2.II.33D
Part II, 2006
State and prove Bloch's theorem for the electron wave functions for a periodic potential where is a lattice vector.
What is the reciprocal lattice? Explain why the Bloch wave-vector is arbitrary up to , where is a reciprocal lattice vector.
Describe in outline why one can expect energy bands . Explain how may be restricted to a Brillouin zone and show that the number of states in volume is
Assuming that the velocity of an electron in the energy band with Bloch wave-vector is
show that the contribution to the electric current from a full energy band is zero. Given that for each occupied energy level, show that the contribution to the current density is then
where is the electron charge.