Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-quantum-condensed-matter-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/section-b/5/b/solution
Past exam of the quantum condensed matter course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Section B 5 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
As changes, each quantized orbit area grows linearly with field while the Fermi surface cross-section stays approximately fixed. Landau energies repeatedly cross the Fermi energy, making the density of states there oscillate. If the relevant extremal orbit has area , its crossings satisfyThus the oscillations are periodic in inverse field rather than field. In three dimensions integration over longitudinal momentum makes extremal cross-sections dominate.
One observable is the de Haas-van Alphen effect: the field-dependent occupation changes the electronic free energy, so its field derivative, the magnetization, oscillates. The corresponding oscillations of longitudinal electrical resistance are the Shubnikov-de Haas effect. Both probe Fermi-surface geometry.
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