Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-thermal-and-statistical-physics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2012/paper-1/1/b/solution

Assume three-dimensional isotropic gapless excitations, zero chemical potential and one independent branch. Momentum-state counting gives
Substituting into the Bose energy integral shows and . The observed exponent therefore gives .
For the quadratic-boson heat-capacity coefficient, the required Bose integral is
The equality follows by expanding and integrating term by term. Hence
The supplied units make its a heat capacity per volume. Equating its coefficient to gives
Equivalently has . For identical branches, the measured coefficient fixes , so instead . The one-branch convention is necessary for the quoted numerical value. The supplied integral with is not the moment arising for the exponent determined here.

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