Statistical Mechanics · Problem 3.17

The Grand Canonical Ensemble — R. K. Pathria

Physics — Statistical Mechanics · canonical-ensemble-energy-fluctuation

Problem

If we take the function f(q,p)f(q, p) in eqn. (3.5.3) to be U−H(q,p)U - H(q, p), then clearly ⟨f⟩=0\langle f \rangle = 0; formally, this would mean ∫[U−H(q,p)]e−βH(q,p) dω=0.\int [U - H(q,p)] e^{-\beta H(q,p)}\, d\omega = 0. Derive from this equation expression (3.6.3) for the mean-square fluctuation in the energy of a system embedded in the canonical ensemble.

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