Can We Apply Statistical Laws to Small Systems? the Cerium Atom

Details Can We Apply Statistical Laws to Small Systems? the Cerium Atom Can We Apply Statistical Laws to Small Systems? the Cerium Atom

1997-10-17

arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/9710172v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Statistical Mechanics

4 pages, Latex, two figures in eps-format

Scientific paper

It is shown that statistical mechanics is applicable to quantum systems with finite numbers of particles, such as complex atoms, atomic clusters, etc., where the residual two-body interaction is sufficiently strong. This interaction mixes the unperturbed shell-model basis states and produces ``chaotic'' many-body eigenstates. As a result, an interaction-induced equilibrium emerges in the system, and temperature can be introduced. However, the interaction between the particles and their finite number can lead to prominent deviations of the equilibrium occupation numbers distribution from the Fermi-Dirac shape. For example, this takes place in the cerium atom with four valence electrons, which was used to compare the theory with realistic numerical calculations.

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