Thermodynamics of a free q-fermion gas

Abstract

We study the thermodynamics of a q-fermion gas for complex values of q on the unit circle. Special emphasis is given to the study of the virial coefficients and the specific heat of this gas. In particular, it is shown that if any state can accommodate up to p q-fermions, then the first p virial coefficients of such a gas are the same as that of a gas of free bosons. Explicit expressions for the deviation of higher virial coefficients from the corresponding values for a Bose gas are obtained. Further, as for ordinary fermions, it is shown that the specific heat of a q-fermion gas at low temperature is proportional to T. Numerical computations show that the derivative of the specific heat as a function of T has no discontinuity.