Transition of a mesoscopic bosonic gas into a Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

The condensate number distribution during the transition of a dilute, weakly interacting gas of N=200 bosonic atoms into a Bose-Einstein condensate is modeled within number conserving master equation theory of Bose-Einstein condensation. Initial strong quantum fluctuations occuring during the exponential cycle of condensate growth reduce in a subsequent saturation stage, before the Bose gas finally relaxes towards the Gibbs-Boltzmann equilibrium.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure