L. Reatto

Starting from the three-dimensional (3D) Gross-Pitaevskii equation and using a variational approach, we derive an effective 1D wave equation that describes the axial dynamics of a Bose condensate confined in an external potential with cylindrical symmetry. The trapping potential is harmonic in the transverse direction and generic in the axial one. Our equation, that is a time-dependent nonpolynomial nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (1D NPSE), can be used to model cigar-shaped condensates, whose dynamics is essentially 1D. We show that 1D NPSE gives much more accurate results than all other effective equations recently proposed. By using 1D NPSE we find analytical solutions for bright and dark solitons, which generalize the ones known in the literature. We deduce also an effective 2D nonpolynomial Schr\"odinger equation (2D NPSE) that models disk-shaped Bose condensates confined in an external trap that is harmonic along the axial direction and generic in the transverse direction. In the limiting cases of weak and strong interaction, our approach gives rise to Schr\"odinger-like equations with different polynomial nonlinearities.

In this paper we suggest a new ground-state wave function and low-temperature density matrix for a strongly interacting system of bosons. Our basic assumption is that the system can support long-wavelength phonons and that these can propagate independently of any other mode of motion. We therefore write the ground-state function as the product of two factors. One factor arises from the zero-point motion of the phonons, and we show that it has the form ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{i<j}f({r}_{\mathrm{ij}})$, where $\mathrm{ln}f(r)$ has an infinite range. The other factor is assumed to have this same form but with $\mathrm{ln}f(r)$ of finite range; it takes into account the short-range correlations arising from the strong repulsive part of the interparticle potential. The function we have chosen to represent the short-range correlations is not new; functions of this kind were first introduced by Bijl and later by Jastrow. At finite temperatures we use a density matrix for an ensemble of excited phonon states. We find that for small wave vectors $k$, the structure factor $S(k)$ is equal to $\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}k}{2mc}$, a result that was first derived by Feynman. At a finite temperature $T$, $S(k)$ tends to the constant value $\frac{{k}_{B}T}{m{c}^{2}}$, where $m$ is the mass of the particles and $c$ the velocity of propagation of the phonons. The momentum distribution ${n}_{k}$ has a ${k}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ singularity at absolute zero and a stronger, ${k}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ singularity at finite temperatures. The small-$k$ behavior of both $S(k)$ and ${n}_{k}$ is completely controlled by the correlations introduced by the phonons. Both the ground-state function and the density matrix imply that there is a finite fraction of particles in the zero-momentum state in three dimensions; this fraction does not seem to be appreciably affected by the infinite-range correlations introduced by the phonons. We find, however, that these correlations imply that a one-dimensional Bose system does not exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation at any temperature, while a two-dimensional system exhibits Bose-Einstein condensation only at absolute zero.

We study the formation of bright solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate of 7Li atoms induced by a sudden change in the sign of the scattering length from positive to negative, as reported in a recent experiment [Nature (London) 417, 150 (2002)]]. The numerical simulations are performed by using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a dissipative three-body term. We show that a number of bright solitons is produced and this can be interpreted in terms of the modulational instability of the time-dependent macroscopic wave function of the Bose condensate. In particular, we derive a simple formula for the number of solitons that is in good agreement with the numerical results. We find that during the motion of the soliton train in an axial harmonic potential the number of solitonic peaks changes in time and the density of individual peaks shows an intermittent behavior.

Abstract The description of the critical behaviour within liquid state theories is reviewed with emphasis on both the universal and the non-universal properties. Simple lattice and continuous models, such as the Ising model and the Lennard-Jones fluid, are examined by the use of several techniques, ranging from the integral equation method to the renormalization group analysis. A self-contained derivation of the hierarchical reference theory (HRT) of fluids is given together with a detailed discussion of the universal properties within a simple approximation to the exact HRT equations. Applications to simple models and comparisons with the results of other investigations are presented. HRT is then generalized to binary fluids, allowing for a complete description of the possible critical behaviours in these systems. The problems of a microscopic definition of the order parameter in mixtures and of the origin of strong crossover phenomena in binary fluids are also addressed.