Using a finite-temperature path integral Monte Carlo simulation (PIMC) method and finite-size scaling, we have investigated the interaction-induced shift of the phase-transition temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation of homogeneous weakly interacting Bose gases in three dimensions, which is given by a proposed analytical expression ${T}_{c}={T}_{c}^{0}{1+{c}_{1}a{n}^{1∕3}+[{c}_{2}^{\ensuremath{'}}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ln}(a{n}^{1∕3})+{c}_{2}^{\ensuremath{''}}]{a}^{2}{n}^{2∕3}+\mathrm{O}({a}^{3}n)}$, where
Tc0 is the critical temperature for an ideal gas,
a is the
s-wave scattering length, and
n is the number density. We have used smaller number densities and more time slices than in the previous PIMC simulations [Gruter et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 3549 (1997)] in order to understand the difference in the value of the coefficient
c1 between their results and the (apparently) other reliable results in the literature. Our results show that ${({T}_{c}\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}^{0})∕{T}_{c}^{0}}∕(a{n}^{1∕3})$ depends strongly on the interaction strength
an1∕3 while the previous PIMC results are considerably flatter and smaller than our results. We obtain ${c}_{1}=1.32\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.14$, in agreement with results from recent Monte Carlo methods of three-dimensional O(2) scalar ${\ensuremath{\phi}}^{4}$ field theory and variational perturbation theory.
We analyze the equilibrium properties of a weakly interacting, trapped quasi-one-dimensional Bose gas at finite temperatures and compare different theoretical approaches. We focus in particular on two stochastic theories: a number-conserving Bogoliubov (NCB) approach and a stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii equation (SGPE) that have been extensively used in numerical simulations. Equilibrium properties like density profiles, correlation functions, and the condensate statistics are compared to predictions based upon a number of alternative theories. We find that due to thermal phase fluctuations, and the corresponding condensate depletion, the NCB approach loses its validity at relatively low temperatures. This can be attributed to the change in the Bogoliubov spectrum, as the condensate gets thermally depleted, and to large fluctuations beyond perturbation theory. Although the two stochastic theories are built on different thermodynamic ensembles (NCB, canonical; SGPE, grand-canonical), they yield the correct condensate statistics in a large Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) (strong enough particle interactions). For smaller systems, the SGPE results are prone to anomalously large number fluctuations, well known for the grand-canonical, ideal Bose gas. Based on the comparison of the above theories to the modified Popov approach, we propose a simple procedure for approximately extracting the Penrose-Onsager condensate from first- and second-order correlation functions that is both computationally convenient and of potential use to experimentalists. This also clarifies the link between condensate and quasicondensate in the Popov theory of low-dimensional systems.
We present a new exact method to numerically compute the thermodynamical properties of an interacting Bose gas in the canonical ensemble. As in our previous paper (Carusotto I, Castin Y and Dalibard J 2001 Phys. Rev. A 63 023606), we write the density operator ρ as an average of Hartree dyadics | N :ϕ 1 ⟩⟨ N :ϕ 2 | and we find stochastic evolution equations for the wavefunctions ϕ 1,2 such that the exact imaginary-time evolution of ρ is recovered after averaging over noise. In this way, the thermal equilibrium density operator can be obtained for any temperature T . The method is then applied to study the thermodynamical properties of a homogeneous one-dimensional N -boson system: although Bose-Einstein condensation cannot occur in the thermodynamical limit, a macroscopic occupation of the lowest mode of a finite system is observed at sufficiently low temperatures. If k B T >>µ, the main effect of interactions is to suppress density fluctuations and to reduce their correlation length. Different effects such as a spatial antibunching of the atoms are predicted for the opposite k B T ⩽µ regime. Our exact stochastic calculations have been compared with existing approximate theories.
In this paper, it has been shown that the usual demonstrations of the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation are invalid. Exact formal solutions have been derived for the partition functions and the mean occupation numbers in classical and Bose statistics, and the theory of fluctuations in the case of Bose statistics has been given. In a second paper, convenient approximations will be derived for the mean occupation numbers in Bose statistics, and it will be shown that for temperatures well above the critical temperature of the supposed Bose-Einstein condensation the well-known result for the mean occupation numbers is valid, whilst for temperatures rather lower than this critical value it will be shown that particles will condense into the lowest available state. The critical temperatureT0is given by where the summation is over all energy levels except the lowest.