TS.4 · Partition derivatives, energy fluctuations and heat capacity

A thermal energy gap can keep heat capacity small at both low and high temperatures, even while the excited-state probability keeps increasing.

Prerequisites: 20.

• Obtain canonical mean energy and free energy from a fixed energy spectrum
• Relate energy variance to constant-volume heat capacity with fixed-spectrum conditions
• Evaluate entropy and low/high-temperature limits for an original finite-level model

For a system exchanging energy with a bath at T while N and V remain fixed, let β=1/(kBT). Sum Z=Σ_i g_i exp(−βE_i) over energy levels with their degeneracies. Level probability is g_i exp(−βE_i)/Z; mean energy U is the probability-weighted energy sum. Differentiating a temperature-independent spectrum gives U=−∂lnZ/∂β. Keep the energy gap and degeneracies fixed during the derivative. Writing Δ=kBT ln3 to describe one evaluation temperature must not be read as making Δ change with T. For N independent distinguishable identical two-level subsystems, Z_total=z^N and U_total=N u. Indistinguishable particles and interactions need their own state counting rather than this product assumption.

The second β derivative of lnZ gives variance Var(E)=⟨E²⟩−U². For the same fixed-spectrum canonical model, C_V=Var(E)/(kBT²), so C_V/kB=β²Var(E). Nonnegative variance implies nonnegative C_V within these conditions. The denominator includes kB, not kB², when heat capacity retains its ordinary J/K units. This fluctuation formula concerns the canonical energy distribution; it does not say each particle has exactly the mean energy. For independent subsystems variances add, while means add too. Relative energy fluctuations typically shrink like 1/√N when the mean and per-subsystem variance remain finite and nonzero.

For one ground state at E=0 and one excited state at fixed E=Δ>0, put x=Δ/(kBT). Then z=1+e^(−x), p_exc=1/(1+e^x), u=Δp_exc and C/kB=x²e^x/(1+e^x)². At low T, excitation and heat capacity vanish exponentially. At high T, p_exc tends to one half and energy saturates, so heat capacity tends to zero again. Entropy rises from zero for the unique ground state toward kB ln2 as the two states become equiprobable. The resulting finite-temperature heat-capacity peak is specific to the finite-level model; it is not the constant classical oscillator value. Ground-state degeneracy or additional levels would change the limiting entropy and temperature response.