GS2023 - Physics Question Paper

Section A

A.1 A surface is given by

4𝑥 2 𝑦 − 2𝑥𝑦 2 + 3𝑧 3 = 0

Which of the following is a vector normal to it at the point (2,3,1)?

̂
(a) 30𝐢̂ − 8𝐣̂ + 9𝐤

̂
(b) 15𝐢̂ − 4𝐣̂ + 18𝐤

̂
(c) 30𝐢̂ + 8𝐣̂ − 9𝐤

̂
(d) 30𝐢̂ − 8𝐣̂ − 9𝐤
A.2 The value of the first derivative of the function

2 2 |𝑥|
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑒 −√3 𝑥
√3
at 𝑥 = 0 is 𝑓 ′ (0) =

(a) 0

(b) 2

(c) 2⁄√3

(d) undefined
A.3 Consider a symmetric matrix
1/3 0 2/3
𝑀=( 0 1 0 )
2/3 0 1/3

An orthogonal matrix 𝑂 which can diagonalize this matrix by an orthogonal

transformation 𝑂𝑇 𝑀𝑂 is given by 𝑂 =

1/√2 0 1/√2
(a) ( 0 1 0 )
1/√2 0 −1/√2

√2/3 0 √1/3
(b) ( 0 1 0 )
√1/3 0 −√2/3

√1/3 0 √2/3
(c) ( 0 1 0 )
√2/3 0 −√1/3

1/√2 0 𝑖/√2
(d) ( 0 1 0 )
1/√2 0 −𝑖/√2
A.4 A small body of mass 𝑚 is released from rest at the top of a frictionless curved surface
as shown in the figure, and permitted to slide down the curve. At the endpoint C, the
tangent to the curve is horizontal. The mass then falls on the ground at a distance 𝑑 as
shown in the figure below when the experiment is carried out on the surface of the
Earth. The heights ℎ1 and ℎ2 are also shown in the figure.

Suppose the same experiment is repeated on the surface of the Moon, where the
acceleration due to gravity is 𝑔′ = 𝑔/6, where 𝑔 is the value on Earth. The
corresponding distance 𝑑 ′ at which the mass will fall on the ground in the Moon is

(a) 𝑑

(b) 6𝑑

(c) 𝑑√ℎ1⁄ℎ2

(d) dependent on the shape of the curve

A.5 A particle is executing simple harmonic motion in a straight line. When the distance
of the particle from the equilibrium position is 𝑥1and 𝑥2, the corresponding values of
its velocity are𝑣1 and 𝑣2 respectively. The time period of oscillation is given by

𝑥22 − 𝑥12
(a) 2𝜋√
𝑣12 − 𝑣22

𝑥22 − 𝑥12
(b) 2𝜋√
𝑣22 − 𝑣12

𝑥 −𝑥
2 1
(c) 2𝜋 𝑣 − 𝑣
2 1

𝑥 −𝑥
2 1
(d) 2𝜋 𝑣 − 𝑣
1 2
A.6 A solid cylinder of uniform mass density rolls
down a fixed inclined plane without slipping (see
figure).

The fraction of the total kinetic energy of the

cylinder associated with its rotation about its
centre of mass is

(a) 1/3

(b) 1/6

(c) 1/4

(d) 1/2
A.7 Consider an electron double slit experiment as shown in the figure below, with slits S1
and S2.

If now, within the shaded region marked C, a constant uniform magnetic field pointing
outside the page is turned on, the fringe pattern

(a) will get shifted.

(b) will disappear.

(c) will remain unchanged.

(d) will become dimmer.

A.8 An atom of mass 𝑀 at rest emits or absorbs a photon of frequency 𝜈 and recoils with
a momentum 𝑝. The frequency of the internal transition of electronic levels is 𝜈0
without accounting for recoil. Assuming the process is nonrelativistic, the fractional
differences between the photon frequency for emission and absorption (𝜈 − 𝜈0 )/𝜈,
respectively, are given by

ℎ𝑣 ℎ𝑣
(a) − 2𝑀𝑐 2 (emission), + 2𝑀𝑐 2 (absorption)

2ℎ𝑣 2ℎ𝑣
(b) + 2 (emission), − 2 (absorption)
𝑀𝑐 𝑀𝑐

2ℎ𝑣 2ℎ𝑣
(c) − 𝑀𝑐 20 (emission), + 𝑀𝑐 20 (absorption)

ℎ𝑣 ℎ𝑣
(d) + 2𝑀𝑐02 (emission), − 2𝑀𝑐02 (absorption)
A.9 Consider an electron with mass 𝑚𝑒 , charge −𝑒 and spin 1/2, whose spin angular
momentum operator is given by
ℏ
⃗̂
𝑺= 𝝈⃗
2
̂ , where all three
⃗⃗ = 𝐵𝑥 𝐢̂ + 𝐵𝑦 𝐣̂ + 𝐵𝑧 𝐤
This electron is placed in a magnetic field 𝑩
components (𝐵𝑥 , 𝐵𝑦 , 𝐵𝑧 ) are nonvanishing.

