& ee) T ey fos Dre ) Zoe ie ee Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions SOLID STATE PHYSICS, RELATIVITY AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICSMajor American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS anp SOLUTIONS on SOLID STATE PHYSICS, RELATIVITY AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS Compiled by: The Physics Coaching Class University of Science and Technology of China Refereed by: Zhang Jia-li, Zhou You-yuan & Zhang Shi-ling ih, Edited by: & 3 Lim Yung-kuo uw 5 Rod \ World Scientific NewJersey « London + Singapore * Hong KongPublished by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: Suite 202, 1060 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE- British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data ‘A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. First published 1995 Reprinted 2001, 2003 Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ON SOLID STATE PHYSICS, RELATIVITY AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS Copyright © 1995 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to. photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 981-02-1892-3 981-02-1893-1 (pbk) A by & uw Su we ‘ & Printed in Singapore by Multiprint ServicesPREFACE This series of physics problems and solutions, which consists of seven volumes — Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Optics, Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, Quantum Me- chanics, Solid State Physics and Relativity, contains a selection of 2550 problems from the graduate schoo! entrance and qualifying examination papers of seven U.S. universities — California University Berkeley Campus, Columbia University, Chicago University, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, New York State University Buffalo Campus, Princeton University, Wisconsin University — as well as the CUSPEA and C. C. Ting’s papers for selection of Chinese students for further studies in U.S.A. and their solutions which represent the effort of more than 70 Chinese physicists plus some 20 more who checked the solutions. The series is remarkable for its comprehensive coverage. In each area the problems span a wide spectrum of topics while many problems overlap several areas. The problems themselves are remarkable for their versatil- ity in applying the physical laws and principles, their uptodate realistic situations, and their scanty demand on mathematical skills. Many of the problems involve order of magnitude calculations which one often requires in an experimental situation for estimating a quantity from a simple model. In short, the exercises blend together the objectives of enhancement of one’s understanding of the physical principles and ability of practical application. The solutions as presented generally just provide a guidance to solving the problems, rather than step by step manipulation, and leave much to the students to work out for themselves, of whom much is demanded of the basic knowledge in physics. Thus the series would provide an invaluable complement to the textbooks. The present volume, under the title “Solid State Physics, Relativity and Miscellaneous Topics” consists of 165 problems. Both special and general relativity problems are included, although some other special rela- tivity problems have been solved elsewhere, particularly in the volumes on Mechanics and on Electromagnetism. Problems that are not appropriate forvi Preface the other six volumes, such as mathematical techniques, are here grouped in the section Miscellaneous Topics. In editing, no attempt has been made to unify the physical terms, units and symbols. Rather, they are left to the setters’ and solvers’ own preference so as to reflect the realistic situation of the usage today. Great pains has been taken to trace the logical steps from the first principles to the final solution, frequently even to the extent of rewriting the entire solution. In addition, a subject index to problems has been included to facilitate the location of topics. These editorial efforts hopefully will enhance the value of the volume to the students and teachers alike. Yung-Kuo Lim EditorINTRODUCTION Solving problems in school work is exercise of mental faculties, and examination problems are usually picked out from problems in school work. Working out problems is thus an essential and important aspect of the study of Physics. Major American University Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions is a series of seven volumes. The subjects of each volume and the respective referees (in parentheses) are as follows: 1. Mechanics (Qing Yuan-qi, Gu En-pu, Cheng Jia-fu, Li Ze-hua, Yang De-tian) 2. Electromagnetism (Zhoo Shu-ping, You Jun-han, Zhu Jun-jie) 3. Optics (Bai Gui-ru, Guo Guang-can) 4. Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics (Tin Huai-cheng, Yang Bao- zhong, Fan Yang-mei) 5. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (Zheng Jiu-ren) 6. Quantum Mechanics (Zhang Yong-de, Zhu Dong-pei, Fan Hong-yi) 7. Solid State Physics, Relativity and Miscellaneous Topics (Zhang Jia-lu, Zhou You-yuan, Zhang Shi-ling) This series covers almost all topics of University Physics and contains 2550 problems, most of which are solved in detail. The problems have been carefully chosen from a collection of 3100 problems, of which some came from the China-U.S.A. Physics Examination and Application Program, some were selected from the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination on Experimental High Energy Physics sponsored by Chao Chong Ting, and the rest came from the graduate preliminary or qualifying examinations of the following seven world-renowned American universities: Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Princeton University, State University of New York at Buffalo. Generally speaking, examination problems of physics in American uni- versities do not involve too much mathematics. Rather, they are to aviii Introduction large extent characterized by the following three aspects. Some problems involving various frontier subjects and overlapping domains of science had been selected by professors directly from their own research work and have an “up-to-date flavor”; some problems involve broad fields and require a quick mind to analyze, while the methods needed for solving the other problems are simple and practical but require a full “touch of physics”. Indeed, we venture to opine that the problems, as a whole, embody to some extent the characteristics of American science and culture, as well as the philosophy underlying American education. Therefore, we consider it worthwhile to collect and solve these problems and introduce them to students and teachers in general, even though the effort involved was formidable. As many as a hundred teachers and graduate students took part in this time-consuming task. A total of 165 problems make up this volume of three parts: solid state physics (81), relativity (28) and miscellaneous topics (56). In scope and depth, most of the problems conform to the undergraduate physics syllabi for solid state physics and relativity in most universities. The miscellaneous part tests the student’s comprehension of general principles, familiarity with magnitudes and scales, knowledge of the history of physics, ability to estimate experimental errors, as well as his/her mathematical skills. Some questions are on the latest development in physics, purporting, no doubt, to test the scope of the student’s scope of general reading. Yet a few others relate to the student’s university and its research; these are not solved but are included for reference only. The problems in this volume were solved by: Guo Zhi-chun, Chen Bing, Wang Ping, Zhang Shi-ling, Zhu Bing, Wang Yong, Zhou Dong-fang, Ning Bo, Wang Shan-xia, Si Qi-miao, Lu Jian-xin, Qiu Xiu, Wang An-min, Sun Yi, Jing Yi-peng, Liu Yu-zhen, Liu Fang-xin and Zhung Zhen-quan, and the initial translation from Chinese to English was carried out by Zhang Shu-zhen, refereed by Zhu Xing-fen and Ding Ze-jun.CONTENTS Preface Introduction Part I Solid State Physics 1.1. Crystal Structures and Properties (1001-1027) vii 1 3 1.2. Electron Theory, Energy Bands and Semiconductors (1028-1051) 46 1.3. Electromagnetic Properties, Optical Properties and Superconductivity (1052-1076) 1.4. Other topics (1077-1081) Part II Relativity 2.1. Special Relativity (2001-2007) 2.2, General Relativity (2008-2023) 2.3, Relativistic Cosmology (2024-2028) Part III Miscellaneous Topics 3.1. History of Physics and General Questions (3001-3025) 3.2. Measurements, Estimations and Errors (3026-3048) 3.3. Mathematical Techniques (3049-3056) Index to Problems 105 155 