On Bose-Einstein Condensation

ABSTRACT This paper contains a proof that the description of the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation is the same whether (1) an open system is contemplated and treated on the basis of the grand canonical ensemble, or (2) a closed system is contemplated and treated on the basis of the canonical ensemble without recourse to the method of steepest descents, or (3) a closed system is contemplated and treated on the basis of the canonical ensemble using the method of steepest descents. Contrary to what is usually believed, it is shown that the crucial factor governing the incidence of the condensation phenomenon of a system (open or closed) having an infinity of energy levels is the density of states N ( E ) ∝ E n for high quantum numbers, a condition for condensation being n > 0. These results are obtained on the basis of the following assumptions: (i) For large volumes V ( a ) all energy levels behave like V −θ , and ( b ) there exists a finite integer M such that it is justifiable to put for the j th energy level E j = c V −θ and to use the continuous spectrum approximation, whenever j ≥ M c θ τ are positive constants, (ii) All results are evaluated in the limit in which the volume of the gas is allowed to tend to infinity, keeping the volume density of particles a finite and non-zero constant. The present paper also serves to coordinate much of previously published work, and corrects a current misconception regarding the method of steepest descents.