At time 𝑡 = 0, the electron is at rest in the 𝑆𝑧 = ℏ/2 state. The earliest time when the
state of the spin will be orthogonal to the initial state is

(a) infinity, i.e., it will never be orthogonal.

(b) 2𝑚𝑒
⃗⃗ |
𝑔𝑒|𝑩

(c) 4𝑚𝑒
⃗⃗ |
𝑔𝑒|𝑩

⃗⃗
(d) dependent on the direction of the magnetic field 𝑩
A.10 The electric field lines due to a uniformly polarized dielectric sphere (polarization along
the positive z-axis as shown in the figure)

will look like

(a) (c)

(b) (d)
A.11 A beam of unpolarized microwave radiation is incident along the x-axis on a grid of
metal wires in the yz-plane with wires running along the y-axis (see figure below).

If the width of each wire and the spacing between the adjacent wires is less than the
wavelength of the microwave, the observation would be that

(a) the transmitted wave would be polarized along the 𝑧-axis.

(b) the transmitted wave would be polarized along the 𝑦-axis.

(c) the transmitted wave would be unpolarized.

(d) no wave will pass through as the spacing is smaller than the wavelength.
A.12 Consider the following situation. A uniform
magnetic field 𝐵⃗ pointing into the plane of the
paper is present everywhere inside the
rectangular region shown shaded in the
adjoining figure. Outside the rectangular
region, there is no magnetic field.

A closed loop of conducting wire is placed

inside the rectangular region as shown in the
figure at time 𝑡 = 0. The loop is then rotated
counterclockwise with a uniform angular velocity ω about an axis perpendicular to
the paper passing through the point O.

If the direction along PQOP is taken to be positive, then a correct graph for the EMF
ℰ generated in the loop is

(a)

(b)

(c)
(d)
A.13 Consider a sealed but thermally conducting container of total volume 𝑉, which is in
equilibrium with a thermal bath at temperature 𝑇. The container is divided into two
equal chambers by a thin partition, which is thermally conducting but impermeable
to particles. One of the chambers contains an ideal gas, while the other is a vacuum.

If the partition is removed suddenly and the ideal gas is allowed to expand and fill
the entire container, then, once equilibrium has been reached, the entropy per
molecule will increase by an amount

(a) +𝑘𝐵 ln 2

(b) −𝑘𝐵 ln 2

(c) 2𝑘𝐵

1
(d) 𝑘 ln 2
2 𝐵
A.14 Five identical bosons are distributed in energy levels 𝐸1 and 𝐸2 with degeneracy of
2 and 3, respectively. Find the number of microstates if there are three bosons in
the energy level 𝐸1 and two bosons in the energy level 𝐸2 .

(a) 24

(b) 1024

(c) 120

(d) 6
A.15 A two-level system with zero ground state energy is in equilibrium at a nonzero finite
temperature. If 𝛼 is defined as the ratio
〈𝐸 2 〉
𝛼=
〈𝐸〉2
where 〈𝐸〉 denotes the mean energy and 〈𝐸 2 〉 denotes the mean squared energy, then

(a) 2 < 𝛼 < ∞

(b) 1 < 𝛼 ≤ 2

1
(c) <𝛼<1
2

1
(d) 0 < 𝛼 <
2
A.16 The pulse train at the output of an XNOR gate with the three inputs
A = 00011011
B = 10100011
C = 00101110
will be

(a) 01101001

(b) 10010110

(c) 01010111

(d) 10101000
A.17 In an experimental setup, positively charged particles are detected by a detector which
requires a negative DC high voltage of −2000 V. Every time a charged particle is
detected by the detector, it gives a transient pulse of height 10 mV.

The data collection system used for the experiment needs to detect this pulse;
however, it cannot operate at −2000 V. Which of the following circuits can be used
to connect the data collection system to the detector to obtain these pulses?

