Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:cond-mat/9806201 · Physical Review A

Precision Monte Carlo test of the Hartree-Fock approximation for a trapped Bose gas

Markus Holzmann, Werner Krauth, M. Naraschewski

Published Apr 1, 1999• 70 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We compare the semiclassical Hartree-Fock approximation for a trapped Bose gas to a direct path-integral quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The chosen parameters correspond to current ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ experiments. We observe corrections to the mean-field density profile: the path-integral calculation reveals an increase of the number of condensed particles, which is of the same order as a previously computed result for a homogeneous system. We discuss the experimental observability of the effect and propose a method to analyze data of in situ experiments.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.59.2956

Related papers

Path-Integral Monte Carlo and the Squeezed Trapped Bose-Einstein Gas

Juan Pablo Fernández, William J. Mullin

Bose-Einstein condensation has been experimentally found to take place in finite trapped systems when one of the confining frequencies is increased until the gas becomes effectively two-dimensional (2D). We confirm the plausibility of this result by performing path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations of trapped Bose gases of increasing anisotropy and comparing them to the predictions of finite-temperature many-body theory. PIMC simulations provide an essentially exact description of these systems; they yield the density profile directly and provide two different estimates for the condensate fraction. For the ideal gas, we find that the PIMC column density of the squeezed gas corresponds quite accurately to that of the exact analytic solution and, moreover, is well mimicked by the density of a 2D gas at the same temperature; the two estimates for the condensate fraction bracket the exact result. For the interacting case, we find 2D Hartree-Fock solutions whose density profiles coincide quite well with the PIMC column densities and whose predictions for the condensate fraction are again bracketed by the PIMC estimates.

arXiv:cond-mat/0606710•AIP conference proceedings•Jan 1, 2006•1 citation

Pair correlation function of an inhomogeneous interacting Bose-Einstein condensate

Holzmann, M, Yvan Castin

We calculate the pair correlation function of an interacting Bose gas in a harmonic trap directly via Path Integral Quantum Monte Carlo simulation for various temperatures and compare the numerical result with simple approximative treatments. Around the critical temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation, a description based on the Hartree-Fock approximation is found to be accurate. At low temperatures the Hartree-Fock approach fails and we use a local density approximation based on the Bogoliubov description for a homogeneous gas. This approximation agrees with the simulation results at low temperatures, where the contribution of the phonon-like modes affects the long range behavior of the correlation function. Further we discuss the relation between the pair correlation and quantities measured in recent experiments.

•Jan 1, 1999•13 citations

Thermodynamics of a dilute Bose gas: A path-integral Monte Carlo study

G. Spada, Sebastiano Pilati, S. Giorgini

We present precise path-integral Monte Carlo results for the thermodynamics of a homogeneous dilute Bose gas. Pressure and energy are calculated as a function of temperature both below and above the Bose-Einstein transition. Specifically, we address interaction effects, focusing on deviations from the ideal-gas law in the thermodynamic limit. We also calculate the isothermal compressibility and the contact parameter, which provide a clear signature of the role played by interactions. In particular, we obtain indications of a discontinuity of the compressibility at the transition point. To gain physical insight, numerical results are systematically compared with the predictions of first-order Hartree-Fock and second-order Popov theories, both giving an approximate description of the gas thermodynamics. The comparison shows the extension of the critical region around the transition point, where the inaccuracies of the perturbative expansions are more pronounced.

arXiv:2110.00283•Physical Review A•Jan 31, 2022•11 citations

The trapped two-dimensional Bose gas: from Bose–Einstein condensation to Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless physics

Zoran Hadzibabic, P. Krüger, Marc Cheneau +2 more

We analyze the results of a recent experiment with bosonic rubidium atoms harmonically confined in a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) geometry. In this experiment a well-defined critical point was identified, which separates the high-temperature normal state characterized by a single component density distribution, and the low-temperature state characterized by a bimodal density distribution and the emergence of high-contrast interference between independent 2D clouds. We first show that this transition cannot be explained in terms of conventional Bose–Einstein condensation of the trapped ideal Bose gas. Using the local density approximation (LDA), we then combine the mean-field (MF) Hartree–Fock theory with the prediction for the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition in an infinite uniform system. If the gas is treated as a strictly 2D system, the MF predictions for the spatial density profiles significantly deviate from those of a recent quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) analysis. However, when the residual thermal excitation of the strongly confined degree of freedom is taken into account, excellent agreement is reached between the MF and the QMC approaches. For the interaction strength corresponding to the experiment, we predict a strong correction to the critical atom number with respect to the ideal gas theory (factor ∼2). Quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is reached concerning the critical atom number if the predicted density profiles are used for temperature calibration.

arXiv:0712.1265•New Journal of Physics•Apr 30, 2008•111 citations

Coherence properties of a two-dimensional trapped Bose gas around the superfluid transition

Thomas Plisson, Baptiste Allard, Markus Holzmann +4 more

We measure the momentum distribution of a two-dimensional trapped Bose gas and observe the increase of the range of coherence around the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. We quantitatively compare our observed profiles to both a Hartree-Fock mean-field theory and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In the normal phase, the momentum distribution is observed to sharpen well before the phase transition. This behavior is partially captured in a mean-field approach, in contrast to the physics of the BKT transition.

