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arXiv:0810.4874 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

On the mathematical theory of superfluidity

Geoffrey L. Sewell, Walter Felipe Wreszinski

Published Nov 26, 2008• 9 citations
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Abstract

We provide a general operator algebraic formulation of superfluidity in Bose systems, with the aim of investigating the relationships of this phenomenon both to off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) and to a mathematically precise version of Landau's picture of elementary excitations. Our principal results are that ODLRO leads both to rotational superfluidity and to Goldstone excitations, while the neo-Landau picture accounts for the translational superfluidity of flow along a pipe. The latter picture is realised by the Lieb-Liniger-Girardeau model. Open problems are briefly discussed.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/42/1/015207

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We provide a general operator algebraic formulation of superfluidity in Bose systems, with the aim of investigating the relationships of this phenomenon both to off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) and to a mathematically precise version of Landau's picture of elementary excitations. Our principal results are that ODLRO leads both to rotational superfluidity and to Goldstone excitations, while the neo-Landau picture accounts for the translational superfluidity of flow along a pipe. The latter picture is realised by the Lieb-Liniger-Girardeau model. Open problems are briefly discussed.
Abstract In this chapter we outline the microscopic theory of an interacting Bose fluid. The aim is to provide a basis for a microscopic understanding of the excitations in superfluid and normal 4He discussed in the following chapters. The microscopic picture can be omitted on a first reading and referred to when desired.We assume that the reader is familiar with the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in a Bose gas introduced in §7.2 and presented in many texts on statistical mechanics. In §7.2 we also discussed the generalization of Bose condensation to an interacting fluid by Penrose and Onsager (1956).Condensation was identified with macroscopic occupation of one of the eigenstates of the fluid and the appearance of an infinitely long tail in the one-body density matrix, denoted as off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO). For a homogeneous fluid it is natural to take momentum states as the eigenstates and to assume that the macroscopically occupied state is the state with momentum p = 0. In this case the criterion reduces to that for a gas but with a firm foundation.
Abstract This chapter presents a general discussion of the phenomenon of superfluidity, starting from the famous Landau criterion for the critical velocity. The Landau expression for the normal (non-superfluid) component of the gas, expressed in terms of the elementary excitations of the system, is derived. The relationship between Bose–Einstein condensation and the phenomenon of superfluidity is outlined, with special focus on the role played by the phase of the order parameter, whose gradient fixes the velocity of the superfluid. The chapter derives the hydrodynamic equations of superfluids at both zero and finite temperatures and discuss the solutions for first and second sound. The formalism of quantum hydrodynamics is presented, with an application to the Beliaev decay of phonons and to the calculation of the fluctuations of the phase. It also discusses the consequences for superfluidity on the rotational properties and the spatial structure of vortex lines.
For a strongly interacting boson system, it has been proposed that the concept of off-diagonal long-range ordering (ODLRO) is equivalent to Bose-Einstein condensation for a free boson system. Therefore, the existence of ODLRO in the ground state implies superfluidity. The author checks the validity of this proposition from another point of view. He rigorously shows that, for a hard-core lattice-boson system with a short-ranged interaction ODLRO is suppressed when a charged excitation gap develops and, hence, the boson system becomes a Mott-insulator. Finally, by using his theorem, he shows some interesting properties of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model, which can be taken as a hard-core lattice-boson system.
It is shown for boson systems with periodic boundary conditions that the existence of generalized Bose condensation, of which the simple type typified by the ideal Bose gas is a special case, is equivalent to the existence of off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) in the single-particle density matrix ρ1 provided that the two noncomuting limits involved in the criterion for ODLRO are taken in the proper order: first size of system → ∞, then interparticle separation → ∞. It is shown by means of an example that certain assumptions concerning the behavior of the single-particle momentum distribution function involved in proving this equivalence are actually satisfied in thermal equilibrium for some dynamical models. The analysis is generalized to box-enclosure boundary conditions by an extension of an argument due to Schafroth, according to which box-enclosure conditions are equivalent to homogeneous Neumann conditions except for a thermodynamically negligible surface effect, provided that one second-quantizes with respect to Hartree-Fock orbitals rather than free-particle orbitals. A general criterion for generalized Bose condensation in terms of eigenvalues of ρ1 is proposed. On the basis of the behavior of soluble models it is conjectured that for a boson system in thermal equilibrium subject to arbitrary boundary conditions, the existence of such Bose condensation is equivalent to the existence of ODLRO in ρ1. The two-particle density matrix ρ2 is discussed briefly. By means of a simplified model it is shown that for a Bose system generalized condensation implies large eigenvalues of ρ2 and ODLRO of ρ2, just as for ρ1. It is pointed out that the question of the existence or nonexistence of generalized Bose condensation of fermion pairs ought to be investigated.
On the basis of gauge invariance, it is proven in an elementary and straightforward manner, but without invoking any ad hoc assumption, that the existence of off-diagonal long-range order in one-particle reduced density matrix in Bose liquids implies both the irrotational flow in a simply connected region and the quantization of circulation in a multiply connected region, the two fundamental properties of a Bose superfluid. The origin for both is the phase coherence of condensate wave functions. Some relevant issues are also addressed.
This paper deals with ordinary material systems whose elementary constitutents are fermions. It is pointed out that in such systems there can occur two kinds of bosons with quite different physical and mathematical characteristics. Type I bosons are bound complexes of an even number of fermions (such as 4He^{4}\mathrm{He}4He); and type II bosons are elementary excitations which are bound complexes of fermions and their holes (such as excitons). When the first type condenses, a superfluid state results with so-called off-diagonal, long-range order; while when the second type condenses, there is no superfluidity, but a change in spatial order. Thus both kinds of long-range order are related to Bose condensation.