Statistical ensembles and spectral correlations in mesoscopic systems

Employing different statistical ensembles may lead to qualitatively different results concerning averages of physical observables on the mesoscopic scale. Here we discuss differences between the canonical and the grandcanonical ensembles due to both quenched disorder and thermodynamical effects. We show how these differences are related to spectral correlations of the system at hand, and evaluate the conditions (temperature, system's size) when the thermodynamic limit is achieved. We demonstrate our approach by evaluating the heat capacity, persistent currents and the occupation probability of single electron states, employing a systematic diagrammatic approach.