Partition Function of an Atom in a Spherical Box

Abstract

The density of states of spherical waves used in the calculation of low-temperature second virial coefficients of gases leads to an incorrect result when applied to the partition function of an ideal gas in a spherical box. A more accurate density of states is derived and shown to lead to the correct result. It is argued that the corrections play no role in the calculation of the second virial coefficient, and hence the known results for that case need no revision.