For real inverse temperature β, the canonical partition function is always positive, being a sum of positive terms. There are zeros, however, on the complex β plane that are called Fisher zeros. In the thermodynamic limit, the Fisher zeros coalesce into continuous curves. In case there is a phase transition, the zeros tend to pinch the real-β axis. For an ideal trapped Bose gas in an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator, this tendency is clearly seen, signalling Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). The calculation can be formulated exactly in terms of the virial expansion with temperature-dependent virial coefficients. When the second virial coefficient of a strongly interacting attractive unitary gas is included in the calculation, BEC seems to survive, with the condensation temperature shifted to a lower value for the unitary gas. This shift is consistent with a direct calculation of the heat capacity from the canonical partition function of the ideal and the unitary gas.
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
Tc 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
x0 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
Tc for relatively small atom numbers. For instance, an increase of about $+$40% is expected with
104 atoms in a $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{12}$ trapping potential.
We examine the possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation in one-dimensional interacting Bose gas subjected to confining potentials of the form ${V}_{\mathrm{ext}}{(x)=V}_{0}(|x|{/a)}^{\ensuremath{\gamma}},$ in which $\ensuremath{\gamma}<2,$ by solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation within the semiclassical two-fluid model. The condensate fraction, chemical potential, ground state energy, and specific heat of the system are calculated for various values of interaction strengths. Our results show that a significant fraction of the particles is in the lowest energy state for a finite number of particles at low temperature, indicating a phase transition for weakly interacting systems.
The analytical probability distribution of finite systems obeying Bose-Einstein statistics in one, two, and three dimensions are investigated by using a canonical ensemble approach. Starting from the canonical partition function of the system, a unified approach is provided to study the probability distribution of a condensate for various confinements and in different dimensions. Based on the probability distribution function, it is straightforward to obtain the mean ground state occupation number and particle number fluctuations of the condensate. It is found that the particle number fluctuations in a trapped Bose gas are strongly dependent on the type of confining potential and on the dimensionality of the system.
We generalize the scheme to characterize phase transitions of finite systems in a complex temperature plane and approach the classifications of phase transitions in ideal and weakly interacting Bose gases of a finite number of particles, confined in a cubic box of volume L3 with different boundary conditions. For this finite ideal Bose system, by extending the classification parameters to all regions, we predict that the phase transition for periodic boundary conditions is of second order, while the transition in Dirichlet boundary conditions is of first order. For a weakly interacting Bose gas with periodic boundary conditions, we discuss the effects of finite particle numbers and inter-particle interactions on the nature of the phase transitions. We show that this homogenous weakly interacting Bose gas undergoes a second-order phase transition, which is in accordance with universality arguments for infinite systems. We also discuss the dependence of transition temperature on interaction strengths and particle numbers.