Bose-Einstein Condensate Statistics in Weakly Interacting Dilute Gases

Henrik Smith, C. J. Pethick

Robert Seiringer

C. G. Townsend, N. J. van Druten, Michael R. Andrews +4 more

Vitaly V. Kocharovsky, Vl. V. Kocharovsky, Marlan O. Scully

We obtain analytical formulas for the statistics, in particular, for the characteristic function and all cumulants, of the Bose-Einstein condensate in dilute weakly interacting and ideal equilibrium gases in the canonical ensemble via the particle-number-conserving operator formalism of Girardeau and Arnowitt. We prove that the ground-state occupation statistics is not Gaussian even in the thermodynamic limit. We calculate the effect of Bogoliubov coupling on suppression of ground-state occupation fluctuations and show that they are governed by a pair-correlation, squeezing mechanism.

Vitaly V. Kocharovsky, Vl. V. Kocharovsky, Marlan O. Scully

We consider equilibrium canonical-ensemble fluctuations of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a trap using the particle-number conserving operator formalism of Girardeau and Arnowitt [Phys. Rev. 113, 755 (1959)] and the concept of the canonical-ensemble quasiparticles. We find explicit expressions for the characteristic function and all cumulants of the ground-state occupation statistics both for the dilute weakly interacting and ideal Bose gases. We present analytical formulas for the moments of the ground-state occupation fluctuations in the weakly interacting and ideal Bose gases in a box (``homogeneous gas'') as well as in the ideal Bose gas in an arbitrary power-law trap, in particular, in an arbitrary harmonic trap. We calculate the effect of Bogoliubov coupling between quasiparticles on suppression of the ground-state occupation fluctuations at moderate temperatures and their enhancement at very low temperatures. We clarify a crossover between ideal-gas and weakly interacting gas statistics, which is governed by a pair-correlation, squeezing mechanism. The important conclusion is that in most cases the ground-state occupation fluctuations are anomalously large and are not Gaussian even in the thermodynamic limit.

Anna Posazhennikova

This colloquium surveys a number of theoretical problems and open questions in the field of two-dimensional dilute Bose gases with weak repulsive interactions. In contrast to three dimensions, in two dimensions the formation of long-range order is prohibited by the Bogoliubov-Hohenberg theorem, and Bose-Einstein condensation is not expected to occur. Nevertheless, experimental indications supporting the formation of a condensate in low-dimensional systems have recently been obtained. This unexpected behavior appears to be due to the nonuniformity introduced into a system by the external trapping potential. Theoretical predictions, made for homogeneous systems, require therefore careful reexamination. A number of popular theoretical treatments of the dilute weakly interacting Bose gas are presented and their regions of applicability are discussed. The possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation in a two-dimensional gas, the validity of the perturbative $t$-matrix approximation, and the diluteness condition are issues also discussed in detail.