The simple boson model proposed by Foldy, which displayed a discontinuity in its energy as a function of interaction strength, is studied using symmetry arguments, the method of linearized equations of motion, and perturbation theory. The particular symmetry responsible for the discontinuity, or phase transition, is pointed out. The method of linearized equations is shown to predict the transition value of the interaction strength and, like the Bogoliubov approximation, to accurately describe the energy of the first excited state. It is further shown that simple perturbation theory is quite accurate except in the transition region. The validity of that feature of the Bogoliubov method in which excited states are described by independent quasiparticles is examined. This description is found to be excellent in the normal region. All comparisons are made with a numerical solution which provided the complete energy spectrum and the associated eigenvectors. It is hoped that these arguments can be applied in considerations of the validity of the various approximations for realistic systems.
A many-boson model is formulated and expressions for its exact eigenstates and energies are obtained for both an arbitrary finite and an infinite number of bosons. The Hamiltonian of the model contains interactions between bosons whose momenta have equal magnitudes but opposite directions. The matrix elements of this interaction are taken to be a constant over a range of momenta surrounding k = 0. The ground state of the 2N-particle system is shown to be a product of N pair-creation operators acting on the vacuum state. Each of these pair-creation operators depends upon one of N parameters which are called pair energies. The N pair energies are shown to satisfy a coupled system of nonlinear algebraic equations. The energy of the state is the sum of the pair energies and the occupation probabilities of the single-particle levels are given as simple functions of the pair energies. Similar results are derived for the excited states of the system and for the states of an odd number of particles. These results are valid for both a repulsive and an attractive interaction, since they only depend upon the form of the interaction. The equations are solved algebraically for two model systems. The first of these is one whose single-particle kinetic energy takes on only one value. The equations for this system are solved for an arbitrary interaction strength and it is shown that the pair energies are proportional to the zeros of certain Laguerre polynomials. The second system is one in which the single-particle kinetic energy can take on two values. The equations for this system are solved in the strong repulsive-interaction limit and it is shown that the pair energies are proportional to the zeros of certain Jacobi polynomials. The excitation energies of this second system are shown to be proportional to 1/n and the occupations of the two single-particle levels in the ground state are shown to be proportional to n, where n is the total number of particles. For a repulsive interaction and an arbitrary single-particle spectrum, the algebraic equations for the pair energies are converted into an approximate integral equation for the density of roots which is accurate to order 1/n. This integral equation is solved for a strong interaction which, in the context of this model, means an interaction whose strength is greater than a constant times 1/V⅔ in the limit of a large volume. From this solution, the following results are obtained: (1) the lowest two single-particle levels have occupations of order n; (2) the excitation spectrum is that of a set of noninteracting quasiparticles; and (3) the quasiparticle spectrum has two zeros corresponding to the lowest two single-particle levels. Apart from the presence of two zeros, the quasiparticle spectrum does not differ significantly from that of the noninteracting particles.
We use a non-gauge-invariant modification of the exact Hamiltonian to obtain a new Hamiltonian-like operator for a simple exactly solvable boson model. The eigenvalues of the new operator are close to those of the original Hamiltonian. We make a one-body approximation of the new two-body operator in the spirit of the Bogoliubov approximation. Because only the number operator appears, the c-number approximation is not required individually for the creation or annihilation operators in the ground state. For the simple model, the results using the new approximation are closer to the exact results than the usual Bogoliubov results over a wide range of parameters. The improvement increases dramatically as the model interaction strength increases.