165 167 184 226 241 243 283 327 347mii xe PonPART I SOLID STATE PHYSICSmii xe Pon1.1, CRYSTAL STRUCTURES AND PROPERTIES (1001-1027) 1001 Figure 1.1 shows a hypothetical two-dimensional crystal consisting of atoms arranged on a square grid. (a) Show an example of a primitive unit cell. (b) Define “the reciprocal lattice” and explain its relation to Bragg reflection. (c) Show the reciprocal lattice and the first Brillouin zone. How is this zone related to Bragg reflection? (d) State and explain the theorem due to Bloch that says an electron moving in the potential of this lattice has traveling-wave functions. What. boundary conditions must be used with this theorem? (SUNY, Buffalo) Fig. 1.1 Solution: (a) A primitive unit cell is a unit cell that contains lattice points at corners only, such as shown in Fig. 1.2. The basis vectors of the unit cell are ai =a(i-j), ag =a(i+j), where a is the edge of the square lattice. 34 Problems & Solutions on Solid State Physics... Fig. 1.2 (b) If a; (¢ = 1,2) are the basis vectors of the direct lattice, vectors b; (j = 1,2) satisfying the relation 2m, i=j, 0, ifj are the basis vectors of the reciprocal lattice. In the reciprocal space the condition for Bragg reflection is that the difference between the reflected wave vector k and the incident wave vector ko is an integer multiple n of a reciprocal lattice vector k* as bj = 215 ={ k — ko = nk*. (c) From the direct basis vectors ay = ali j), ag = a(i+j) the reciprocal basis vectors are obtained as 7 bi = “(i-j), 1 = 70-3) Wee bo = 7 (iti) - The reciprocal lattice and the first Brillouin zone are shown in Fig. 1.3. Bragg reflection takes place at the boundaries of the Brillouin zone. (d) The wave representing an electron moving in the periodic potential field V(r + R) = V(r), R being a lattice vector, of the lattice has the form of a Bloch function dx(r) =e Fux (r) ,Solid State Physics 5 Fig. 1.3 where the function u(r) has the same translational symmetry as the lattice: ux(r) = uy (r+ R) . It is a plane wave modulated by the periodic potential field. This is Bloch’s theorem. The exponential part of the Bloch wave is a plane wave which describes the global behavior of electrons in a crystal lattice, while the periodic function describes the local motion of those electrons around the nuclei. Therefore, Bloch waves characterize the motion of the electrons in acrystal. The Born-von Karman periodic boundary condition must be employed with Bloch’s theorem. 1002 A beam of electrons with kinetic energy 1 keV is diffracted as it passes through a polycrystalline metal foil. The metal has a cubic crystal structure with a spacing of 1 A. Given m,q,h,c, (a) calculate the wavelength of the electrons, (b) calculate the Bragg angle for the first order diffraction maximum. ( Wisconsin) Solution: (a) The electron wavelength is with p given by6 Problems & Solutions on Solid State Physics ... V being the accelerating voltage of the electrons. Thus h 12.25 12.25 _ 039A. = Gmevy? ~ Vi = Vi000 (b) The condition for Bragg reflection 2dsin@ = nr gives for the first order diffraction maximum a 0.39 sin? = Ox = 0.195 asn=1,d=1A. Hence @=1118°. 1003 While sitting in front of a color TV with a 25 kV picture tube potential, you have an excellent chance of being irradiated with X-rays. (a) What process produces most of the X-ray flux? (b) For the resulting continuous distribution, calculate the shortest wavelength (maximum energy) X-ray. (h = 6.6 x 10-4 Js, c = 3x 108 m/s, 1eV =1.6 x 10-!9 J) (c) For a rock salt (NaCl) crystal placed in front of the tube, calculate the Bragg angle for a first order reflection maximum at \ = 0.5 A. (pwact = 2.165 g/cm?) (Wisconsin) Solution: (a) When a high voltage is applied to the picture tube, electrons emitted from the negative electrode will be accelerated by the electric field to strike the screen target. If the energy of the electrons exceeds a certain value, they can knock off inner-shell electrons in the target atoms and make holes in the inner shells. Then as the outer-shell electrons fall in to fill up these holes, X-rays are emitted.Solid State Physics 7 (b) The maximum energy of the X-ray photons produced, hvmax, is equal to the energy eV of the incident electrons. Hence the minimum wavelength of the X-rays is he _ 12000 _ 12000 VV = Bx igs = 048A Amin = (c) Bragg’s law Qdsind = nd gives the angle @ for the first order diffraction (n = 1) maximum: sind = ba? where d is the distance between two neighboring ions in the NaCl crystal. As NaCl crystal has a simple cubic structure with Nat and Cl ions arranged alternately, there are No Na* ions and Np Cl~ ions in a mole of NaCl, where No is Avogadro’s number. As NaCl has a molar weight M = 58.45 g/mol and a density p = 2.165 g/cm’, its crystal has M\? 