An ideal Fermi gas is a
state of matter
In physics, a state of matter is one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist. Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Many intermediate states are known to exist, such as liquid crystal, ...
which is an ensemble of many non-interacting
fermions. Fermions are
particles
In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass.
They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...
that obey
Fermi–Dirac statistics, like
electron
The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...
s,
protons, and
neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...
s, and, in general, particles with
half-integer spin. These statistics determine the energy distribution of fermions in a Fermi gas in
thermal equilibrium
Two physical systems are in thermal equilibrium if there is no net flow of thermal energy between them when they are connected by a path permeable to heat. Thermal equilibrium obeys the zeroth law of thermodynamics. A system is said to be i ...
, and is characterized by their
number density,
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...
, and the set of available energy states. The model is named after the Italian physicist
Enrico Fermi.
This physical model can be accurately applied to many systems with many fermions. Some key examples are the behaviour of
charge carriers in a metal,
nucleon
In physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus. The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number (nucleon number).
Until the 1960s, nucleons were ...
s in an
atomic nucleus
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron ...
, neutrons in a
neutron star
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. w ...
, and electrons in a
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...
.
Description
An ideal Fermi gas or free Fermi gas is a
physical model assuming a collection of non-interacting fermions in a constant
potential well. Fermions are elementary or composite particles with
half-integer spin, thus follow
Fermi-Dirac statistics. The equivalent model for integer spin particles is called the
Bose gas
An ideal Bose gas is a quantum-mechanical phase of matter, analogous to a classical ideal gas. It is composed of bosons, which have an integer value of spin, and abide by Bose–Einstein statistics. The statistical mechanics of bosons were deve ...
(an ensemble of non-interacting
boson
In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0,1,2 ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer spi ...
s). At low enough particle
number density and high temperature, both the Fermi gas and the Bose gas behave like a classical
ideal gas
An ideal gas is a theoretical gas composed of many randomly moving point particles that are not subject to interparticle interactions. The ideal gas concept is useful because it obeys the ideal gas law, a simplified equation of state, and is a ...
.
By the
Pauli exclusion principle
In quantum mechanics, the Pauli exclusion principle states that two or more identical particles with half-integer spins (i.e. fermions) cannot occupy the same quantum state within a quantum system simultaneously. This principle was formulat ...
, no
quantum state
In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rules for the system's evolution i ...
can be occupied by more than one fermion with an identical set of
quantum numbers. Thus a non-interacting Fermi gas, unlike a Bose gas, concentrates a small number of particles per energy. Thus a Fermi gas is prohibited from condensing into a
Bose–Einstein condensate
In condensed matter physics, a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that is typically formed when a gas of bosons at very low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (−273.15 °C or −459.6 ...
, although weakly-interacting Fermi gases might form a
Cooper pair
In condensed matter physics, a Cooper pair or BCS pair (Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer pair) is a pair of electrons (or other fermions) bound together at low temperatures in a certain manner first described in 1956 by American physicist Leon Coope ...
and condensate (also known as
BCS-BEC crossover regime). The total energy of the Fermi gas at
absolute zero is larger than the sum of the single-particle
ground states because the Pauli principle implies a sort of interaction or pressure that keeps fermions separated and moving. For this reason, the
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...
of a Fermi gas is non-zero even at zero temperature, in contrast to that of a classical ideal gas. For example, this so-called
degeneracy pressure stabilizes a
neutron star
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. w ...
(a Fermi gas of neutrons) or a
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...
star (a Fermi gas of electrons) against the inward pull of
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
, which would ostensibly collapse the star into a
black hole. Only when a star is sufficiently massive to overcome the degeneracy pressure can it collapse into a singularity.
It is possible to define a Fermi temperature below which the gas can be considered degenerate (its pressure derives almost exclusively from the Pauli principle). This temperature depends on the mass of the fermions and the
density of energy states.
The main assumption of the
free electron model
In solid-state physics, the free electron model is a quantum mechanical model for the behaviour of charge carriers in a metallic solid. It was developed in 1927, principally by Arnold Sommerfeld, who combined the classical Drude model with quantu ...
to describe the delocalized electrons in a metal can be derived from the Fermi gas. Since interactions are neglected due to
screening effect, the problem of treating the equilibrium properties and dynamics of an ideal Fermi gas reduces to the study of the behaviour of single independent particles. In these systems the Fermi temperature is generally many thousands of
kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phy ...
s, so in human applications the electron gas can be considered degenerate. The maximum energy of the fermions at zero temperature is called the Fermi energy. The Fermi energy surface in
reciprocal space
In physics, the reciprocal lattice represents the Fourier transform of another lattice (usually a Bravais lattice). In normal usage, the initial lattice (whose transform is represented by the reciprocal lattice) is usually a periodic spatial fu ...
is known as the
Fermi surface In condensed matter physics, the Fermi surface is the surface in reciprocal space which separates occupied from unoccupied electron states at zero temperature. The shape of the Fermi surface is derived from the periodicity and symmetry of the crys ...
.
The
nearly free electron model
In solid-state physics, the nearly free electron model (or NFE model) or quasi-free electron model is a quantum mechanical model of physical properties of electrons that can move almost freely through the crystal lattice of a solid. The model i ...
adapts the Fermi gas model to consider the
crystal structure
In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns ...
of
metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
s and
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...
s, where electrons in a crystal lattice are substituted by
Bloch electrons with a corresponding
crystal momentum. As such, periodic systems are still relatively tractable and the model forms the starting point for more advanced theories that deal with interactions, e.g. using the
perturbation theory
In mathematics and applied mathematics, perturbation theory comprises methods for finding an approximate solution to a problem, by starting from the exact solution of a related, simpler problem. A critical feature of the technique is a middl ...
.
1D uniform gas
The one-dimensional
infinite square well of length ''L'' is a model for a one-dimensional box with the potential energy: