Fermi energy

The term "Fermi energy" is often used to refer to a different yet closely related concept, the Fermi level (also called electrochemical potential). There are a few key differences between the Fermi level and Fermi energy, at least as they are used in this article:

• The Fermi energy is only defined at absolute zero, while the Fermi level is defined for any temperature.
• The Fermi energy is an energy difference (usually corresponding to a kinetic energy), whereas the Fermi level is a total energy level including kinetic energy and potential energy.
• The Fermi energy can only be defined for non-interacting fermions (where the potential energy or band edge is a static, well defined quantity), whereas the Fermi level remains well defined even in complex interacting systems, at thermodynamic equilibrium.

Since the Fermi level in a metal at absolute zero is the energy of the highest occupied single particle state, then the Fermi energy in a metal is the energy difference between the Fermi level and lowest occupied single-particle state, at zero-temperature.

Context

In quantum mechanics, a group of particles known as fermions (for example, electrons, protons and neutrons) obey the Pauli exclusion principle. This states that two fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state. Since an idealized non-interacting Fermi gas can be analyzed in terms of single-particle stationary states, we can thus say that two fermions cannot occupy the same stationary state. These stationary states will typically be distinct in energy. To find the ground state of the whole system, we start with an empty system, and add particles one at a time, consecutively filling up the unoccupied stationary states with the lowest energy. When all the particles have been put in, the Fermi energy is the kinetic energy of the highest occupied state.

As a consequence, even if we have extracted all possible energy from a Fermi gas by cooling it to near absolute zero temperature, the fermions are still moving around at a high speed. The fastest ones are moving at a velocity corresponding to a kinetic energy equal to the Fermi energy. This speed is known as the Fermi velocity. Only when the temperature exceeds the related Fermi temperature, do the particles begin to move significantly faster than at absolute zero.

The Fermi energy is an important concept in the solid state physics of metals and superconductors. It is also a very important quantity in the physics of quantum liquids like low temperature helium (both normal and superfluid ³He), and it is quite important to nuclear physics and to understanding the stability of white dwarf stars against gravitational collapse.