The phase transition temperature for the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of weakly interacting Bose gases in three dimensions is known to be related to certain nonuniversal properties of the phase transition of three-dimensional O(2) symmetric phi(4) theory. These properties have been measured previously in Monte Carlo lattice simulations. They have also been approximated analytically, with moderate success, by large N approximations to O(N) symmetric phi(4) theory. To begin investigating the region of validity of the large N approximation in this application, the same Monte Carlo technique developed for the O(2) model [P. Arnold and G. Moore, Phys. Rev. E 64, 066113 (2001)] to O(1) and O(4) theories has been applied. The results indicate that there might exist some theoretically unanticipated systematic errors in the extrapolation of the continuum value from lattice Monte Carlo results. The final results show that the difference between simulations and next-to-leading order large N calculations does not improve significantly from N=2 to N=4. This suggests that one would need to simulate yet larger N's to see true large N scaling of the difference. Quite unexpectedly (and presumably accidentally), the Monte Carlo result for N=1 seems to give the best agreement with the large N approximation among the three cases.
The phase transition temperature for the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of weakly interacting Bose gases in three dimensions is known to be related to certain nonuniversal properties of the phase transition of three-dimensional O(2) symmetric phi(4) theory. These properties have been measured previously in Monte Carlo lattice simulations. They have also been approximated analytically, with moderate success, by large N approximations to O(N) symmetric phi(4) theory. To begin investigating the region of validity of the large N approximation in this application, the same Monte Carlo technique developed for the O(2) model [P. Arnold and G. Moore, Phys. Rev. E 64, 066113 (2001)] to O(1) and O(4) theories has been applied. The results indicate that there might exist some theoretically unanticipated systematic errors in the extrapolation of the continuum value from lattice Monte Carlo results. The final results show that the difference between simulations and next-to-leading order large N calculations does not improve significantly from N=2 to N=4. This suggests that one would need to simulate yet larger N's to see true large N scaling of the difference. Quite unexpectedly (and presumably accidentally), the Monte Carlo result for N=1 seems to give the best agreement with the large N approximation among the three cases.
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 calculate the superfluid transition temperature of homogeneous interacting Bose gases in three and two spatial dimensions using large-scale path integral Monte Carlo simulations (with up to N=10;{5} particles). In 3D we investigate the limits of the universal critical behavior in terms of the scattering length alone by using different models for the interatomic potential. We find that this type of universality sets in at small values of the gas parameter na3 < or approximately 10(-4). This value is different from the estimate na3 < or approximately 10(-6) for the validity of the asymptotic expansion in the limit of vanishing na3. In 2D we study the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition of a gas with hard-core interactions. For this system we find good agreement with the classical lattice |psi|4 model up to very large densities. We also explain the origin of the existing discrepancy between previous studies of the same problem.
The leading correction from interactions to the transition temperature Tc for Bose-Einstein condensation can be obtained from a nonperturbative calculation in the critical O(N) scalar field theory in three dimensions with N=2. We show that the linear $\ensuremath{\delta}$ expansion can be applied to this problem in such a way that in the large-N limit it converges to the exact analytic result. If the principle of minimal sensitivity is used to optimize the convergence rate, the errors seem to decrease exponentially with the order in the $\ensuremath{\delta}$ expansion. For N=2, we calculate the shift in Tc to fourth order in $\ensuremath{\delta}.$ The results are consistent with slow convergence to the results of recent lattice Monte Carlo calculations.