R
To To
Detector HV
(a)
C
To
Data Acquisition

R
To To
(b) Detector C HV

To
Data Acquisition

To To
Detector HV
C
(c) R
To
Data Acquisition

To To
Detector C HV
(d) R
To
Data Acquisition
A.18 A faint star is known to emit light of a given frequency at an average rate of 10
photons per minute. An astronomer plans to measure this rate using a photon-counting
detector. If she wants to measure the rate to an accuracy of 5%, approximately how
long should be the exposure time?

(a) 40 minutes

(b) 1 hour

(c) 20 minutes

(d) 10 minutes
A.19 In a mercury vapour lamp an electric arc passing through mercury vapour produces
light. When the lamp is switched on, the arc is struck, and the liquid mercury starts
evaporating as the temperature gradually increases.

In a certain experiment, a Michelson interferometer is set up with a mercury vapour

lamp as the light source, and the lamp is switched on. Which of the following effects
will be observed?

Initially, fringes will appear with high contrast but low intensity, which will be
(a)
reduced in contrast over the period of time as the light intensity builds up.

Initially, no fringes will be observed, but then fringes will emerge with high
(b)
contrast as the lamp heats up.

No fringes will be observed as the source is incoherent and has many

(c)
frequencies.

High contrast fringes will appear as soon as the lamp is switched on and will
(d)
remain thus so long as the lamp is on.
A.20 A beam of photons of 1 MeV energy each is shot at a 10 mm thick lead brick (see
figure).

photons
lead
brick

Given that the density of lead is 11.29 g-cm-3, its atomic mass is 207.2 a.m.u., and
also that the interaction cross-section for these photons with a lead atom is 10-23cm2,
the fraction of the incident photons that will cross the brick without losing any energy
is

(a) 72 %

(b) 28 %

(c) 33 %

(d) 67 %
A.21 The following Fraunhofer diffraction pattern was observed in an experiment.

The aperture arrangement that would yield such a fringe pattern is

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)
A.22 An electromagnetic wave is described by the following expression
𝜋
𝐸⃗ (𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝐸0 sin 𝑘𝑧 {𝒊̂ cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝒋̂ cos (𝜔𝑡 − )}
2
Which of the following correctly describes this waveform?

(a) A left circular-polarised standing wave along the positive z-axis.

(b) A right circular-polarised standing wave along the positive z-axis.

(c) A left circular-polarised travelling wave along the positive z-axis.

(d) A right circular-polarised travelling wave along the positive z-axis.

A.23 The minimum energy required to dissociate a hydrogen molecule (H2 ) into two atoms
is 4.5 eV. If the electron affinity of the hydrogen atom is 0.75 eV, the minimum
energy required to dissociate the hydrogen molecule into H + and H − would be

(a) 17.35 eV

(b) 14.35 eV

(c) 18.85 eV

(d) 5.25 eV
A.24 The binding energy ℰ𝑏 of a nuclide 𝐴𝑍X with atomic number 𝑍 and mass number 𝐴
is given by the semi-empirical formula
𝑍 (𝑍 − 1 ) (𝐴 − 2𝑍)2
ℰ𝑏 = 𝑎𝑉 𝐴 − 𝑎𝑆 𝐴2⁄3 − 𝑎𝐶 + 𝑎𝐴
𝐴 1 ⁄3 𝐴
where the constant parameters and source of effect for each term are

Volume term Surface term Coulomb term Asymmetry term

𝑎𝑉 𝑎𝑆 𝑎𝐶 𝑎𝐴
15.56 MeV 17.8 MeV 0.7 MeV 23.29 MeV

What is the mass difference between the two-mirror nuclei 136𝐶 and 137𝑁 ? It is known
that both of them are spherical in shape and have a uniform charge distribution.

(a) 2.62 MeV

(b) 3.40 MeV

(c) 0.78 MeV

(d) 1.84 MeV

A.25 A relativistic particle, moving in one dimension 𝑥, starts from rest at 𝑥 = 0 and is
subjected to a uniform and constant force field along the positive x-direction. If the
dashed line corresponds to 𝑥 = 𝑐𝑡, which of the following curves (red line) would
best represent the position 𝑥(𝑡) of the particle?

