The Brownian Motion in an Ideal Quantum Qas

Abstract: A Brownian particle in an ideal quantum gas is considered. The mean square displacement (MSD) is derived. The Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac distribution, other than the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, provides a different stochastic force compared with the classical Brownian motion. The MSD, which depends on the thermal wavelength and the density of medium particles, reflects the quantum effect on the Brownian particle explicitly. The result shows that the MSD in an ideal Bose gas is shorter than that in a Fermi gas. The behavior of the quantum Brownian particle recovers the classical Brownian particle as the temperature raises. At low temperatures, the quantum effect becomes obvious. For example, there is a random motion of the Brownian particle due to the fermionic exchange interaction even the temperature is near the absolute zero.