Trap-size scaling of finite Bose systems within an exact canonical ensemble Original Research Article

Based on an exact canonical partition function, we investigate the trap-size scaling for ideal Bose gases with a finite number of particles N confined in a cubic box or in a harmonic trap. We study the trap-size scaling behaviors of condensate fraction 〈n0〉/N and specific heat CN around the transition temperature Tc (i.e., t = T/Tc − 1 → 0) for the three different traps, where a trap exponent θ in dependence of the trapping potential and the universality class of transition are introduced. In the box trap with periodic and Dirichlet boundary conditions, where θ → 1, we find that the scaling functions governing the various critical behaviors are universal but respective of the boundary conditions. The calculated critical exponents are in nice agreement with analytical scaling predictions. The borders of universality validity are obtained numerically. In the case of the harmonic trap, the critical behavior of the system is also found to be universal, and the trap exponent is obtained as θ ≃ 0.068.