Mathematical singularities, which are known to be at the heart of phase transitions and are responsible for making the thermodynamic functions of the given system nonanalytic, are a consequence of the thermodynamic limit, viz. N and V → ∞ with N/V staying constant. When a system containing a finite number of particles and confined to a restricted geometry undergoes a phase transition, these singularities get rounded off, with the result that all thermodynamic functions become analytic and vary smoothly with the relevant parameters of the problem. Theoretical analysis of such situations requires the use of special mathematical techniques which may vary drastically from case to case.In the present communication we report the results of a rigorous analysis of the problem of "Bose–Einstein condensation in restricted geometries", which has been carried out by making an extensive use of the Poisson summation formula. Particular emphasis is laid on the growth of the condensate fraction [Formula: see text] as the temperature of the system is lowered, and on the influence of the boundary conditions imposed on the wave functions of the particles. The relevance of these results, in relation to the scaling theory of finite size effects, is also discussed.
The condensation of a non-relativistic ideal Bose gas in an Einstein universe is investigated. Explicit expressions for the condensate fraction N 0 /N and the specific heat are obtained by using the Poisson summation formula to express the summations as integrations plus corrections. It is shown that the finiteness of the system smoothes out the cusp-like singularity of the infinite system. A rigorous asymptotic analysis of the critical temperature and the specific heat maximum are given, and the relation with the scaling theory of finite size effects is briefly discussed.
Through an extensive use of the Poisson summation formula, we have elucidated the description of the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation in finite systems in terms of a "collapse in the thermogeometric space." In particular, we have carried out an explicit evaluation of the temperature dependence of the thermogeometric parameter
y for a cubical enclosure under periodic boundary conditions, which in turn enables us to evaluate the temperature dependence of the condensate fraction
NN0 as well as the two-point correlation function $\ensuremath{\rho}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{r}},{\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{r}}}^{\ensuremath{'}})$ for cubes of arbitrary sizes. Numerical results are given for two specific sizes,
lL=40and100, where
L is the edge length of the enclosure and
l the mean interparticle distance in the system. In the appropriate limit, our results are in complete agreement with the Fisher-Barber scaling theory for finite-size effects. Application of the Poisson summation formula has also enabled us to extract information of direct physical interest about the growth of long-range order in general cuboidal geometries. The special case of the thin-film geometry has been studied in detail; the resulting formulas provide a considerable improvement over the ones obtained by previous workers.
Taking into account the possibility of particle-antiparticle pair production, we have investigated the onset of Bose-Einstein condensation in an ideal relativistic Bose gas confined to restricted geometries. Through an extensive use of the Poisson summation formula, we have carried out an explicit evaluation of the summations over states appearing in the problem, which enables us to make a rigorous analysis of the temperature dependence of the thermogeometric parameter
y of the system in the case of a cubical enclosure under periodic boundary conditions. This, in turn, leads us to determine the growth of the condensate fraction $\frac{{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}}{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ as a smooth function of temperature from $T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{T}_{c}$ down to
T=0 K. Finite-size corrections to the standard bulk results are obtained in explicit terms and are shown to be in complete agreement with the Fisher-Barber scaling theory for such effects. In the end, special geometries, such as narrow channels and thin films, are also examined.
We have carried out a rigorous asymptotic analysis of the thermodynamic behavior of an ideal Bose gas confined to an arbitrary, finite cuboidal geometry under periodic boundary conditions. Our investigation, which is based on the grand canonical ensemble, leads to the construction of an abstract, thermogeometric space in which the process of Bose-Einstein condensation appears as a "collapse" of the lattice points of the space towards its origin. In an infinite geometry, the collapse is accomplished in an infinitesimally small interval of temperature; this results in the appearance of mathematical singularities in the thermodynamic functions of the system. In a finite geometry, the "collapse" proceeds gradually and is spread over a temperature range $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$ such that $\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}T}{{T}_{0}}=O(\frac{\overline{l}}{{L}_{<}})$, where
l is the mean interatomic distance while
L< is the length of the shortest side of the assembly; accordingly, the thermodynamic functions of the system remain smooth throughout. Special events, such as the specific-heat maximum, occur when the "lattice parameters" of our thermogeometric space acquire certain characteristic values which depend only on the shape of the system and not on its actual size. This leads to a new law of corresponding states for Bose-Einstein systems of finite size.
In a recent paper we carried out a rigorous, asymptotic analysis of the low-temperature behavior of a Bose gas confined to a finite cubic geometry and subjected to periodic boundary conditions. That analysis is now extended to Dirichlet, Neumann, and antiperiodic boundary conditions. As before, the thermogeometric parameter
y and the condensate fraction
NN0 are studied as functions of temperature and are evaluated explicity for cubes with
lL=40and100, where
L is the edge length of the enclosure and
l the mean interparticle distance in the system. The finite-size corrections to the condensate fraction under Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions turn out to be qualitatively different from those under periodic or antiperiodic boundary conditions. This difference becomes manifest when one tries to express these corrections in a form consistent with the standard scaling theory for finite-size effects.
Using techniques developed by Greenspoon and Pathria, a rigorous, asymptotic analysis of the onset of Bose-Einstein condensation in a finite two-dimensional system at constant pressure is carried out. Some of the results obtained by Imry, Bergman, and Gunther, who first considered this problem, are upheld while others get modified. In particular, a macroscopic occupation of the single-particle ground state at finite temperatures is indeed possible. As the critical region, $T\ensuremath{\simeq}{T}_{c}$, is approached from above, the volume of the system becomes subextensive,
Vc=O(lnNN), which is both necessary and sufficient for the onset of Bose-Einstein condensation in the system. For instance, if the system is now cooled even at constant volume
V(=Vc), the condensate fraction gradually builds up and becomes nonnegligible as
T approaches ${T}_{0}\ensuremath{\simeq}\frac{({T}_{c})}{2}$; below
T0, it grows steadily as $(1\ensuremath{-}\frac{T}{{T}_{0}})$. On the other hand, if we continued to cool the system at constant
P its volume, over a thermodynamically negligible range of temperatures, would reduce to values
O(N21) which, in turn, would be accompanied by an abrupt accumulation of practically all the particles of the system into the single-particle ground state ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{0}$. The specific heat
CP, after having passed through a maximum, would also finally reduce to subextensive values. Phase transitions of this kind may be of relevance to the physical behavior of thin helium films and helium submonolayers.