Lecture XVI 46

Lecture XVI: Applications and Connections

Partition Function of ideal (Non-Interacting) Gas of Quantum Particles
Useful for normalisation of interacting theories
e.g. Non-interacting fermions:

H =

As a warm-up exercise, let us rst use coherent state representation:

Quantum Partition function
Z
0
= tr e
(

H

N)
=

n
n|e
(

H

N)
|n
In coherent state basis:
Z
0
=
_
d[

, ]e

|e
(

H

N)
|
Using ident. N.B. n
2

= n

e
(

H

N)
= e

()a

a
=

e
() n
=

_
1 +
_
e
()
1
_
n

Z
0
=
_
d[

, ]e

_
|
..
e

_
1 +
_
e
()
1
_
(

_
=

_
d

1 2

..
e
2

_
1 +
_
e
()
1
_
(

_
d

_
1 2

_
e
()
1
_

_
d

(1 + e
()
)

_
1 + e
()

i.e. Fermi Dirac distribution

Exercise: show (using CS) that in Bosonic case
Z
0
=

n=0
e
n()
=

_
1 e
()

1
Bose-Einstein distribution
Lecture Notes October 2005
Lecture XVI 47
Connection of CSPI with FPI
e.g. Quantum Harmonic oscillator:

H =
p
2
2m
+
1
2
m
2
q
2
In second quantised form,

H = (a

a + 1/2), [a, a

] = 1, i.e. bosons!
Z = tr(e

H
) =
_

()=

(0)
()=(0)
D[

, ] exp
_

_

0
_

_
_
e
/2
in D[

, ], () complex scalar eld

Parameterise complex eld in terms of two real scalar elds
() =
_
m
2
_
1/2
_
q() +
ip()
m
_
Substituting (e.g.

=
m
2
2
(q
2
+
p
2
(m)
2
)) and noting
_

0
d q p =
_

0
d p q
Z =
_
()=

(0)
()=(0)
D[p, q] exp
_

_

0
d
_
p
2
2m
+
1
2
m
2
q
2

ip q

__
cf. (Euclidean time) FPI = it/, = it

/,
i

=
q
t

Z =
_
D[p, q] exp
_
i

_
t
0
dt

(p q H(p, q))
_
Partition Function of Harmonic Oscillator from CSPI
(i) Bosonic oscillator:
Z
B
=
J det(

+ )
1
..
_
D[

, ] exp
_

_

0
d

(

+ )
_
=
_
(

n
d

n
d
n
)e

P
n

n
(in+)n
= J

n
[i
n
+ ]
1
=
J

n=1
_
()
2
+
_
2n

_
2
_
1
J

n=1
_
1 +
_

2n
_
2
_
1
=
J

2 sinh(/2)

n=1
[1 + (x/n)
2
] = (sinh x)/x
Normalisation: T 0, Z dominated by g.s. lim

Z
B
= e
/2
(= Z
F
)
i.e. J

= Z
B
=
1
2 sinh(/2)
Lecture Notes October 2005
Lecture XVI 48
(ii) Fermionic oscillator: Gaussian Grassmann integration
Z
F
= J det(

+ ) = J

n
[i
n
+ ] = J

n=0
_
()
2
+
_
(2n + 1)

_
2
_
= J

n=1
_
1 +
_

(2n + 1)
_
2
_
= J

cosh(/2)

n=1
[1 + (x/(2n + 1))
2
] = cosh(x/2)
Using normalisation: lim

Z
F
= e
/2
J

= 2e

Z
F
= 2e

cosh(/2).
cf. direct computation:
Z
B
= e
/2

n=0
e
n
, Z
F
= e
/2
1

n=0
e
n
.
Note that normalising prefactor J

involves only a constant oset of free energy,

F = k
B
T lnZ
statistical correlations encoded in content of functional integral
In notes, two case studies:
(i) Plasma Theory of the weakly interacting electron gas
(ii) BCS theory of superconductivity a prototype for gauge theories
We will deal with project (ii)
Lecture Notes October 2005