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arXiv:2411.04737 · Journal of Mathematical Physics

Many-body physics and resolvent algebras

Detlev Buchholz A, Jakob Yngvason

Published May 1, 2025• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Some advantages of the algebraic approach to many body physics, based on resolvent algebras, are illustrated by the simple example of non-interacting bosons that are confined in compact regions with soft boundaries. It is shown that the dynamics of these systems converges to the spatially homogeneous dynamics for increasing regions and particle numbers and a variety of boundary forces. The corresponding correlation functions of thermal equilibrium states also converge in this limit. Adding to the regions further particles, the limits are steady states, including Bose–Einstein condensates. They can either be spatially homogeneous, or they are inhomogeneous with varying, but finite local particle densities. In case of this spontaneous breakdown of the spatial symmetry, the presence of condensates can be established by exhibiting temporal correlations over large temporal distances (memory effects).

DOI
10.1063/5.0251362

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Some advantages of the algebraic approach to many body physics, based on resolvent algebras, are illustrated by the simple example of non-interacting bosons that are confined in compact regions with soft boundaries. It is shown that the dynamics of these systems converges to the spatially homogeneous dynamics for increasing regions and particle numbers and a variety of boundary forces. The corresponding correlation functions of thermal equilibrium states also converge in this limit. Adding to the regions further particles, the limits are steady states, including Bose–Einstein condensates. They can either be spatially homogeneous, or they are inhomogeneous with varying, but finite local particle densities. In case of this spontaneous breakdown of the spatial symmetry, the presence of condensates can be established by exhibiting temporal correlations over large temporal distances (memory effects).
The limit states of canonical ensembles of a large number of interacting bosons at a given temperature, which are confined by harmonic forces, are studied in the framework of the resolvent algebra. It is shown that the limits satisfy the KMS condition or are ground states, regardless of the type of interaction. In case of attractive forces, where the ensembles collapse, observables that become meaningless in the limit disappear from the limit representations. For repulsive forces, this can also happen if condensates with an infinite number of particles in the same state (proper condensates) appear in the limit. The resulting structures and their interpretation are illustrated by a simple model. The study of vanishing harmonic forces (thermodynamic limit) involves changes of the dynamics. It is conveniently based on derivations acting on the algebra. They are given by the commutator of the Hamiltonians with the elements of the algebra. To ensure that the images remain in the algebra, the interaction must be regularized. This is accomplished in a manner that has only a minor impact on the dynamics and may be of broader interest. With this input a relation between the strength of the confining harmonic forces and the number of particles in the ensembles is derived from the condition that the limit states are to be stationary (invariant) under the adjoint action of the unconfined, spatially homogeneous limit dynamics. This relation encompasses the conditions that are frequently used in studies of Bose-Einstein condensates.
The virtues of resolvent algebras, compared to other approaches for the treatment of canonical quantum systems, are exemplified by infinite systems of non-relativistic bosons. Within this framework, equilibrium states of trapped and untrapped bosons are defined on a fixed C*-algebra for all physically meaningful values of the temperature and chemical potential. Moreover, the algebra provides the tools for their analysis without having to rely on ad hoc prescriptions for the test of pertinent features, such as the appearance of Bose–Einstein condensates. The method is illustrated in the case of non-interacting systems in any number of spatial dimensions and sheds new light on the appearance of condensates. Yet, the framework also covers interactions and thus provides a universal basis for the analysis of bosonic systems.
We study stationary quantum fluctuations around a mean field limit in trapped, dilute atomic gases of repulsively interacting bosons at zero temperature. Our goal is to describe quantum-mechanically the lowest macroscopic many-body bound state consistent with a microscopic Hamiltonian that accounts for inhomogeneous particle scattering processes. In the mean field limit, the wave function of the condensate (macroscopic quantum state) satisfies a defocusing cubic nonlinear Schrödinger-type equation, the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. We include consequences of pair excitation, i.e., the scattering of particles in pairs from the condensate to other states, proposed in [T. T. Wu, J. Math. Phys., 2 (1961), pp. 105–123]. Our derivations rely on an uncontrolled yet physically motivated assumption for the many-body wave function. By relaxing mathematical rigor, from a particle Hamiltonian with a spatially varying interaction strength we derive via heuristics an integro–partial differential equation for the pair collision kernel, K, under a stationary condensate wave function, Φ\PhiΦ. For a scattering length with periodic microstructure of subscale ϵ\epsilonϵ, we formally describe via classical homogenization the lowest many-body bound state in terms of Φ\PhiΦ and K up to second order in ϵ\epsilonϵ. If the external potential is slowly varying, we solve the homogenized equations via boundary layer theory. As an application, we describe the partial depletion of the condensate.
We present a comprehensive analysis of the ideal structure of the resolvent algebra for interacting bosonic quantum field theories. The resolvent algebra, introduced by Buchholz and Grundling as a C∗C^*C∗-algebraic alternative to the Weyl algebra, possesses a rich ideal structure that faithfully reflects the quantum-mechanical properties of bosonic many-body systems. Our main results establish a complete characterization of the closed two-sided ideals for the van Hove model and the generalized spin-boson model, proving that the singular subspace associated with infrared divergences corresponds to a unique maximal proper ideal. We show that the quotient by this ideal cleanly separates regular and singular contributions, and that Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) can be characterized entirely in terms of the emergence of a nontrivial center in the von Neumann algebra obtained from the GNS representation of equilibrium states. Furthermore, we prove a no-go theorem establishing that quasiparticle excitations in the spin-boson model do not undergo Bose-Einstein condensation at finite temperature, resolving a long-standing question in the rigorous formulation of quantum statistical mechanics. The proofs draw on spectral analysis of the van Hove and spin-boson Hamiltonians, Tomita-Takesaki modular theory, the Araki-Woods direct integral decomposition, and functional integra representations of thermal equilibrium states.
Many body physics is concerned with macroscopic systems consisting of a very large number of microscopic particles (N ≈ 10 20 ). In this case the direct dynamical treatment of the complete system is impossible. A quite useful and frequently applied approximation consists in the neglection of terms which are relatively small as the volume of the systems tends to infinity, the particle density remaining constant. For the concise theoretical description of the typical many body phenomena such as phase transitions and spontaneous symmetry breakdown the use of the thermodynamical limit is even necessary, since no existing theory for the finite systems shows these effects. As a general rule one can say that a quantum system behaves like a thermodynamical system only in the infinite-volume limit. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
These notes deal with the mean-field approximation for equilibrium states of N-body systems in classical and quantum statistical mechanics. A general strategy for the justification of effective models based on statistical independence assumptions is presented in details. The main tools are structure theorems {à} la de Finetti, describing the large N limits of admissible states for these systems. These rely on the symmetry under exchange of particles, due to their indiscernability. Emphasis is put on quantum aspects, in particular the mean-field approximation for the ground states of large bosonic systems, in relation with the Bose-Einstein condensation phenomenon. Topics covered in details include: the structure of reduced density matrices for large bosonic systems, Fock-space localization methods, derivation of effective energy functionals of Hartree or non-linear Schr{ö}dinger type, starting from the many-body Schr{ö}dinger Hamiltonian.