022 - pr 06 - grab bag of problems to use QMTP on (go nuts, buddy): Disclaimers: (1) None of the questions in this

problem requires any deep knowledge of the field the problem comes from. (2) Not all parameters which determine the result are mentioned in the formulation of the problem. (3) Some of the mentioned parameters may be irrelevant. Goal: Use your best judgment and intuition to determine the minimum set of relevant parameters. Even if you happen to know the exact solution to the problem, still use qualitative methods to estimate the result. (a) Gravitational collapse (black hole formation) occurs if the radius of a gravitating body of mass M is less than some critical value, rg. Estimate rg. For a hole to be black, the escape velocity of a particle must equal the speed of light. Thus, our parameters should be: mass, radius, the speed of light, and Newtons gravitational constant. We then put a power-law-ansatz to estimate this critical-radius, 3a + b = 1 1 c = a = 2 b R ~ Gm (1.1) a b c 3a c 3a + b c a b 2 a 1 a 2 a b b R ~ G c m = [L M T L T M ] = [ L M T ] = [L ] c a = 0 c2 a =1 b + 2a = 0 The accepted critical radius is R = 2Gm / c 2 , so we missed a pure factor of 2.

(b) Under certain conditions, stars can be described as ultra-relativistic Fermi gases, i.e., ensembles of free fermions moving at speeds very close to the speed of light, c: The dispersion relation at such speeds is c p = c k , where p is the electron momentum. Estimate the dependence of the specific heat (per unit volume) of such a gas on its density n. Let an atom1 of a star have mass m. Then, [CV ] = EK 1 = n a mb c c d k B e = L3 a M b L2 cT c M c Ld T d L2 eT 2 e M e K e = M b + e +cT 2 e c d L2 e + d + 2 c3 a K e
e =1 e =1 d =1 b = c b +1+ c = 1 mc CV ~ n d /3 m d d c d k B = ( 3 )d k B c = d = b 2(1) c d = 2 n 2(1) + d + 2c 3a = 2 a= 1d 3

(1.2)

The missing unknown: There are two physical interpretations for the missing unknown, for (1) Even so we have five unknowns and four equations, the extra missing piece of information comes from the fact that in one dimension, k F ~ n1 , whereas in 2-dimensions, kF ~ n , and in three, kF ~ 3 n . So, while were at it, we might as well write down the dimensional-analysis-order-of-magnitude estimate for an ultra-relativistic system of dimensionality D. Secondly, (2) suppose the ultra-relativistic fermion-ensemble was made of massless fermions (actually, our above analysis is valid for bosons as well). Then: we must find a way for the term mc to make no contribution to the heat capacity, and this is done by setting d = 0 . 3 D = (1, 2, 3) d = ( 3 , 6 , 3 ) nmc d D 1 4 5 2 [ ] = V 1 = L D = L d ( D /3) d D = d ( + 1) d = D D ; (1.3) 3 [zero rest mass] d = 0 3 +1

(c) An ultra-relativistic free Fermi-gas is placed in a box of side L. The temperature is equal to zero. Estimate the pressure that the gas exerts on the walls. For a free Fermi gas to be ultra-relativistic and have a temperature of zero, it must have a maximum density. Let there be N free electrons. Suppose we have a k-space cell with q free electrons per unit cell2. You then have,

1 2

Despite a star being made of a multitude of elements, one can consider an average atoms mass. E.g., q can take on various values for BCC, FCC, orthorhombic, HCP, etc., unit cells.

a =1 N N a cbV c N c c a 2 a + b + 3c a b P = EL = L T M = =M L T 2(1) + b + 3c = 1 P = ( )4/3 ; =n= q V q V (1) b = 2

3 1 2

1 3 2

k F 3 ; (1.4)

(d) A hydrogen atom is placed into a strong magnetic field B. The orbital effect of the field is to squeeze the electron orbit. Estimate the field when this effect becomes well-pronounced. There is an energy-density 2 associated with a uniform magnetic field, B = B z uB = 1 B / 0 . Let us also compute an energy density 2 assicated with the hydrogen atoms ground state, which is exactly E0 = 13.6 eV = 2m2 ( 4e 0 ) 2 , and whose volume can be approximated by VH ~ 4 a0 3 in which a0 = 3
4 0 2 me2
2

, the Bohr radius. Thus, (1.5)

orbit 2 E0 0 2(13.6 1.602 1019 )(4 107 ) uB B 2VH = >1 B > = T = 3000 T deform E0 / VH 2 E0 0 VH 4 1 (5.29 1011 )3 3

Further justification: We can regard the energy density of the B-field and the energy density of the -13.6 eV in the (4/3)*Pi*a0^3 volume as being two fluids with opposing pressures. The B-fields pressure has a directionality such that it radially-squeezes a ring of current3, which can be seen from the Lorentz force law, F = qv B = q (v ) ( Bz ) = qvBs = [radially-directed force] (1.6)

(e) Free massive bosons condense into a state in which all particles have zero energy (Bose-Einstein condensation). For a given density of bosons, estimate the temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation. Parameters you have running around: consider only intensive parameters. Let the bosons have number-density4 n = N / V , and have a mass m. Then, d = 1 d = 1 d = 1 c=2 2c + 2 d 3a = 0 c=2 a b c d 1 3 a b c c d d (1.7) T ~ n m kB = [K ] = [ L M E T E K ] a=2 c 2c 2 d = 0 4 2 3a = 0 3 b+c+d =0 b + 2 1 = 0 b = 1 This yields a transition-temperature of TC ~ n 2/3 2 / (k B m) . This is off from the correct answer by a factor of 2 3.31 . 2.6122/3

Regard the hydrogen atom as a superposition of current loops, whose radius is given by R = 100 | R |100 , where we have the
3 1/ 2

hydrogen-wavefunction ground state x |100 = ( a0 )

4

e r / a0 . This justifies saying J = J , for a cylindrical unit vector.

We are asserting that the two extensive properties, N and V, must enter as an intensive property, n = N/V. Note N is dimensionless, so this requires the (not so deep!) knowledge that a phase-transition as Bose-condensation is an intensive phenomenon.