

where the ##\delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}## returns 0 unless ##\sum_l n_{sl} = N##

So instead of only summing over states with ##N## particles, I'm summing over all possible states, but the ones with a number of particles different from ##N## make no contribution, because of the ##\delta##.

Now, let's form the grand canonical partition function:

##Q = \sum_N e^{\beta \mu N} Z_N##
## = \sum_N e^{\beta \mu N} \sum_s (\Pi_l e^{-\beta n_{sl} \epsilon_l}) \delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}##
## = \sum_N \sum_s e^{\beta \mu N} (\Pi_l e^{-\beta n_{sl} \epsilon_l}) \delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}##

Now, assuming that we can switch the order of summation (which we can, unless there are convergence issues, which I'm assuming there aren't), we can write:

##Q = \sum_s \sum_N e^{\beta \mu N} (\Pi_l e^{-\beta n_{sl} \epsilon_l}) \delta_{N - \sum_l n_{sl}}##

We can do the inner sum over ##N##, and because of the presence of the ##\delta##, the only contributions are when ##N = \sum_l n_{sl}##. So we can get rid of ##N## to get:

##Q = \sum_s e^{\beta \mu \sum_l n_{sl}} (\Pi_l e^{-\beta n_{sl} \epsilon_l})##
##Q = \sum_s \Pi_l e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_{sl}}##

The final simplification is to bring the summation inside the product. Since summing over all possible states ##s## is equivalent to summing over all possible assignments to ##n_1, n_2, ...##, we can rewrite this as:

##Q = \sum_{n_1} \sum_{n_2} ... e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_{1}} e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_{2}} ... ##
##= \sum_{n_1} e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_{1}} \sum_{n_2} e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_2} ...##
##= (\sum_{n_1} e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_{1}}) (\sum_{n_2} e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n_2}) ...##
##= \Pi_l (\sum_n e^{-\beta (\epsilon_l - \mu) n})##
 
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  • #3
The mathematical fact that can be used is this:

##\sum_{n_1} \sum_{n_2} ... \sum_{n_M} f(1, n_1) f(2, n_2) ... f(M, n_M) = \Pi_l \sum_n f(l, n)##
 
  • #4
thank you!
 

1. What are the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions?

The Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions are mathematical models used to describe the distribution of particles in a system at equilibrium. They are named after Enrico Fermi and Satyendra Nath Bose, who independently developed these distributions in the 1920s.

2. How are the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions derived?

The Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions are derived using statistical mechanics, which applies the principles of probability to systems of particles. These distributions take into account the quantum nature of particles and their interactions with each other.

3. What is the difference between the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions?

The main difference between the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions is that they apply to different types of particles. The Fermi-Dirac distribution describes the behavior of fermions, such as electrons and protons, which obey the Pauli exclusion principle. The Bose-Einstein distribution, on the other hand, applies to bosons, such as photons and mesons, which do not obey this principle.

4. What are some real-world applications of the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions?

The Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions have many practical applications in physics and engineering. They are used to describe the behavior of electrons in semiconductors, which is crucial for the development of electronic devices. They also play a role in understanding the behavior of matter at extremely low temperatures, such as in superconductors and Bose-Einstein condensates.

5. Are there any limitations to the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions?

While the Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions are powerful tools for understanding the behavior of particles in a system, they have some limitations. These distributions assume that the particles in the system are in thermal equilibrium, which may not always be the case. They also do not take into account the effects of external forces or interactions between particles, which may be significant in some systems.

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