Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-advanced-quantum-condensed-matter-physics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/paper-1/1/a/solution
Past exam of the advanced Quantum Condensed Matter Physics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 Paper 1 1 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Use normalized plane-wave spin orbitals and fill a separate Fermi sphere for each spin species. Each spin state counts once, soIts kinetic energy per volume isThe spin-independent contact interaction has uncancelled direct energy , with . By the imposed background assumption this direct contribution cancels. For the Fock term the contact delta function sets the two spatial positions equal; its spin factors then select equal spins. The local one-body density matrix for each spin has diagonal value , givingCombining these results gives the contact-interaction Hartree-Fock spin energyHere has units of energy times volume. The result is the model with the stated background subtraction; an isolated contact-interacting gas without that subtraction retains its direct contribution.
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