Past exam of the condensed matter physics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / 2 / c / Solution

Let $g_v(E)$ denote the spin-summed density of states per volume. An electron moment with magnitude the Bohr magneton ${\mu }_B$ has Zeeman energies $\mp {\mu }_{B}B$. At low temperature, the two spin populations areThe common chemical potential changes only at order $B^2$, so it does not affect this linear imbalance. The magnetization is $M={\mu }_B(n_{+}-n_{-})={\mu }_B^2{g}_v(E_F)B$. Define SI volume magnetic susceptibility by $M={\chi }_{p}H$ and take the weak applied field as $B\simeq {\mu }_{0}H$. Then Pauli paramagnetism givesThe last equality uses the three-dimensional parabolic free electron model, $g_v(E_F)=3n/(2E_F)$. This susceptibility is nearly independent of temperature for $T\ll T_F$, unlike the Curie law for localized independent moments. The displayed result excludes orbital diamagnetism and interaction enhancements. If susceptibility instead denotes $\partial M/\partial B$, omit ${\mu }_0$; confusing that convention with $\partial M/\partial H$ changes the units.