Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-condensed-matter-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/section-b/b1/c/solution
Past exam of the quantum condensed matter course of the University of Cambridge 2007 Section B B1 c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Let the missing electron occupy the Bloch state of crystal momentum and energy . Relative to the filled band, define modulo a reciprocal-lattice vector and , with a fixed reference . ThenThe velocity equality follows by differentiating the hole energy with respect to ; two minus signs cancel. The signed band effective mass is therefore opposite, becoming a positive hole mass near an electron-band maximum. The hole electric charge is when the electron charge is . These momenta are crystal momenta, and the electron mass being compared is the signed band mass, not the bare electron mass. The positive hole current equals the current lost by removing that electron.
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