N-Dimensional Harmonic Oscillator Thermodynamics
N-Dimensional Harmonic Oscillator Thermodynamics
1. Introduction
In quantum mechanics, the physical observables must be described by the operators and
that the position and momentum operators do not commute. This leads to the well-
known Heisenberg uncertainty principle which states that it is impossible to measure
both the position and the momentum of a particle with absolute precision. There are
physical situations in which an electron is perfectly localized and there are physical
situations in which an electron has a perfectly defined momentum, however, one cannot
have both at the same time. The more localized the electron, the less defined its
momentum, and vice versa. In [1], it has been shown that the full content of this
principle also includes its positive role as a condition ensuring that mutually exclusive
experimental options can be reconciled if an appropriate trade-off is accepted.
The existence of a minimal length in theory explicitly limits the resolution of small
distances in space-time. This scale arises naturally in the theories of quantum gravity
in the form of an effective minimal uncertainty in non-zero positions. String theory,
for example, predicts that it is impossible to improve spatial resolution below the
2
characteristic length of strings [2]-[4]. Consequently, these studies correct the ordinary
uncertainty relation by introducing a non-zero minimal uncertainty on the position.
The development of a generalized quantum theory that implements the appearance of
a non-zero minimal uncertainty of positions is described in detail in [5]-[7]. In fact,
a generalized uncertainty relation leading to a non-zero minimal uncertainty would be
closer to physical reality. It could constitute an effective low-energy theory of non-point
particles such as quasiparticles and various collective excitations in solids, and hadrons
such as nucleons and mesons in nuclear physics [8]. It is these different aspects that
motivate us to study, within the framework of the minimal length, the one-dimensional
harmonic oscillator and its generalization to N dimensions.
Indeed, the harmonic oscillator describes the evolution of a physical system in
the vicinity of a stable equilibrium position, which makes it a transversal tool used in
many fields of physics. It has several important applications in classical and quantum
mechanics. It is one of the few quantum mechanical systems for which an exact analytical
solution is known. Its extension to the deformed one-dimensional Heisenberg algebra
has a hidden symmetry su(1, 1) [9]. Using the algebraic method developed in [9],
we show that the deformed N -dimensional free harmonic oscillator also possesses a
hidden symmetry su(1, 1). This allows us to identify the spectrum of the deformed
N -dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator [7],[10]-[12]. The effect of the minimal
length on the energy spectrum and momentum wave functions of the Coulomb potential
in one dimension and three dimensions has been studied, respectively, in [13] and
[14],[15]. Regarding the Heisenberg uncertainty relations, for exactly soluble quantum
systems, its explicit expressions can be found analytically, e.g. in study for harmonic
oscillator, Morse potential and relevant potentials [16] and [17] as well as the recent
study for the relativistic hydrogen atom case, see [18] and [19]. The thermodynamic
properties are interesting, e.g. the recent study about the harmonic oscillator in the
presence of an inverse square interaction, [20], a modified Rosen-Morse potential and
its thermodynamic properties [21]. Moreover, these thermodynamic properties are also
studied within the framework of chiral quark models such as in [22] and [23] as well as
in molecular physics using the relativistic and non-relativistic models [24]-[26].
Several works have been devoted to the study of the effect of elementary length on
the thermodynamics of black holes [27],[28]. In particular, it has been shown that the
minimal length, which would be of the order of Planck’s length, prevents black holes
from fully evaporating, just as Heisenberg’s standard uncertainty principle prevents the
collapse of the hydrogen atom. In [29], the magnetic behavior of the system at high
temperatures has been studied where the magnetic susceptibility in terms of the minimal
length remains finite, while it is infinite in the case without the minimal length. Recently
in [30], the effect of the minimal length on the thermal properties of a Dirac oscillator is
considered and the values of minimal length for some fermionic particles are calculated.
In this work, we present the partition function, for the system describing N
free deformed harmonic oscillators, at low and high temperature in order to study
the behavior of thermodynamic functions. The effect of the minimal length on all
3
thermodynamics quantities is very clear and considerable. We find that the specific
heat of a crystalline body is sensitive to the deformation parameter β while in the limit
β = 0, it is independent of the temperature and of the body considered for large values
of the temperature.
The organization of the paper is as follows. In section 2, we give the generalized
Heisenberg algebra for 2N dimensions algebra. In section 3, we construct the deformed
N -dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator. Then, the spectre of the model is obtained
algebraically. In section 4, the thermodynamic properties of the N free deformed
harmonic oscillators are investigated. Thus, after determining the high temperature
partition function, we give the analytical expressions of thermodynamic properties such
as the free energy (F (α)), the average energy (U (α)), the entropy (S(α)), and the
specific heat (C(α)) with figures showing numerically the variation of these functions
as a function of temperature for different values of the deformation parameter β. The
conclusion is given in section 5.
