PHZ6426: Fall 2013

Problem set # 6: Electron Transport. Phonons.

due Monday, 12/02 at the time of the class
Instructor: D. L. Maslov
maslov@phys.u.edu 392-0513 Rm. 2114
Oce hours: TR 3 pm-4 pm
Please help your instructor by doing your work neatly. Every (algebraic) nal result
must be supplemented by a check of units. Without such a check, no more
than 75% of the credit will be given even for an otherwise correct solution.
. . .
P1 [20 points ]Hall conductivity of Bloch electrons
In class, we derived a general formula for the Hall conductivity in the weak-eld regime (
c
1)

xy
= 2e
3

2
B
c
_
d
D
k
(2)
D
v
x
_
v
y
1
m
yx
v
x
1
m
yy
__

f
0

_
,
where D is the dimensionality,
v
a
=
1

k
k

,
1
m

=
1

k
k

,
and f
0
is the equilibrium Fermi function.
a) Show that

xy
= 0
at T = 0 for a half-lled tight-binding band corresponding to a 2D square lattice with dispersion

k
= 2t [cos (k
x
a) + cos (k
y
a)] .
[10 points]
Solution
Since the o-diagonal term in the eective mass tensor is absent, we have at T = 0,

xy
= 2e
3

2
B
_
d
D
k
(2)
D
v
2
x
1
m
yy
(
F

k
) = 2e
3

2
B
_
dA
v
2
x
|v
F
| m
yy
. (1)
where the integral goes over the Fermi surface, |v
F
| is the magnitude of the velocity evaluated on the Fermi
surface, and
1
m
yy
=
1

k
k
2
y
=
2ta
2

2
cos (k
y
a)
v
x
=
1

k
k
x
=
2ta

sin (k
x
a)
The Fermi surface at half-lling in 2D is shown in Fig. 1 (red). Consider segment I on which k
y
= /ak
x
.
The contribution of the segment to the integral in (1)

xy
I
= 2e
3

2
B
_
/a
0
dk
x
sin
2
k
x
a
|v
F
|
cos
__

a
k
x
_
a
_
= 2e
3

2
B
_
/a
0
dk
x
sin
2
k
x
a
|v
F
|
cos(k
x
a).

I
II III
IV
FIG. 1: The Brillouin zone (black) and Fermi surface at half-lling (red) for a 2D tight-binding model on a square lattice.
Wavenumbers are measured in units of 1/a.
Since cosine is odd in the interval (0, /a) , while the rest of the integrand is even, the integral vanishes.
Same is true for the remaining segments II IV.
b) Find
xy
at T = 0 for electrons (
F
> 0) and holes (
F
< 0) in graphene, using the Dirac model for
the spectrum
k
= v
F
k. [10 points] [Beware: although the spectrum is isotropic, the o-diagonal
components of the eective mass tensor are not equal to zero!]
Solution
Since the Dirac spectrum is isotropic, it is more convenient to keep the 2D integral over k in its original
form. Choosing the electron branch of the spectrum, = v
F
k and putting T to zero,

xy
= 2e
3

2
B
_
d
2
k
(2)
2
v
x
_
v
y
1
m
xy
v
x
1
m
yy
_
(v
F
k
F
) .
Derivatives
v
x
=
1

k
k
x
= v
F
k
x
k
v
y
=
1

k
k
y
= v
F
k
y
k
1
m
xy
=
1

k
k
x
k
y
=
v
F
k
k
x
k
y
k
2
1
m
yy
=
v
F
k
_
1
k
2
y
k
2
_
v
x
_
v
y
1
m
xy
v
x
1
m
yy
_
= v
F
k
x
k
_
v
F
k
y
k
v
F
k
k
x
k
y
k
2
v
F
k
x
k
v
F
k
_
1
k
2
y
k
2
__
=
v
3
F
k
2
x
k
3
=
v
3
F
k
cos
2
.

xy
= 2e
3

2
B
_
dkk
(2)
2
v
3
F
k
(v
F
k
F
)
_
2
0
dcos
2

= 2e
3

2
B
_
dkk
(2)
2
v
3
F
k
(v
F
k
F
) = 2e
3

2
B
1
(2)
2
v
3
F

2
v
F
=
1
2
2
e
3

2
Bv
2
F
.
Using the result of the Problem 1 for the cyclotron mass in graphene m
c
=
F
/v
2
F
and the expression
for the conductivity
0
= e
2

