Level Statistics and Specific Heat of Metallic Nano-Particles

The thermodynamic properties of an ensemble of metallic nano-particles are affected by the level distribution and the level correlation between the discrete electronic energy levels. We numerically calculate the specific heat of metallic nano-particles in the canonical ensemble with an odd or even number of electrons by considering the effects of the level distribution and the level correlation. The behaviour of the specific heat at low and high temperatures, compared with the average nearest-neighbor level spacing, is also investigated.