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1
1.1
Introduction
Context
In quantum mechanics, a group of particles known as fermions (for example, electrons, protons and neutrons) obey
the Pauli exclusion principle. This states that two fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state. Since an idealized
non-interacting Fermi gas can be analyzed in terms of single-particle stationary states, we can thus say that two
fermions cannot occupy the same stationary state. These stationary states will typically be distinct in energy. To nd
the ground state of the whole system, we start with an empty system, and add particles one at a time, consecutively
lling up the unoccupied stationary states with the lowest energy. When all the particles have been put in, the Fermi
energy is the kinetic energy of the highest occupied state.
What this means is that even if we have extracted all possible energy from a Fermi gas by cooling it to near absolute
zero temperature, the fermions are still moving around at a high speed. The fastest ones are moving at a velocity
corresponding to a kinetic energy equal to the Fermi energy. This is the Fermi velocity. Only when the temperature
exceeds the Fermi temperature do the electrons begin to move signicantly faster than at absolute zero.
The Fermi energy is one of the important concepts in the solid state physics of metals and superconductors. It is also
a very important quantity in the physics of quantum liquids like low temperature helium (both normal and superuid
3
He), and it is quite important to nuclear physics and to understanding the stability of white dwarf stars against
gravitational collapse.
1
1.2
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CASE
Advanced context
The Fermi energy (EF) of a system of non-interacting fermions is the increase in the ground state energy when
exactly one particle is added to the system, minus the potential energy of that particle. It can also be interpreted as
the maximum kinetic energy of an individual fermion in this ground state. The internal chemical potential at zero
temperature is equal to the Fermi energy.
The one-dimensional innite square well of length L is a model for a one-dimensional box. It is a standard modelsystem in quantum mechanics for which the solution for a single particle is well known. The levels are labeled by a
single quantum number n and the energies are given by
En = E0 +
2 2 2
n .
2mL2
EF = EN /2 E0 =
2 2
(N /2)2 ,
2mL2
for an odd number of electrons (N 1), for an even number of electrons (N).
Three-dimensional case
En = E0 +
2 2
|n|2
2mL2
With |n|2 denoting the square of the usual Euclidean length ( n2x + n2y + n2z )2 . The number of states with energy
less than EF + E 0 is equal to the number of states that lie within a sphere of radius |nF | in the region of n-space
where nx, ny, nz are positive. In the ground state this number equals the number of fermions in the system.
N =2
1 4 3
n
8 3 F
the factor of two is once again because there are two spin states, the factor of 1/8 is because only 1/8 of the sphere
Fermi
Surface
The free fermions that occupy the lowest energy states form a sphere in momentum space. The surface of this sphere is the Fermi
surface.
3N
)1/3
2 2 2
2 2
EF =
n
=
F
2mL2
2mL2
3N
)2/3
ARBITRARY-DIMENSIONAL CASE
Which results in a relationship between the Fermi energy and the number of particles per volume (when we replace
L2 with V 2/3 ):
Et = N E0 +
EF dN =
)
3
EF + E0 N
5
3
Eav = E0 + EF
5
Related quantities
Using this denition of Fermi Energy, various related quantities can be useful. The Fermi temperature is dened
as:
TF =
EF
kB
where kB is the Boltzmann constant and EF the Fermi energy. The Fermi temperature can be thought of as the
temperature at which thermal eects are comparable to quantum eects associated with Fermi statistics.[2] The Fermi
temperature for a metal is a couple of orders of magnitude above room temperature.
Other quantities dened in this context are Fermi momentum and Fermi velocity:
pF =
vF =
2me EF
pF
me
where me is the mass of the electron. These quantities are the momentum and group velocity, respectively, of a
fermion at the Fermi surface. The Fermi momentum can also be described as pF = kF , where kF is the radius of
the Fermi sphere and is called the Fermi wave vector.[3]
These quantities are not well-dened in cases where the Fermi surface is non-spherical. In the case of the quadratic
dispersion relations given above, they are given by:[4]
Arbitrary-dimensional case
g(E) = 2
(
)
ddk
2k 2
d md/2 (E E0 )d/21
=
V
0
(2)d /V
2m
(2)d/2 (d/2 + 1)d
By then looking for the number of particles, we can extract the Fermi energy: n =
EF =
) )2/d
22 ( 1 ( d
2 +1 n
2
m
E0 +EF
E0
g(E) dE To get:
6.1
Metals
The number density N /V of conduction electrons in metals ranges between approximately 1028 and 1029 electrons/m3 ,
which is also the typical density of atoms in ordinary solid matter. This number density produces a Fermi energy of
the order:
EF =
6.2
2 ( 2 28 29 3 )2/3
3 10
m
2 10 eV
2me
White dwarfs
Stars known as white dwarfs have mass comparable to our Sun, but have about a hundredth of its radius. The high
densities means that the electrons are no longer bound to single nuclei and instead form a degenerate electron gas.
The number density of electrons in a white dwarf is of the order of 1036 electrons/m3 . This means their Fermi energy
is:
EF =
6.3
2
2me
3 2 (1036 )
1 m3
)2/3
3 105 eV = 0.3 MeV
Nucleus
Another typical example is that of the particles in a nucleus of an atom. The radius of the nucleus is roughly:
(
)
R = 1.25 1015 m A1/3
where A is the number of nucleons.
The number density of nucleons in a nucleus is therefore:
n=
A
4
3
3 R
1.2 1044 m3
Now since the Fermi energy only applies to fermions of the same type, one must divide this density in two. This is
because the presence of neutrons does not aect the Fermi energy of the protons in the nucleus, and vice versa.
So the Fermi energy of a nucleus is about:
2
EF =
2mp
3 2 (6 1043 )
1 m3
)2/3
3 107 eV = 30 MeV
The radius of the nucleus admits deviations around the value mentioned above, so a typical value for the Fermi energy
is usually given as 38 MeV.
See also
FermiDirac statistics: the distribution of electrons over stationary states for a non-interacting fermions at
non-zero temperature.
REFERENCES
References
[1] The use of the term Fermi energy as synonymous with Fermi level (a.k.a. electrochemical potential) is widespread in
semiconductor physics. For example: Electronics (fundamentals And Applications) by D. Chattopadhyay, Semiconductor
Physics and Applications by Balkanski and Wallis.
[2] Introduction to Quantum Statistical Thermodyamics (PDF). Utah State University Physics. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
[3] Ashcroft, Neil W.; Mermin, N. David (1976). Solid State Physics. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0-03-083993-9.
[4] Fermi level and Fermi function, from HyperPhysics
Kroemer, Herbert; Kittel, Charles (1980). Thermal Physics (2nd ed.). W. H. Freeman Company. ISBN
0-7167-1088-9.
Table of Fermi energies, velocities, and temperatures for various elements.
9
9.1
9.2
Images
File:Fermi_energy_momentum.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Fermi_energy_momentum.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: en:Image:Fermi energy momentum.png Original artist: User:Stannered
9.3
Content license
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