F
v
2
F
/2 with
F
=
F
/
2
v
2
F
at B = 0, we see that
xy
=
c

0
with

c
= eB/m
c
(SI units).
For
F
< 0, one has to choose the hole branch of the spectrum
k
= v
F
k. Since the integrand is
proportional to the third power of
k
, the sign of the
xy
changes.
P2 [25 points ] Consider an electron gas described by the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics in the presence of an elastic scattering
mechanism with an energy dependent relaxation time () = A/
s
. Using the relaxation-time approximation
for the Boltzmann equation, show that the Wiedemann-Franz ratio is given by

T
=
_
5
2
s
__
k
B
e
_
2
, (2)
where and are the thermal and charge conductivities, correspondingly.
1
Solution
Suppose that we apply both the electric eld and the temperature gradient. Then the Boltzmann equation in
the relaxation time approximation reads
v f e (v E)
f
0

=
f f
0
()
.
I assume here that may depend on the electron energythis will be important for obtaining the numerical
factor in Eq. (2). In the presence of the temperature gradient, the distribution function in the gradient term is
an equilibrium function of the combination ( (r))/T (r)
f = f
0
_
(r)
k
B
T (r)
_
.
Note that the chemical potential in general depends on the temperature and, thus, on r. For small gradients,
f =

k
B
T
2
f

0
T

k
B
T
f

0
where T = const and = const everywhere but inside the gradient trims. Using
f
0

=
1
k
B
T
f

0
,
we re-write f as
f =

T
T
f
0

f
0

,
so that the Boltzmann equation becomes

T
vT
f
0

ev E

f
0

=
f f
0
()
where E

= E+/e is the eective electric eld. Actually, measurement of the electric current involves a
contact between two metals, so that the gradient of the chemical potential must always be added to the electric
eld. Then the electrical conductivity measures the response to an eective eld E

rather than to E. With this

in mind, we relabel E

E. The non-equilibrium part of the distribution function is given by

f f
0
= ()
_

T
vT
f
0

+ev E
f
0

_
The electrical current
j = 2e
_
d
3
k
(2)
3
v (f f
0
)
= 2e
2
_
d
3
k
(2)
3
v (v E)
_

f
0

_
+ 2e
_
d
3
k
(2)
3
v (vT)

T
_

f
0

_
The term, proportional to T, describes the thermoelectric eect. Assuming that E||T||z, using isotropy of
the energy spectrum, and switching from integration over k to that over , we obtain for the electrical current
along z
j =
e
2
3
_
d () v
2
() ()
_

f
0

_
E +
e
3
_
d () v
2
()

T
()
_

f
0

z
T
L
EE
E +L
ET

z
T (3)
where () is the density of states and v () is the electron velocity. The thermal current is dened as
j
T
= 2
_
d
3
k
(2)
3
v ( ) (f f
0
) ,
which, after the same manipulations as for the charge current, is reduced to
j
T
=
1
3
_
d () v
2
()
( )
2
T
()
_

f
0

z
T
e
3
_
d () v
2
() ( ) ()
_

f
0

_
E
L
TT

z
T TL
ET
E.
The electrical conductivity is measured under the conditions of constant temperature, which yields
= L
EE
=
e
2
3
_
d () v
2
() ()
_

f
0

_
.
The thermal conductivity is measured in an open circuit when no electric current ows through the sample.
Equating j to zero in Eq. (3), we nd the electric eld generated to compensate the charge ow produced by
the temperature gradient
E =
L
ET
L
EE

z
T.
Substituting this relation into the thermal current and using the denition of the thermal conductivity j
T
=

z
T, we obtain
= L
TT
T
L
2
ET
L
EE
.
The Lorentz ratio
L

T
=
1
e
2
T
L
TT
L
EE
TL
2
ET
L
2
EE
(4)
Lets focus on the numerator in Eq. (4). Dening temporarily A() () v
2
() ()
_

f0

_
, we have
T
_
L
TT
L
EE
TL
2
ET
_
=
_
d
_
d

A() A(

)
_
( )
2
( ) (

)
_
=
_
d
_
d

A() A(

) ( ) (

) =
_
d
_
d

A() A(

) [ (

) (

)]
=
_
d
_
d

A() A(

) (

) =
_
dA()
2
_
d

A(

)
__
dA()
_
2
. (5)
The integral of the (

) term vanishes because of symmetry. An important consequence is that the chemical

potential drops out and is thus not needed to be known explicitly (this is important for the non-degenerate case
where depends on T.) Note that the cancellation of the chemical potential was only possible because we kept
the thermoelectric term.
Substituting (5) back into (4), we obtain
L =
1
e
2
T
_
_
dA()
2
_
dA()

__
dA()
_
dA()
_
2
_
(6)
Now we specify the form of the density of states () = A
1/2
and the velocity v () = A

1/2
(free 3D
electrons), xassume that () = B/
s
, and focus on the non-degenerate case, when f
0
= Ce
/k
B
T
(and

f0

= Ce
/k
B
T
/k
B
T). Constants A, A

, B, and C are not important as the cancel out from the ratios of
integrals in (6). Rescaling x = /k
B
T and canceling common factors of T, we re-write L via a combinations of
the dimensionless integrals
L =
k
2
B
e
2
_
I
7/2s
I
3/2s

_
I
5/2s
I
3/2s
_
2
_
,
where I

0
dxx

e
x
= ( + 1) and (x) is a Gamma function with a property that (x + 1) = x(x).
Using this property, we obtain
L =
_
k
B
e
_
2
_
5
2
s
_
.
The result L = (3/2)(k
B
/e)
2
derived in AM corresponds to s = 1 (when () 1/), in which case the diusion
coecient D = (1/3)v
2
()() does not depend on the electron energy, and the phenomenological treatment
presented in AM is correct. For s = 1, the phenomenological picture breaks down because one need to perform
proper averaging over the energy distribution, as we did above.
P3 [20 points ]
Cyclotron motion
Using the Onsager formula for the cyclotron mass
m
c
=

2
2
S

with S being the area of an isoenergetic contour, nd m

c
for electrons (
F
> 0) and holes (
F
< 0) in graphene
described by the Dirac-like dispersion
k
= v
0
k.
Solution
m
c
=

2
2
S

=
F
.
For both electrons and holes,
S = k
2
=

2

2
v
2
F
m
c
=

F
v
2
F
.
For holes
F
< 0 and thus m
c
< 0.
P4 [20 points ] Normal modes of a square lattice
Consider a square lattice of atoms of mass M, in which the nearest neighbors are coupled to each other by springs
with constants K. Derive the equation of motion for the mode in which atomic displacements are normal to the
crystal plane, and nd the dispersion of this mode. Analyze the behavior of this mode in the continuum limit.
FIG. 2: Square lattice.
Solution
Label the adjacent lattice sites as shown in the gure. The potential energy of the nearest-neighbor interaction
is
U =
K
2
_
(u
n,m
u
n,m1
)
2
+ (u
n,m
u
n,m+1
)
2
+ (u
n,m
u
n+1,m
)
2
+ (u
n,m
u
n1,m
)
2

The equation of motion for atom (n, m):

M

2
u
n,m
t
2
=
U
n
n,m
= K [4u
n,m
u
n,m1
u
n,m+1
u
n,m+1
u
n,m
u
n,m+1
] . (7)
Upon substituting
u
n,m
= Aexp i (naq
x
+maq
y
t),
the equation of motion reduces to

2
=
2K
M
(2 cos q
x
a cos q
y
a) ,
which is just a trivial generalization of the 1D case. For q
x
a 1 and q
y
a 1, the dispersion reduces to an
isotropic acoustic form

2
=
Ka
2
M
(q
2
x
+q
2
y
) =
Ka
2
M
q
2
.
P5 25 points Elastic properties of layered systems
A popular model for describing elastic properties of layered systems (such as high T
c
cuprates or graphite) is a
stack of planes coupled by Hookes forces. The planes are treated in the continuum approximation, which is OK
as long as the temperature is much smaller than the Debye temperature of the in-plane phonon modes. On the
other hand, since the planes are weakly coupled, the corresponding Debye temperature is small, and the model
allows to follow a transition between a quasi-discrete regime at higher T, when the inter-plane spacings are
still resolved, to a completely continuous regime at lower T, when the crystal becomes equivalent to anisotropic
elastic continuum.
Let z
n
(x, y, t) be a vertical displacement of plane #n at point x, y. The equation of motion for z
n
(x, y, t) reads

2
z
n
(x, y, t)
t
2
= s
2
||
_

2
x
2
+

2
y
2
_
z
n
(x, y, t)
2
0
[2z
n
(x, y, t) z
n+1
(x, y, t) z
n1
(x, y, t)] , (8)
where s
||
is the in-plane sound velocity and
0
characterizes the strength of the inter-plane force.
a) Find the spectrum of phonon modes in this model using a substitution
z
n
(x, y, t) = Aexp
_
i
_
q
||
r
||
+nq
z
c t
_
, (9)
where r
||
= {x, y} and c is the inter-plane distance.
Solution
Substituting (9) into (8), we obtain