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)
 Section B
B.1 A random positive variable 𝑥 follows an exponential distribution

𝑝(𝑥) ∝ 𝑒 −𝜆𝑥

with 𝜆 > 0. The probability of observing an event 𝑥 > 3〈𝑥〉, where 〈𝑥〉 represents
the average value of 𝑥, is

(a) 1/𝑒 3

(b) 1/𝑒 4

(c) 1/𝑒

(d) 1/𝑒 2
B.2 Consider a regular tetrahedron ABCD, as shown in the figure below. Let the point O
be its centre.

The value of the angle AOB must be

(a) cos −1(− 1⁄3)

(b) cos −1(− 4⁄5)

(c) cos −1 (−√4⁄5)

(d) 2π⁄3
B.3 A thin equilateral triangular plate of uniform mass density is attached to a fixed
horizontal support along one of its sides through a frictionless hinge, as shown in the
figure below. The vertical distance between the rod and the lower tip of the plate is ℎ.

If the pointed tip of the plate is displaced (out of the plane of the paper) so that its
plane forms a small angle with the vertical plane passing through the rod, the angular
frequency 𝜔 of the resultant motion is 𝜔 =

2𝑔
(a) √
ℎ

(b) √2√3𝑔
ℎ

2𝑔
(c) √
√3ℎ

(d) √√3𝑔
2ℎ
B.4 A spherical planet of mass 𝑀, radius 𝑅 and uniform density is rotating anticlockwise
about an axis passing through its centre, which, in the figure below, is normal to the
plane of the paper. The duration of a ‘day’ on this planet is 𝑇.

A small asteroid of mass 𝑚 approaches the above planet from far away with a uniform
speed 𝑣1 along a straight line at a perpendicular distance 𝑟1 from the centre of the planet
(see figure). This path gets distorted by the gravitational field of the planet, and the
asteroid leaves with a final uniform speed 𝑣2 along a straight line at a perpendicular
distance 𝑟2 from the centre of the planet.

It is observed that after the passage of the asteroid, the length of the day on the planet
has changed by 𝛿𝑇 =

(a) 5𝑇 2 𝑚(𝑣2 𝑟2 − 𝑣1 𝑟1)

4𝜋 𝑀𝑅2

(b) 4𝜋 𝑀𝑅2
5 𝑚(𝑣2 𝑟2 − 𝑣1 𝑟1 )

(c) 5 𝑀𝑅2
4𝜋 𝑚(𝑣2 𝑟1 − 𝑣1 𝑟2 )

(d) 0
B.5 A particle is in the ground state of a one-dimensional box
𝐿 𝐿
− ≤𝑥≤+
2 2
The uncertainty product Δ𝑥Δ𝑝 for this state satisfies

ℏ
(a) < Δ𝑥Δ𝑝 ≤ ℏ
2

3ℏ
(b) ℏ < Δ𝑥Δ𝑝 ≤
2

3ℏ
(c) < Δ𝑥Δ𝑝 ≤ 2ℏ
2

ℏ
(d) Δ𝑥Δ𝑝 =
2
B.6 Consider a diatomic molecule with two atoms of masses 𝑚1 = 1 a.m.u. and 𝑚2 = 8
a.m.u. which are separated by a distance 𝑟 and bound by an effective interaction
potential of the form
𝑎4 𝑏2
𝑉(𝑟) = 𝜖 ( − )
4𝑟 4 2𝑟 2

where 𝜖 = 4 × 10−18 J, 𝑎 = 𝑏 = 1 Å and 1 a.m.u. ≈ 1.6 × 10−27 kg.

Making a small oscillations approximation, the transition frequency corresponding to

the vibrational spectra of the molecule is approximately

(a) 1.2 × 1014 Hz

(b) 0.4 × 1014 Hz

(c) 7.5 × 1014 Hz

(d) 3.6 × 1014 Hz

B.7 Consider a solid sphere of radius 𝑅 with a total charge 𝑄 distributed uniformly
throughout its volume (see figure, left). The electric field measured at a distance 𝑥 =
2𝑅 from the centre of the sphere along the equatorial plane is found to be 𝐸1 .

Next, the same charge is distributed differently, such that Q/2 is concentrated at the
north pole, and the remaining Q/2 is concentrated at the south pole (see figure, right).
The electric field is measured again at the same point on the equatorial plane and
found to be 𝐸2 .
The value of 𝐸2 /𝐸1 is

(a) 8
5√5

(b) 1

(c) 2
√5

(d) 4
5
B.8 A small satellite S has a rectangular solar sail of dimensions 8 m × 4 m, which propels
the satellite upon receiving sunlight. One half of the sail is a perfect reflector, while
the other half is a perfect absorber, as shown in the figure.

