Bose-Einstein condensation with a finite number of particles in a power-law trap

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of an ideal gas is investigated, beyond the thermodynamic limit, for a finite number $N$ of particles trapped in a generic three-dimensional power-law potential. We derive an analytical expression for the condensation temperature ${T}_{c}$ in terms of a power series in ${x}_{0}={\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}/{k}_{B}{T}_{c}$, where ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}$ denotes the zero-point energy of the trapping potential. This expression, which applies in Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical power-law traps, is given analytically at infinite order. It is also given numerically for specific potential shapes as an expansion in powers of ${x}_{0}$ up to the second order. We show that, for a harmonic trap, the well-known first-order shift of the critical temperature $\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{c}/{T}_{c}\ensuremath{\propto}{N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/3}$ is inaccurate when $N\ensuremath{\leqslant}{10}^{5}$, the next order (proportional to ${N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$) being significant. We also show that finite-size effects on the condensation temperature cancel out in a cubic trapping potential, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{3}$. Finally, we show that in a generic power-law potential of higher order, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ with $\ensuremath{\alpha}>3$, the shift of the critical temperature becomes positive. This effect provides a large increase of ${T}_{c}$ for relatively small atom numbers. For instance, an increase of about $+$40% is expected with ${10}^{4}$ atoms in a $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{12}$ trapping potential.