Thermodynamics of a particle in square well potential

Abstract

Abstract We have presented the thermodynamic properties of a particle moving freely both in an infinite and finite square well in contact with a heat reservoir at constant temperature. In both cases, we have computed the temperature dependence of the partition function, entropy, average energy and specific heat of the particle in an exact way. The exact results for various thermodynamic parameters deviate considerably from its known theoretical values and reveal the importance of such calculations. The effect of the width of the finite well on the different thermodynamic quantities have also been examined critically.