A Geometric Approach to Strongly Correlated Bosons: From $N$-Representability to the Generalized BEC Force

Abstract

Building on recent advances in reduced density matrix theory, we develop a geometric framework for describing strongly correlated lattice bosons. We first establish that translational symmetry, together with a fixed pair interaction, enables an exact functional formulation expressed solely in terms of momentum occupation numbers. Employing the constrained-search formalism and exploiting a geometric correspondence between $N$-boson configuration states and their one-particle reduced density matrices, we derive the general form of the ground-state functional. Its structure highlights the omnipresent significance of one-body $N$-representability: (i) the domain is exactly determined by the $N$-representability conditions; (ii) at its boundary, the gradient of the functional diverges repulsively, thereby generalizing the recently discovered Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) force; and (iii) an explicit expression for this boundary force follows directly from geometric arguments. These key results are demonstrated analytically for few-site lattice systems, and we illustrate the broader significance of our functional form in defining a systematic hierarchy of functional approximations.