NATURAL SCIENCES TRIPOS Part II

Wednesday 31st May 2006 1.30 to 4.30

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS (1)
Attempt the whole of Section A, the whole of Section B, one question
from Section C and one question from Section D.
Answers from Section A should be tied up in a single bundle, with the
letter A written clearly on the cover sheet. Answers to each
question from Sections B, C and D should be tied up separately,
with the number of the question written clearly on the cover sheet.
Sections A and B each carry approximately a quarter of the total
marks. The approximate number of marks allocated to each part
of questions in Sections C and D is indicated in the right margin.
This paper contains 6 sides, and is accompanied by a book giving
values of constants and containing mathematical formulae which
you may quote without proof.
STATIONERY REQUIREMENTS
Script paper
Rough work pad
Blue coversheets
Tags
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Mathematical formulae handbook
Approved calculators allowed
You may not start to read the questions
printed on the subsequent pages of this
question paper until instructed that you
may do so by the Invigilator.
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SECTION A
Answers should be concise, and relevant formulae may be assumed
without proof. All questions carry an equal amount of credit.
A1 An ideal gas of N molecules undergoes an isothermal compression at
temperature T which halves its volume. Obtain expressions for the work done on
the gas and the change in its entropy.
A2 An energy level in contact with a particle reservoir may either be unoccupied
or occupied by a single particle. If the occupancy of the level is n, show that the
mean square uctuation, n
2
n
2
, in the occupancy is
n (1 n) .
A3 A one-dimensional system of non-interacting bosons, whose particle number
is not conserved (i.e., the chemical potential can be set to zero), has an energy
dispersion relation |k|, where |k| is the modulus of the wave vector of the state.
How does the heat capacity of the system vary with temperature?
A4 A uniaxial birefringent material has principal refractive indices (n
o
, n
o
, n
e
).
Consider light propagating with an angle between its wavevector and the optic
axis. Explain briey, with the aid of a sketch, how to determine the speeds and
polarisations of the ordinary and extraordinary rays.
A5 Two particles, each of energy 10 GeV and rest mass 1 GeV/c
2
, are travelling
at right angles to each other in the laboratory frame. Calculate their total energy
in the centre-of-mass frame.
A6 Explain, with the aid of a diagram, how the eective area of an antenna can
be considerably larger than its physical dimensions.
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SECTION B
Credit will be given for well-structured and clear explanations, including
appropriate diagrams and formulae. Detailed mathematical
derivations are not required.
B7 Either (a) Write an essay on the Landau theory of phase transitions.
Your answer should include a discussion of order parameters, the assumed form of
the expansion of the free energy, the importance of symmetry, and the successes
and failures of the theory. Illustrate your answer using the example of spontaneous
ordering in a simple magnetic system in the absence of an applied eld;
Or (b) Write an essay on the statistical mechanics of classical
liquids. Your answer should include discussions of (i ) the form of the partition
function and (ii ) the radial distribution function, including its relationship to the
internal energy and equation of state of the system.
B8 Write brief notes on two of the following:
(a) magnetism as a relativistic eect;
(b) the visual appearance of an object moving at a constant relativistic
velocity;
(c) Rayleigh scattering and the polarisation of scattered radiation;
(d) the eld-strength tensors and the stress-energy tensor (detailed
expressions for the tensors are not required).
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SECTION C
C9 State the relationships between the partition function of a single particle and
the partition functions of an ideal classical gas of (i ) N distinguishable, and (ii ) N
indistinguishable particles. Explain why the two forms are dierent. [3]
An ideal classical gas of volume V and temperature T consists of N
indistinguishable particles, each having a magnetic moment of magnitude m
0
. A
magnetic eld of magnitude B is applied. Each particle can exist in one of two
states of energy +m
0
B and m
0
B.
(a) Derive an expression for the partition function of the gas. [6]
(b) Derive expressions for the internal energy, U, the Helmholtz free energy,
F, and the mean magnetisation, M, of the gas. [7]
(c) Write U as a function of B, M, and T, and comment on the form of the
expression. [2]
(d) Derive an expression for the heat capacity of the gas at constant V and
B, and sketch it as a function of T. [4]
C10 (a) Write down the expression for the average occupancy of a level with
energy for an ideal gas of indistinguishable bosons with chemical potential . [1]
(b) Show that the chemical potential of an ideal Bose gas cannot be positive. [2]
(c) Explain why macroscopic occupation (that is, proportional to the number
of particles, N) of the energy level of an ideal Bose gas with = 0 occurs when
=
k
B
T
N
.
[2]
(d) Consider a large two-dimensional ideal Bose gas with N particles of mass
m conned to an area A. Show that N and are related by
N =
mA
2h
2

0
1
e
()/k
B
T
1
d.
[7]
(e) Evaluate the integral in (d) using the substitution x = 1 e
()/k
B
T
, or
otherwise, and show that
= k
B
T ln

1 e

2h
2
mk
B
T
N
A

.
[6]
(f) Explain why Bose-Einstein condensation does not occur in this system in
the limit N with N/A constant. [4]
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SECTION D
D11 A spherical wavefront of light is emitted by a point source, O, which is
stationary at the origin in frame S. The light emitted at angle
i
with respect to
the x-axis strikes a plane mirror at point A. The mirror is normal to the x-axis
and is moving in the negative x-direction at velocity v as shown in the diagram.
A
O
v

i
x
Using the transformation properties of the 4-momentum of the photons,
show that the angle of incidence,

i
, measured in the frame of the mirror, is related
to
i
by [6]
tan(

i
/2) =

c v
c +v
1
2
tan(
i
/2).
[You may use the identity tan(/2) = sin /(1 + cos ).]
Find the angle of reection
r
measured in frame S. [1]
Show that light emitted with frequency
i
is shifted on reection to a
frequency
r
given by [4]

r
=

sin
i
sin
r

i
,
where both
i
and
r
are measured in frame S.
In the particular case where v = 0.5c, explain qualitatively what will happen
to a photon with (i ) 90

<
i
< 120

and (ii )
i
120

. [3]
Suppose now that there are two large plane mirrors, which can be taken to
be perfect reectors, approaching the origin from opposite directions, both moving
normal to their surfaces at speed v = 0.5c with respect to the frame S. The space
between the mirrors is lled with radiation which is initially isotropic and
monochromatic in frame S. Using the results above, give a qualitative description
of what will happen to the radiation eld in the region between the two mirrors as
they approach each other. [5]
Let the time t in frame S be zero at the (future) time when the mirrors
collide. A photon hits one of the mirrors with a small angle of incidence when
t = t
1
. Find the time at which the photon next hits the other mirror, and hence
show that the product of t and the photon energy, E, is a constant at each
reection. [3]
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6
D12 What is synchrotron radiation? [2]
An electron with energy m
0
c
2
moving at right angles to a uniform magnetic
eld B radiates power
P =
T
c(B
2
/
0
)(
2
1),
where
T
is the Thomson scattering cross section. What are the principal steps in
deriving this formula? [5]
Show that the total energy of the electron at time t can be written as
m
0
c
2
coth(t/), where = m
0
c
0
/(
T
B
2
). [5]
In a more general motion, the angle between the velocity vector of the
electron and the magnetic eld is called the pitch angle. Find the electric and
magnetic elds in the inertial frame in which the motion of the electron is circular. [4]
Hence nd the pitch angle of an electron radiating in a uniform magnetic
eld, as a function of time. [6]
[You may use without proof the formulae u

x
=
uxV
1uxV/c
2
and u

y
=
uy
(1uxV/c
2
)
.]
END OF PAPER
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