Charles Link said:You can do a Taylor expansion for ## E_p << kT ## and it says the mean occupancy for this case (for each photon mode) is ## kT/E_p ##. This implies you will get multiple photons in the same mode if ## kT>> E_p ## where ## E_p ## is the photon energy.
When you compute the energy from these states, you multiply the occupancy by the energy. There is also one other factor included in this integration though, and that is the density of states in k-space, where ## E=\hbar c k ##. That density is proportional to ## k^2 ## and goes to zero as ## k=2 \pi/\lambda ## goes to zero, i.e. for long wavelengths.TheCanadian said:But why? Why is it more probable to find a state occupied by a photon as ##E_p## goes to 0? I suppose I am wondering if there is any minimum to a photon's energy (i.e. frequency). In this case, the mean occupancy is ##kT/E_p## but can't ##E_p## be an arbitrarily small quantum of energy?
is to a hyperphysics page. The explanation on that page requires a correction. The Bose-Einstein distribution is not the 'probability' of a particle having the energy but the thermodynamic average number of particles having the energy E.TheCanadian said:When computing the probability distribution of bosons
It means that as we approach zero energy, the number of photons in the given energy state approaches to infinity, i.e. infinite number of photons at zero energy.TheCanadian said:is A = 1 for photons? Does this not imply that photons will have an increasingly high probability of being present as E approaches 0?
This is actually a very interesting question.TheCanadian said:I am wondering if there is any minimum to a photon's energy (i.e. frequency).
The Bose-Einstein distribution for photons is a statistical distribution that describes the probability of finding photons in different energy states at a given temperature. It is based on the principles of quantum mechanics and is used to understand the behavior of photons in a system.
The Bose-Einstein distribution is different from other statistical distributions because it takes into account the quantum nature of particles, specifically the fact that photons are indistinguishable and can occupy the same energy state. This leads to the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate at low temperatures.
The key parameters in the Bose-Einstein distribution for photons are the temperature of the system and the energy of the photons. These parameters determine the shape of the distribution and the number of photons in each energy state.
As the temperature of the system decreases, the Bose-Einstein distribution shifts towards lower energy states, leading to an increase in the number of photons in the lowest energy state. At low temperatures, the distribution approaches a step function, indicating the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate.
The Bose-Einstein distribution for photons has various applications, including in the study of laser physics, photonics, and quantum optics. It is also used in the development of new technologies such as Bose-Einstein condensate-based sensors and quantum computing devices.