arXiv:1110.3201•Physical Review A•Dec 19, 2011•50 citations

Equilibrium state of a trapped two-dimensional Bose gas

Steffen Patrick Rath, Tarik Yefsah, Kenneth Günter +5 more

We study experimentally and numerically the equilibrium density profiles of a trapped two-dimensional $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose gas and investigate the equation of state of the homogeneous system using the local density approximation. We find a clear discrepancy between in situ measurements and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, which we attribute to a nonlinear variation of the optical density of the atomic cloud with its spatial density. However, good agreement between experiment and theory is recovered for the density profiles measured after time of flight, taking advantage of their self-similarity in a two-dimensional expansion.

arXiv:1003.4545•Physical Review A•Jul 12, 2010•77 citations
We compare the semiclassical Hartree-Fock approximation for a trapped Bose gas to a direct path-integral quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The chosen parameters correspond to current 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb experiments. We observe corrections to the mean-field density profile: the path-integral calculation reveals an increase of the number of condensed particles, which is of the same order as a previously computed result for a homogeneous system. We discuss the experimental observability of the effect and propose a method to analyze data of in situ experiments.
Bose-Einstein condensation has been experimentally found to take place in finite trapped systems when one of the confining frequencies is increased until the gas becomes effectively two-dimensional (2D). We confirm the plausibility of this result by performing path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations of trapped Bose gases of increasing anisotropy and comparing them to the predictions of finite-temperature many-body theory. PIMC simulations provide an essentially exact description of these systems; they yield the density profile directly and provide two different estimates for the condensate fraction. For the ideal gas, we find that the PIMC column density of the squeezed gas corresponds quite accurately to that of the exact analytic solution and, moreover, is well mimicked by the density of a 2D gas at the same temperature; the two estimates for the condensate fraction bracket the exact result. For the interacting case, we find 2D Hartree-Fock solutions whose density profiles coincide quite well with the PIMC column densities and whose predictions for the condensate fraction are again bracketed by the PIMC estimates.
We calculate the pair correlation function of an interacting Bose gas in a harmonic trap directly via Path Integral Quantum Monte Carlo simulation for various temperatures and compare the numerical result with simple approximative treatments. Around the critical temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation, a description based on the Hartree-Fock approximation is found to be accurate. At low temperatures the Hartree-Fock approach fails and we use a local density approximation based on the Bogoliubov description for a homogeneous gas. This approximation agrees with the simulation results at low temperatures, where the contribution of the phonon-like modes affects the long range behavior of the correlation function. Further we discuss the relation between the pair correlation and quantities measured in recent experiments.
We present precise path-integral Monte Carlo results for the thermodynamics of a homogeneous dilute Bose gas. Pressure and energy are calculated as a function of temperature both below and above the Bose-Einstein transition. Specifically, we address interaction effects, focusing on deviations from the ideal-gas law in the thermodynamic limit. We also calculate the isothermal compressibility and the contact parameter, which provide a clear signature of the role played by interactions. In particular, we obtain indications of a discontinuity of the compressibility at the transition point. To gain physical insight, numerical results are systematically compared with the predictions of first-order Hartree-Fock and second-order Popov theories, both giving an approximate description of the gas thermodynamics. The comparison shows the extension of the critical region around the transition point, where the inaccuracies of the perturbative expansions are more pronounced.
We analyze the results of a recent experiment with bosonic rubidium atoms harmonically confined in a quasi-two-dimensional (2D) geometry. In this experiment a well-defined critical point was identified, which separates the high-temperature normal state characterized by a single component density distribution, and the low-temperature state characterized by a bimodal density distribution and the emergence of high-contrast interference between independent 2D clouds. We first show that this transition cannot be explained in terms of conventional Bose–Einstein condensation of the trapped ideal Bose gas. Using the local density approximation (LDA), we then combine the mean-field (MF) Hartree–Fock theory with the prediction for the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition in an infinite uniform system. If the gas is treated as a strictly 2D system, the MF predictions for the spatial density profiles significantly deviate from those of a recent quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) analysis. However, when the residual thermal excitation of the strongly confined degree of freedom is taken into account, excellent agreement is reached between the MF and the QMC approaches. For the interaction strength corresponding to the experiment, we predict a strong correction to the critical atom number with respect to the ideal gas theory (factor ∼2). Quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is reached concerning the critical atom number if the predicted density profiles are used for temperature calibration.
We measure the momentum distribution of a two-dimensional trapped Bose gas and observe the increase of the range of coherence around the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. We quantitatively compare our observed profiles to both a Hartree-Fock mean-field theory and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In the normal phase, the momentum distribution is observed to sharpen well before the phase transition. This behavior is partially captured in a mean-field approach, in contrast to the physics of the BKT transition.
We study experimentally and numerically the equilibrium density profiles of a trapped two-dimensional 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb Bose gas and investigate the equation of state of the homogeneous system using the local density approximation. We find a clear discrepancy between in situ measurements and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, which we attribute to a nonlinear variation of the optical density of the atomic cloud with its spatial density. However, good agreement between experiment and theory is recovered for the density profiles measured after time of flight, taking advantage of their self-similarity in a two-dimensional expansion.