58.45 as -|2 | =| 2365xi | _ d= 2No ~ \ 2x 6.02 x 107 aie h. This gives sing = 95 _ ~ ogg ~ 2x2920 and hence o=5°. 1004 Estimate to within 10% the wavelength of the most energy in the characteristic spectrum of X-rays from copper (Z=29). (Columbia) Solution: The ground state of the electron configuration of copper (Z=29) is 1s”2s2p°3s?3p°3d!°4s!. The wavelength of the most energy in the char- acteristic spectrum of X-rays corresponds to the transition of an electron8 Problems & Solutions on Solid State Physics... from the N shell (n = 4) toa hole in the K shell (n = 1). Within 10% error the wavelength can be determined by the formula LL ofl xR) (zz) , where R = 1.09678 x 10’ m—? is the Rydberg constant. This yields A=124x 107 m =1.24A. 1005 NaCl crystallizes in a face-centered cubic lattice with a basis of Na and Cl ions separated by half the body diagonal of the cube. The atomic numbers of Na and Cl are 11 and 17 respectively. (a) Determine which X-ray reflections will be observed (indexed for the conventional cubic unit cell). (b) Of these which group will be strong and which group weak? (Wisconsin) Solution: (a) The unit cell of NaCl includes eight atoms occupying the following positions: Na* at (0 0 0), (} 3 0), (3 0 4), (0 4 4), as indicated by solid circles in Fig. 1.4; Cl- at (3 00), (0 3 0), (00 3), (3 3 3), as indicated by open circles in the figures.Solid State Physics 9 The diffraction intensities are given by Tat [Fnntl? = Frat > Fines 2 = [= fj 00s 2(hu; + kuj + ws a 2 + > fj sin 2n(hu; + kv; + ws ; i where h,k,1 are integers. Substitution of the ions’ coordinates leads to Thit = frig+ {[l + cos a(h + k) + cos 1(k +1) + cos (+ h)] + alcos wh + cos tk + cos ml + cos m(h + k +1)]}* + fiat {[sin m(h + k) + sin 7(k +2) + sin x(1 + h)] +alsinwh +sinwk +sinal+sinr(ht+k+D]}’, where @ = fo-/ fat = 17/11. It is noted that the intensities I;,4; # 0 only when h,k and 1 are all odd numbers or all even numbers. Thus two different groups of diffracted beams can be observed. (b) When h,k and 1 are all odd numbers, I« 16(1—a)*, giving rise to weak reflection. When h, k and J are all even numbers, 1 «16(1+a)?, giving rise to strong reflection. 1006 Give an approximate incident energy for which a crystal lattice would make a good diffraction grating for (a) photons, (b) neutrons. (myc? = 939 MeV). (Wisconsin)10 Problems & Solutions on Solid State Physics ... Solution: The periodicity of a crystal lattice enables it to act as a diffraction grating to waves. Since the typical lattice constant in a crystal is about 10-?° m (1 A), diffraction can take place on a crystal when the wavelength of the incident particles is less than 10-!° m. (a) If the incident photons can just be diffracted by a crystal, their wavelength must be nearly 10-!° m. Hence the energy of the incident photons is _ he _ 6.624 x 10-% x 3 x 108 B=hw ~~ 19-10 = 1.98 x 107! J = 12420 eV . (b) If the incident neutrons can just be diffracted, then their wavelength must be about 10~!° m, corresponding to a kinetic energy of _ (4)? _ Be 1 a 2m, 2X? mae _ (susan i)" 1 ~ 10-10 "2x 939 x 10° =82x 107 eV . 1007 Diffraction studies involving X-rays, electrons or neutrons give informa- tion about the crystallographic properties of solids. Compare these three techniques with reference to particle energies and types of information that can be obtained. Which technique is most appropriate for studying surface crystallography? Which technique is used to determine magnetic structure? (Wisconsin) Solution: The typical energy of X-rays is several thousand eV, corresponding to a wavelength of about 10-!° m, which is of the same order of magnitude as the interplanar distance in a crystal. Hence X-rays are suitable for determining crystal lattice structures. For low energy diffraction studies, energies 20-50 eV are usually employed. Because of the large cross section of crystal atoms for scattering of low energy electrons, the incident electrons