Several microscopic theories point out that Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), i.e., a macroscopic occupation of the lowest energy single particle state in many-boson systems, may appear also in quantum fluids and solids and that it is at the origin of the phenomenon of superfluidity. Nevertheless, the connection between BEC and superfluidity is still matter of debate, since the experimental evidences indicating a non zero condensate fraction in superfluid helium are only indirect. In the theoretical study of BEC in quantum fluids and solids, perturbative approaches are useless because of the strong correlations between the atoms, arising both from the interatomic potential and from the quantum nature of the system. Microscopic Quantum Monte Carlo simulations provide a reliable description of these systems. In particular, the Path Integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) method is very suitable for this purpose. This method is able to provide exact results for the properties of the quantum system, both at zero and finite temperature, only with the definition of the Hamiltonian and of the symmetry properties of the system, giving an easy picture for superfluidity and BEC in many-boson systems. In this thesis, we apply PIMC methods to the study of several quantum fluids and solids. We describe in detail all the features of PIMC, from the sampling methods to the estimators of the physical properties. We present also the most recent techniques, such as the high-order approximations for the thermal density matrix and the worm algorithm, used in PIMC to provide reliable simulations. We study the liquid phase of condensed 4He, providing unbiased estimations of the one-body density matrix g1(r). We analyze the model for g1(r) used to fit the experimental data, highlighting its merits and its faults. In particular we see that, even if it presents some difficulties in the description of the overall behavior of g1(r), it can provide an accurate estimation of the kinetic energy K and of the condensate fraction n0 of the system. Furthermore, we show that our results for n0 as a function of the pressure are in a good agreement with the most recent experimental results. The study of the solid phase of 4He is the most significant part of this thesis. The recent observation of non classical rotational inertia (NCRI) effects in solid helium has generated big interest in the study of an eventual supersolid phase, characterized at the same time by crystalline order and superfluidity. Nevertheless, until now it has been impossible to give a theoretical model able to describe all the experimental evidences. In this work, we perform PIMC simulations of 4He at high densities, according to different microscopic configurations of the atoms. In commensurate crystals we see that BEC does not appear, our model being able to reproduce the momentum distribution obtained form neutron scattering experiments. In a crystal with vacancies, we have been able to see a transition to a superfluid phase at temperatures in agreement with experimental results if the vacancy concentration is low enough. In amorphous solids, superfluid effects are enhanced but appear at temperatures higher than the experimental estimation for the transition temperature. Finally, we study also metastable disordered configurations in molecular para-hydrogen at low temperature. The aim of this study is to investigate if a Bose liquid other than helium can display superfluidity. Choosing accurately a ¿quantum liquid¿ initial configuration and the dimensions of the simulation box, we have been able to frustrate the formation of the crystal and to calculate the temperature dependence of the superfluid density, showing a transition to a superfluid phase at temperatures close to 1 K.
For an O(N)-symmetric scalar field theory with Euclidean action $\ensuremath{\int}{d}^{3}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}x[\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{\mid}\ensuremath{\nabla}\ensuremath{\phi}{\ensuremath{\mid}}^{2}+\frac{1}{2}r{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}+\frac{1}{4!}u{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{4}]$, where $\ensuremath{\phi}=({\ensuremath{\phi}}_{1},\dots{},{\ensuremath{\phi}}_{N})$ is a vector of N real-field components, variational perturbation theory through seven loops is employed for N=0,1,2,3,4 to compute the renormalized value of r∕(N+2)u2 at the phase transition. Its exact large-N limit is determined as well. We also extend an earlier computation of the interaction-induced shift $\ensuremath{\Delta}⟨{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}⟩∕Nu$ from N=1,2,4 to N=0,3. For N=2, the results for the two quantities are used to compute the second-order shift of the condensation temperature of a dilute Bose gas, both in the homogenous case and for the wide limit of a harmonic trap. Our results are in agreement with earlier Monte Carlo simulations for N=1,2,4. The Appendix contains previously unpublished numerical seven-loop data.
The leading correction from interactions to the transition temperature Tc for Bose-Einstein condensation can be obtained from a nonperturbative calculation in the critical O( N) scalar field theory in 3 dimensions with N = 2. We show that the linear δ expansion can be applied to this problem in such a way that in the large- N limit it converges to the exact analytic result. If the principal of minimal sensitivity is used to optimize the convergence rate, the errors seem to decrease exponentially with the order in the δ expansion. For N = 2, we calculate the shift in Tc to fifth order in δ. The results are consistent with slow convergence to the results of recent lattice Monte Carlo calculations. The convergence can be accelerated by using a resummation method proposed by Kleinert et al. called variational perturbation theory.