assignment Homework

Magnetic susceptibility

Paramagnet Magnetic susceptibility Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020

Consider a paramagnet, which is a material with \(n\) spins per unit volume each of which may each be either “up” or “down”. The spins have energy \(\pm mB\) where \(m\) is the magnetic dipole moment of a single spin, and there is no interaction between spins. The magnetization \(M\) is defined as the total magnetic moment divided by the total volume. Hint: each individual spin may be treated as a two-state system, which you have already worked with above.

1. Find the Helmholtz free energy of a paramagnetic system (assume \(N\) total spins) and show that \(\frac{F}{NkT}\) is a function of only the ratio \(x\equiv \frac{mB}{kT}\).

2. Use the canonical ensemble (i.e. partition function and probabilities) to find an exact expression for the total magentization \(M\) (which is the total dipole moment per unit volume) and the susceptibility \begin{align} \chi\equiv\left(\frac{\partial M}{\partial B}\right)_T \end{align} as a function of temperature and magnetic field for the model system of magnetic moments in a magnetic field. The result for the magnetization is \begin{align} M=nm\tanh\left(\frac{mB}{kT}\right) \end{align} where \(n\) is the number of spins per unit volume. The figure shows what this magnetization looks like.

3. Show that the susceptibility is \(\chi=\frac{nm^2}{kT}\) in the limit \(mB\ll kT\).

assignment Homework

Paramagnetism

Energy Temperature Paramagnetism Thermal and Statistical Physics 2020 Find the equilibrium value at temperature \(T\) of the fractional magnetization \begin{equation} \frac{\mu_{tot}}{Nm} \equiv \frac{2\langle s\rangle}{N} \end{equation} of a system of \(N\) spins each of magnetic moment \(m\) in a magnetic field \(B\). The spin excess is \(2s\). The energy of this system is given by \begin{align} U &= -\mu_{tot}B \end{align} where \(\mu_{tot}\) is the total magnetization. Take the entropy as the logarithm of the multiplicity \(g(N,s)\) as given in (1.35 in the text): \begin{equation} S(s) \approx k_B\log g(N,0) - k_B\frac{2s^2}{N} \end{equation} for \(|s|\ll N\), where \(s\) is the spin excess, which is related to the magnetization by \(\mu_{tot} = 2sm\). Hint: Show that in this approximation \begin{equation} S(U) = S_0 - k_B\frac{U^2}{2m^2B^2N}, \end{equation} with \(S_0=k_B\log g(N,0)\). Further, show that \(\frac1{kT} = -\frac{U}{m^2B^2N}\), where \(U\) denotes \(\langle U\rangle\), the thermal average energy.

assignment Homework

Unknowns Spin-1/2 Brief

Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (3 years) With the Spins simulation set for a spin 1/2 system, measure the probabilities of all the possible spin components for each of the unknown initial states \(\left|{\psi_3}\right\rangle \) and \(\left|{\psi_4}\right\rangle \).

1. Use your measured probabilities to find each of the unknown states as a linear superposition of the \(S_z\)-basis states \(\left|{+}\right\rangle \) and \(\left|{-}\right\rangle \).
2. Articulate a Process: Write a set of general instructions that would allow another student in next year's class to find an unknown state from measured probabilities.
3. Compare Theory with Experiment: Design an experiment that will allow you to test whether your prediction for each of the unknown states is correct. Describe your experiment here, clearly but succinctly, as if you were writing it up for a paper. Do the experiment and discuss your results.
4. Make a Conceptual Connection: In general, can you determine a quantum state with spin-component probability measurements in only two spin-component-directions? Why or why not?

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Nucleus in a Magnetic Field

Energy and Entropy 2021 (2 years)

Nuclei of a particular isotope species contained in a crystal have spin \(I=1\), and thus, \(m = \{+1,0,-1\}\). The interaction between the nuclear quadrupole moment and the gradient of the crystalline electric field produces a situation where the nucleus has the same energy, \(E=\varepsilon\), in the state \(m=+1\) and the state \(m=-1\), compared with an energy \(E=0\) in the state \(m=0\), i.e. each nucleus can be in one of 3 states, two of which have energy \(E=\varepsilon\) and one has energy \(E=0\).

1. Find the Helmholtz free energy \(F = U-TS\) for a crystal containing \(N\) nuclei which do not interact with each other.

2. Find an expression for the entropy as a function of temperature for this system. (Hint: use results of part a.)

3. Indicate what your results predict for the entropy at the extremes of very high temperature and very low temperature.

assignment Homework

Spin Fermi Estimate

Quantum Fundamentals 2023 (2 years) The following two problems ask you to make Fermi estimates. In a good Fermi estimate, you start from basic scientific facts you already know or quantities that you can reasonably estimate based on your life experiences and then reason your way to estimate a quantity that you would not be able guess. You may look up useful conversion factors or constants. Use words, pictures, and equations to explain your reasoning:

1. Imagine that you send a pea-sized bead of silver through a Stern-Gerlach device oriented to measure the z-component of intrinsic spin. Estimate the total z-component of the intrinsic spin of the ball you would measure in the HIGHLY improbable case that every atom is spin up.
2. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are all spin-1/2 particles. Give a (very crude) order of magnitude estimate of the number of these particles in your body.