2
q
= s
2
||
q
2
||
+
2
0
_
2 e
iqzc
e
iqzc
_
or

2
q
= s
2
||
q
2
||
+ 2
2
0
(1 cos q
z
c) .
b) Find the density of states of phonon modes using the general formula
d() =

_
d
3
q
(2)
3
(

(q)), (10)
where is the mode index. Hint: Notice that the integrals over q
x
and q
z
should run from to +,
because planes are considered as continuous, whereas the integral over q
z
should run over the rst Brillouin
zone, i.e., from /c to /c.
Solution For a single mode the density of states is given by
g() =
_
d
3
q
(2)
3
(
q
).
Using an identity
(f(x)) =

i
(x x
i
)
|f

(x
i
)|
,
where x
i
are the roots of the equation f(x
i
) = 0, we obtain
g() =
_
d
3
q
(2)
3
(
q
) = 2
_
d
3
q
(2)
3
(
2

2
q
).
(for > 0). This step it is not necessary but it does make the subsequent integrals easier. Now, switch to
th cylindrical coordinates
g() = 2
_
/c
/c
dq
z
2
_

0
dq
||
q
||
(2)
2
_
2
0
d
2

2
s
2
||
q
2
||
2
2
0
sin
2
q
z
c
2
_
. (11)
The integral over gives just 2. Introduce a new variable x = q
2
||
which is a non-negative quantity. This
needs to be taken into account when resolving the function because it imposes constraints on the possible
values of q
z
. The root of the -function is at
x =

2
2
2
0
sin
2 qzc
2
s
2
||
0. (12)
If > 2
0
, the RHS of (12) is non-negative. In this case, there is no constraint on q
z
. If < 2
0
, the
RHS is non-negative only if
2

2
0
sin
2
(q
z
c/2) or | sin(q
z
c/2)| /2
0
or |q
z
| (2/c) arcsin(/2
0
).
Therefore, the answer for g() depends on whether < 2
0
or 2
0
. For > 2
0
,
g() =
2
2
2
_
/c
0
dq
z
_

0
dx
_

2
s
2
||
x 2
2
0
sin
2
q
z
c
2
_
=

2cs
2
||
. (13)
FIG. 3: g() as a function of /20.
For < 2
0
,
g() =

2
2
_ 2
c
arcsin

2
0
_

0
dx
_

2
s
2
||
q
2
||
2
2
0
sin
2
q
z
c
2
_
=

2
s
2
||
c
arcsin

2
0
. (14)
Comparing (13) and (14), we see that g() is continuous at = 2
0
but its derivative is discontinuous.
For
0
, g()
2
, which is a 3D-like behavior for an acoustic mode. For
0
, g() , which
is a 2D-like behavior. At higher energies, the wavelength of phonons is short, and they behave as a 2D
system. At lower energies, the wavelength is long, and phonons behave as a 3D system.
c) Find the asymptotic expressions for the lattice specic heat in two limits: a) T
0
/k
B
and b)T

0
/k
B
.
Solution
Internal energy
E(T) =
_
d
3
q
(2)
3

q
exp
_
q
k
B
T
_
1
=
_
dg()

exp
_

k
B
T
_
1
(15)
At k
B
T
0
, one can replace g() by its 3D-like asymptotic form g() = A2 valid at
0
. In this
case, we recover the isotropic 3D result: E(T) T
4
and hence C
V
T
3
. At k
B
T
0
, one can replace
g() by its 2D-like asymptotic form g() = A valid at
0
. In this case, we recover the isotropic 2D
result: E(T) T
3
and hence C
V
T
2
. Therefore, C
V
(T) starts o as T
3
at lower T but changes to T
2
at higher temperatures. At T higher than the Debye temperature for in-plane vibrations, the T
2
behavior
will be replaced by the classical Dulong-Petite law (C
V
= const) but this behavior of beyond the current
model in which planes are treated in the continuum approximation.
1
This result was obtained by Paul Drude, who implicitly assumed that s = 1(because in this case the diusion coecient
D = (1/3)v
2
does not depend on the electron energy) and also made a pure arithmetical mistake: his result had a factor of
3 instead of 3/2. In this form, the result was remarkably close to result for Fermi-Dirac statistics /T = (
2
/3)(kB/e)
2

3.29(kB/e)
2
, relevant to metals.