8m

S 4m

Perfect Perfect
absorber reflector

Assuming uniform sunlight incident normally on the sail with an intensity

1370 W m−2 and ignoring the satellite’s shadowing effects, the instantaneous torque
experienced by the satellite is

(a) 1.46 × 10–4 N-m

(b) 2.92 × 10–4 N-m

(c) 0.73 × 10–4 N-m

(d) 2.19 × 10–4 N-m

B.9 The equilibrium temperature (𝑇0) on the surface of a planet results from the balance
between the energy received from their host star and the energy they emit back into
space. In the case of the Earth, 𝑇0 = 300 K and the orbit is almost circular. We may
safely assume that planets absorb and emit radiation like perfect blackbodies

Now consider an exoplanet of the same size as the Earth, which orbits a fainter star
having a power output only 25% of that of the Sun, in an almost-circular orbit of radius
25% that of the Earth-Sun distance.

The equilibrium temperature 𝑇0′ on the surface of this exoplanet will be about

(a) 424 K

(b) 212 K

(c) 300 K

(d) 600 K
B.10 At what value of 𝑅𝑓 will the ideal op-amp shown in the figure provide a gain of 6 ?

(a) 12.4 kΩ

(b) 19.5 kΩ

(c) 22.5 kΩ

(d) 14.4 kΩ
B.11 A well-collimated constant-current electron beam of Gaussian energy distribution
centred at 10 eV with FWHM of 2 eV is detected using a metal cup connected to an
ammeter, as shown in the figure below. The entire apparatus is kept in vacuum.

To measure the energy width of the electron beam, a grid is introduced with a voltage
source Vstop connected to it, as shown in the figure. The current measured in the cup
is plotted as a function of the value of Vstop . The graph of the current I vs Vstop would
be

(b)
(a)

(d)
(c)
B.12 A diffraction grating spectrograph is used to resolve the two sodium D lines (589 and
589.6 nm) in the first order of diffraction. If the width of the grating is 2 cm and the
focal length of the spectrograph camera is 20 cm, what the linear separation at the
focal plane of the two D lines will be about

(a) 6 μm

(b) 6 mm

(c) 60 μm

(d) 60 nm
B.13 A photon of frequency ν𝑖 collides “head on” with an electron of mass 𝑚 having speed
𝑢𝑖 and the photon scatters off in a direction exactly opposite to its initial momentum
(see figure).

initial

final

It is found that the frequency of the scattered photon is the same as that of the incident
photon. Which of the following conditions must hold for this to happen?

(a) The magnitude of the initial momentum of the electron is 𝑝𝑖𝑒 = ℎ𝜈𝑖 ⁄𝑐

(b) The initial energy of the electron is 𝐸𝑖𝑒 = ℎ𝜈𝑖

(c) The magnitude of the initial momentum of the electron is 𝑝𝑖𝑒 = 2ℎ𝜈𝑖 ⁄𝑐

(d) The initial energy of the electron is 𝐸𝑖𝑒 = 2ℎ𝜈𝑖

B.14 The number of hyperfine states found in the 3He atom for the electronic configuration

1s1 2s02p1

would be

(a) 7

(b) 2

(c) 4

(d) 1
B.15 An X-ray of wavelength 𝜆, when incident on the (101) plane of a cubic lattice with
lattice constant 𝑎 produces a first-order Bragg’s reflection at 𝜃 = 30° (𝜃 is measured
from the lattice plane).

Suppose this cubic lattice is compressed along the 𝑧 axis such that its lattice
parameters along the 𝑥 and 𝑦 axes remain the same while that along the 𝑧 axis
1
becomes 𝑎 (see figure).
√3

The first-order reflection for the (101) plane of the compressed lattice occurs at:

(a) 𝜃 = 45°

(b) 𝜃 = 15°

(c) 𝜃 = 30°

(d) 𝜃 = 60°
 Section C
C.1 A complex analytic function ω = 𝑓(𝑧) transforms an equilateral triangle in the
complex 𝑧-plane to another equilateral triangle in the complex ω-plane as shown in
the figure.

Which of the options below CANNOT be 𝑓(𝑧)?