It is well known that in the one-dimensional commutative space, the coordinate x and
momentum p satisfy the usual canonical commutation relations
where Ji± are the generators of the su(1, 1) algebra in N dimensions. They generators
satisfy the following algebra
r r
β β ±
[Ji− , Ji+ ] = 2 Ji0 , [Ji0 , Ji± ] = ± J , (20)
2 2 i
where
r r
β β †
Ji− = (a†i ai + 2ℓ0N )ai , Ji− = a†i (a ai + 2ℓ0N ), (21)
2 2 i
r s
β N N2 1
Ji0 = (a†i ai + ℓ0N ), ℓ0N = + + 2. (22)
2 2 4 β
The ladder operators ai and a†i satisfy the following commutation relations
[ai , a†j ] = δij 11, [ai , aj ] = 0 = [a†i , a†j ]. (23)
The Hamiltonian (19) can be expressed in terms of ladder operators as
N
0
X
0 † N 1 † †2 2
HN ≡ Hf ree = ℏωβ ℓN (ai ai + ) + (ai ai + ai ai ) . (24)
i=1
2 2
As for one-dimensional ladder operators the commutation relations (23) results in
the eigenvalue relation
a†i ai |ni ⟩ = ni |ni ⟩. (25)
0
It is a straightforward exercise to obtain the eigenvalues of HN [9],
N
0,β
X
0 N 1 2
EN = ℏωβ ℓN (ni + ) + ni
i=1
2 2
N 1
= ℏωβ ℓ0N (n + ) + n2 , (26)
2 2
associated to the eigenstates
s
N
Y 2ni Γ(2ℓ0N )
|ℓ0N , ni ⟩ = n 0
(Ji+ )ni |ℓ0N , 0⟩. (27)
i=1
(β) ni !Γ(ni + 2ℓN )
i
6
4. Thermodynamic properties
[λ]
X 0,β
Z(α) = e−αEN,n
n=0
N
[λ]
1 1 2
e−αℏωβ [ℓ1 (n+ 2 )+ 2 n ] ,
0
X
= (38)
n=0
q
1
where α = kB T
, kB is the Boltzmann constant and ℓ01 = ℓ = 12 + 1
4
+ 1
β2
. The principal
quantum number n ranges from 0, 1, 2, · · · [λ].
In the classical limit, at high temperature T for large [λ], the sum can be replaced
by the following integral, [λ] = λ − 1
Z λ N
−αℏωβ [ℓ01 (n+ 21 )+ 12 n2 ]
Z(α) = e dn
0
r h√ i N
π αc̃ √
= e erf αã − erf αb̃ (39)
2cα
where
r r
1 1 1
c = ℏωβ, c̃ = c ℓ(ℓ − 1), ã = c (λ + ℓ), b̃ = c ℓ, (40)
2 2 2
Z z
2 2
erf(z) = √ e−t dt. (41)
π 0
From this explicit function, all thermodynamic properties of a gas of N free independent
deformed harmonic oscillators can be obtained. We have:
- The vibrational mean energy U
∂
U (α) = − ln Z(α)
∂α
1 Λ
=N − c̃ − √ , (42)
2α παΩ
where
r ! r !
1 1 2 2
Ω = erf cα(λ + ℓ) − erf cαℓ , Λ = ãe−ã α − b̃e−b̃ α . (43)
2 2
- Vibrational specific heat C
∂U
C(α) = − kB α2
∂α
8
1 1 3 −ã2 α 2
2
= − N kB α − 2 + √ ã e − b̃3 e−b̃ α
2α παΩ
Λ 1 Λ
+ √ 3 + √ . (44)
πΩ 2α 2 παΩ
- Vibrational mean free energy F
N
F (α) = − ln Z(α)
α
r
N π
= − ln + c̃α + ln Ω . (45)
α 2αc
- Vibrational entropy S
∂
S(α) = N kB ln Z(α) − N kB α ln Z(α)
∂α
r
π 1 Λ
= N kB ln + c̃α + ln Ω + N kB α − c̃ − √ . (46)
2αc 2α παΩ
Note that, for the harmonic oscillator system, in general the [λ] can be considered
as infinity. In the case of the deformed harmonic oscillator, the [λ] can also be considered
to be infinity. Here, we have defined the value [λ] large to obtain the exact analytical
expressions of the thermodynamic properties at high temperature. This also allowed us
to obtain the thermodynamic properties numerically. We notice that the curves already
keep the same shapes starting from λ = 100. This is verified for the case β = 0 as well
as for the case β ̸= 0.