This work is concerned with a microscopic model of a nonideal boson gas. The Hamiltonian is treated in a rigorous manner free of all approximations and, in particular, the Bogoliubov approximation of replacing the zero-momentum single-particle creation and destruction operators by a
c number is entirely avoided. Utilizing a method due to Wentzel, the Hamiltonian is replaced by one involving products of two second quantized operators which, in general, can be diagonalized. This replacement is shown to be rigorously valid in the infinite volume limit for all temperatures despite the avoidance of the Bogoliubov approximation. It is found that the assumption of a positive-definite quasiparticle excitation spectrum $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\mathrm{k})$ becomes untenable for temperatures
T less than a critical value
Tc, if the interparticle potential is described by a certain kernel which possesses positive eigenvalues only, corresponding to a sufficiently repulsive interparticle force. Assuming that $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\mathrm{k})=0$ only for k=0, it is found that for
T<Tc the system undergoes an Einstein condensation into the k=0 single-particle state, and the integral equations characterizing the system are precisely the same as would be obtained if the Bogoliubov approximation were made, proving within the framework of this model the strict validity of this approximation procedure. The well-known criterion for an Einstein condensation
v(0)>0, where
v(k) is the Fourier transform of the interparticle potential, is shown to be a weaker statement of our eigenvalue criterion. Further, in agreement with Girardeau and Arnowitt, it is found that an energy gap separates $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(0)$ and $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\mathrm{k})$ for
k>0. An approximation method is developed for solving the integral equations which describe those systems which undergo an Einstein condensation, and it is shown that this method can be justified if $|T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}|\ensuremath{\lesssim}\frac{{T}_{c}}{10}$, and in cases of short-range repulsive interparticle forces and systems for which $\ensuremath{\rho}v(0)$ possesses a certain prescribed upper bound, $\ensuremath{\rho}$ being the number of particles per unit volume. The transition temperature is found to be lower than the corresponding quantity for the ideal boson gas of the same density. A detailed discussion of the thermal properties of the system in the vicinity of
Tc is also given. In an Appendix a general type of smeared Einstein condensation is assumed, and it is found that for systems in which this property occurs $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\mathrm{k})$ is linear for small
k. This ansatz is shown to be tenable only if
v(0)<0. Finally, by assuming an appropriate pseudopotential representation of a hard repulsive core and by including a weak, longranged attractive force between particles, $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\mathrm{k})$ shows a nonmonotonic behavior of the same qualitative type as observed in liquid
He4.
The Bassichis–Foldy model of a simple interacting boson is solved numerically and the results are compared with those obtained by the Bogoliubov approximation and by the Brueckner–Sawada t-matrix formalism. In the normal region, contrary to the widely held view, the Brueckner–Sawada approximation for the energy of the ground state is not reliable for strong, well-behaved, repulsive forces. The Bogoliubov approximation, on the other hand, remains valid for a wide range of values of the coupling constant. In the inverted region, the attractive force causes a population inversion in the levels of the system. For this case a modified Brueckner–Sawada approximation is developed. This method is applied to the calculation of the transition point and the energies of the ground and the first excited states of the system. Here most of the predictions of the modified Brueckner–Sawada approximation are quite accurate. By a simple change in the Bassichis–Foldy model it is shown that even, for two bosons there can be a phase transition. In this model, the derivative of the ground state energy with respect to the coupling constant is discontinuous at the transition point.
The method of self-consistent-field approximation is applied for the study of the ground-state properties of a one-dimensional system of bosons, of density $\ensuremath{\rho}$, first interacting through finite rigid rods, of length
l, and again via a repulsive $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function potential. We obtain the energy spectrum and the sound velocity. The results are close to the exact one for $\ensuremath{\rho}l<0.5$. The energy spectrum obtained shows a rotonlike region which is qualitatively similar to the two- and three-dimensional versions. For a Bose gas interacting through a repulsive $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ potential of strength
2c, we derive the energy spectrum, the sound velocity, and the ground-state energy. The results are compared with Girardeau and Lieb's exact expressions. In the small-coupling limit our calculations show the same results as obtained by Bogoliubov's perturbation theory. The ground-state energy obtained for small $\ensuremath{\gamma}=\frac{c}{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ is found to agree closely with several different works found in the literature. Unfortunately our theory diverges for the ground-state energy in the limit $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$. The sound velocity in this limit is finite but twice as small as from Girardeau's exact results.