(a) 𝑓(𝑧) = 𝑒 5𝜋𝑖⁄6 𝑧 + 2𝑖√3

(b) 𝑓(𝑧) = 2𝑒 2𝜋𝑖⁄3 𝑧 + 2 + 𝑖√3

(c) 𝑓(𝑧) = 2𝑖𝑒 5𝜋𝑖⁄6 𝑧 + 𝑖√3

(d) 𝑓(𝑧) = 2𝑧 + 1
C.2 Calculate the integral
∞
𝑑𝑥
∫
0 √𝑥(𝑥 2 + 1)

(a) 𝜋
√2

(b) 𝜋√2

(c) 2𝜋

(d) 𝜋
2
C.3 Consider the Hamiltonian for a one-dimensional classical oscillator
1
𝐻= (𝑝2 + 𝑚2 𝜔2 𝑞2 )
2𝑚
A canonical transformation to variables (𝑃, 𝑄) via the generating function
𝑚𝜔𝑞2
𝐹= cot 𝑄
2
leads to which of the following Hamiltonians in the new coordinates?

(a) 𝐻 = 𝜔𝑃

(b) 𝐻 = 𝑃2 + 𝜔2 𝑄2

(c) 𝐻 = 2𝜔𝑃

(d) 𝐻 = 2𝜔𝑄
C.4 A simple pendulum is oscillating freely in the vertical plane. If the string is shortened
very slowly to half its length, the angular amplitude 𝜃max will change by a factor

(a) 23/4

(b) √2

(c) 2

(d) Does not change.

C.5 Consider a particle of mass 𝑚 in a quartic potential

𝑝2
𝐻= + 𝑎𝑥 4
2𝑚
If we take a variational wavefunction
2
𝜓(𝑥, 𝜆) = 𝑒 −𝜆𝑥

with 𝜆 > 0 and try to estimate the ground state energy, the value of 𝜆 should be chosen
as

[You may use the integral

+∞
2 𝜋 𝐵 𝜋 3𝐶 𝜋
∫ 𝑑𝑥 (𝐴 + 𝐵𝑥 2 + 𝐶𝑥 4 )𝑒 −𝜆𝑥 = 𝐴 √ + √ 3 + √
𝜆 2 𝜆 4 𝜆5
−∞

where 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 and 𝜆 > 0 are all constants.]

3𝑚𝑎 1⁄3
(a) ( )
4ℏ2

5𝑚𝑎 1⁄3
(b) ( )
3𝜋 2 ℏ2

15𝑚𝑎 1⁄3
(c) ( )
8ℏ2

𝑚𝑎 1⁄3
(d) ( )
2𝜋ℏ2
C.6 A charge 𝑒 is moving with an angular frequency 𝜔 along a circle of radius 𝑎 always
keeping a small distance 𝑑 (𝑑 ≪ 𝑎) from a grounded infinite conducting plane.

The leading dependence of the radiated power 𝑃(𝜔) at a distance 𝑟 (𝑟 ≫ 𝑎) will be

(a) 𝑃(𝜔) ∝ 𝜔4

(b) 𝑃(𝜔) ∝ 𝜔6

(c) 𝑃(𝜔) ∝ 𝜔3

(d) 𝑃(𝜔) ∝ 𝜔2
C.7 For an electromagnetic wave propagating through a rectangular waveguide, the electric
and magnetic fields

(a) are never perpendicular to each other

(b) are always perpendicular to each other

(c) are perpendicular to each other only in the TE mode

(d) are perpendicular to each other only in the TM mode

C.8 Consider a fermionic system with a Hamiltonian
0 𝐸0 0
̂ = [𝐸0 0 2𝐸0 ]
H
0 2𝐸0 0
Consider the grand canonical ensemble of this system at temperature 𝑇 and zero
chemical potential, where 𝑘𝐵 is the Boltzmann constant. The grand canonical
partition function of the system is given by

𝐸0
(a) 4 + cosh (√5 )
𝑘𝐵 𝑇

𝐸0
(b) cosh (√5 )
𝑘𝐵 𝑇

1
(c) 𝐸
4 + cosh (√5 𝑘 0𝑇)
𝐵

𝐸0
(d) sech (√5 )
𝑘𝐵 𝑇
C.9 A half-adder circuit is defined as a two-input, two-output logic circuit where the output
S gives the sum of inputs up to a single bit, and the output C gives carryover in a single
bit.

The expected truth table of the half-adder is given as

Input Output
A B S C
0 0 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1

Which of the following circuits does NOT behave like a half adder?