The graphs of the thermodynamic properties with respect to the deformation
parameter β are represented as a function of the temperature. We used the partition
function (38) to plot the thermodynamic functions in Figures 1, 2 and 4. A comparison
has been made at the level of the specific heat given by the partition functions (38) and
(39) see figure 3. We use N kB = 8, 31SI. TD = ℏω D
kB
, TD being the Debye temperature.
In Figure 1, we see that the partition functions increase monotonically with
temperature for each fixed value of β. They remain insensitive already for λ = 100.
For the sake of more transparency and to work with a larger λ, we use λ = 200 to plot
all the thermodynamic functions.
In Figure 2, we see that the effect of the deformation parameter on the average
energy is more apparent for almost low temperatures while the effect is more apparent
on the specific heat, the free energy and the entropy, for high temperatures.
In Figure 3, we see that the curves of figure (a) compare well with the curves of
figure (b) for large values of the temperature. Thus at high temperature the sum at the
level of the partition function(38) may well be replaced by the integral. The analytical
expressions (42), (44), (45) and (46) of the thermodynamic properties obtained are
indeed quite valid at high temperature.
The Figure 4 shows the specific heat measured in several materials. We see that
when we plot the specific heat as a function of T , the curves are all different. These
9
curves tend towards zero for low temperature values and presenting maxima depending
on T for fixed value β. The maximum is quickly reached for low values of the Debye
temperature. When β = 0, the maximum once reached, it is kept constant for T
large while for β ̸= 0, the maximum value is also reached but decreases slowly for
large temperature values. These maxima, obtained at the level of the curvatures of
the curve representing the specific heat, neither show nor indicate the existence of a
phase transition. Because no sudden change has been identified in the entropy curve for
different values of the deformation parameter β. Thus, in the presence of the minimal
length, the specific heat of a crystalline body depends on the temperature and on the
body considered.
(a) (b)
1 1
0.8 0.8
0 0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 0.5 1 1.5 2
T/TD T/TD
(c)
(d)
1
1
0.8
0.8
β = 0.1 β = 0.1
Z
0.4
β = 0.2 0.4 β = 0.2
β = 0.5
0.2 β = 0.5
0.2 β=1
β=1
0 0
0.5 1 1.5 2 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
T/TD T/TD
5. Conclusion
14
8
12
6
10
β=0
U/TD
C
β = 0.1 4 β=0
8
β = 0.2 β = 0.1
β = 0.5 2 β = 0.2
6
β=1 β = 0.5
4 β=1
0
0.5 1 1.5 2 0.5 1 1.5 2
T/TD T/TD
(c) (d)
7 7
β=0
β = 0.1 6
6
β = 0.2
5
5 β = 0.5
β=1 4
F/TD
4
S 3
β=0
3
2 β = 0.1
β = 0.2
2
1 β = 0.5
β=1
1 0
0.5 1 1.5 2 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
T/TD T/TD
Figure 2. (a) average energy, (b) specific heat capacity, (c) free energy, (d) entropy
versus ρ = T /TD for the fixed value λ = 200.
(a) (b)
8 8
6 6
C
4 β=0 4
β=0
β = 0.1 β = 0.1
2 β = 0.2 2 β = 0.2
β = 0.5 β = 0.5
β=1 β=1
0 0
2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
T/TD T/TD
Figure 3. Specific heat capacity versus ρ = T /TD for the fixed value λ = 200. (a)
is obtained from the partition function (39) i.e. the heat capacity (44) while (b) is
obtained from the partition function (38). The curves compare well for ρ very large.
11
(a) (b)
9
8 6
7 5
6
4
5 TD = 105 K
3
C
C
4 T = 105 K
D T = 225 K
β = 0.2 D
3 2
TD = 225 K
2 TD = 428 K
β=0 TD = 428 K 1
1 TD = 2230 K
TD = 2230 K 0
0
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
T T
(c) (d)
7 7
6 6
5 TD = 105 K 5
β = 0.5 TD = 105 K
4 TD = 225 K
4 T = 225 K
TD = 428 K D
C
3 C β=1
TD = 2230 K 3 T = 428 K
D
2 TD = 2230 K
2
1
1
0
0
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
T T
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! !
1 0 0 −i
σx = , σy = ,
0 1 i 0
!
1 0
σx =
0 1