‘Population Inversion’ at equilibrium

D.P. Sheehan and L.S. Schulman

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2019, vol. 524, issue C, 100-105

Abstract: In traditional equilibrium statistical mechanics the upper-most energy levels in a system are less populated than those immediately below owing to the dominance of the Boltzmann factor. Here we show that, when the statistical degeneracy of a system increases rapidly enough to dominate the standard Boltzmann factor and when there is also an upper limit to allowable energies, the upper energy levels can be more populated than lower ones, creating what resembles population inversion; furthermore, the average energies of occupied states can be suprathermal (E≫kT). Numerical simulations support these predictions. Physical systems are proposed that should demonstrate this statistically supradegenerate effect. Technological applications are suggested.

Keywords: Degeneracy; Nonequilibrium; Statistical mechanics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:524:y:2019:i:c:p:100-105

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2019.03.022

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