A S A S
(a) B (c) B
C C

A S A
S
(b) B (d) B
C
C
C.10 In an experiment that measures the angular distribution of the emission of particles,
the angular distribution function is defined as
𝑛(𝜃)
𝑓(𝜃) =
𝑛(𝜋/2)
where 𝑛(𝜃) is the number of particles detected at an angle 𝜃.
If, for a certain sample, we count
𝑛(𝜋/4) = 16265 𝑛(𝜋/2) = 8192
then the uncertainty
Δ𝑓
|
𝑓 𝜃=𝜋/4

in this measurement at 𝜃 = 𝜋⁄4 would be approximately

(a) 1.350 %

(b) 0.013 %

(c) 0.707 %

(d) 0.018 %
C.11 The energy gap between the 𝑛 = 1 and the 𝑛 = 2 energy levels of a hydrogen atom
is denoted 𝐸0 .

Now, consider a muonic carbon ion C 5+, i.e., a carbon nucleus ( 126C) orbited by a
muon μ (𝑞 = −𝑒, 𝑀μ = 210 𝑚𝑒 ). The energy of the photon emitted in the transition
of the muon from the 𝑛 = 3 level to the 𝑛 = 2 level of this ion will be approximately

(a) 1400 𝐸0

(b) 235 𝐸0

(c) 1050 𝐸0

(d) 7560 𝐸0
C.12 A lattice in the three-dimensional space has 𝑁 sites, each occupied by an atom whose
magnetic moment is 𝜇. The lattice is in contact with a heat reservoir at a fixed
temperature 𝑇. The atoms interact with an applied magnetic field

⃗ = 𝐻(𝑥 ) 𝒛̂̂
𝐻

Ignoring the interactions between the atoms, the average magnetic susceptibility per
lattice site is given by

𝜇2
(a)
3𝑘𝐵 𝑇

𝜇2
(b)
9𝑘𝐵 𝑇

𝜇
(c)
3𝑘𝐵 𝑇

𝜇𝐻
(d)
3𝑘𝐵 𝑇
C.13 The angular position of a star is found to change by an amount of 0.2 arc seconds
(relative to the very distant background stars) when measured by a telescope on the
Earth on two different nights separated by exactly six months. Note that the distance
between the Earth and Sun is known to be approximately 1.5 × 1013 cm.

If the energy flux received from the star is 𝐹 = 10−7 erg s −1 cm−2, what is the
approximate value of its luminosity?

(a) 1033 erg s-1

(b) 1031 erg s-1

(c) 1035 erg s-1

(d) 1029 erg s-1

C.14 The binding energy ℰ𝑏 of a nuclide 𝐴𝑍X with atomic number 𝑍 and mass number 𝐴
is given by the semi-empirical formula
𝑍 (𝑍 − 1 ) (𝐴 − 2𝑍)2
ℰ𝑏 = 𝑎𝑉 𝐴 − 𝑎𝑆 𝐴2⁄3 − 𝑎𝐶 + 𝑎𝐴
𝐴 1 ⁄3 𝐴
where the constant parameters and source of effect for each term are

Volume term Surface term Coulomb term Asymmetry term

𝑎𝑉 𝑎𝑆 𝑎𝐶 𝑎𝐴
15.56 MeV 17.8 MeV 0.7 MeV 23.29 MeV

For a spherical neutron star consisting of only neutrons and having uniform nuclear
density throughout its volume, the Coulomb term is replaced by gravitational energy.
What would be the smallest radius of this neutron star?

(a) 4.345 km

(b) 10.435 km

(c) 2.165 km

(d) 4.345 m
C.15 The figure below shows on the right a sketch of an electron-positron collider
experiment where the innermost detector (shaded dark green) is a tracking system
which records the tracks of charged particles which pass through it. On the left of the
figure, a cross-sectional view of the same tracking system is shown. The narrow
(white) pipe in the centre is where electrons and positrons are injected as shown and
collide in the centre. (On the left it appears as a small central circle.) Inside the
tracking system there is a strong uniform magnetic field collinear with the 𝑒 +
direction.

In one of the 𝑒 + 𝑒 −collisions, a high-energy 𝐾𝑆0 meson is produced that subsequently

decays as follows
𝐾𝑆0 → 𝜋 + + 𝜋 −
A possible representation of the tracks (dotted lines) of the pions 𝜋 ± in the tracking
system would be

(a) (b)
(c) (d)