Finite-size effects in a D-dimensional ideal Fermi gas

By using the Euler--MacLaurin formula, this paper studies the thermodynamic properties of an ideal Fermi gas confined in a d-dimensional rectangular container. The general expressions of the thermodynamic quantities with the finite-size corrections are given explicitly and the effects of the size and shape of the container on the properties of the system are discussed. It is shown that the corrections of the thermodynamic quantities due to the finite-size effects are significant to be considered for the case of strong degeneracy but negligible for the case of weak degeneracy or non-degeneracy. It is important to find that some familiar conclusions under the thermodynamic limit are no longer valid for the finite-size systems and there are some novel characteristics resulting from the finite-size effects, such as the nonextensivity of the system, the anisotropy of the pressure, and so on.