arXiv subjects

Elliott H. Lieb

Publications and source records attributed to Elliott H. Lieb.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

A Note on Polarization Vectors in Quantum Electrodynamics

A photon of momentum k can have only two polarization states, not three. Equivalently, one can say that the magnetic vector potential A must be divergence free in the Coulomb gauge. These facts are normally taken into account in QED by introducing two polarization vectors epsilon_λ(k) with lambda in {1,2}, which are orthogonal to the wave-vector k. These vectors must be very discontinuous functions of k and, consequently, their Fourier transforms have bad decay properties. Since these vectors have no physical significance there must be a way to eliminate them and their bad decay properties from the theory. We propose such a way here.

math-ph↗

arXiv2004

Quantum Mechanics, The Stability of Matter and Quantum Electrodynamics

Much progress has been made in the last few decades in developing the necessary mathematics for understanding the full implications of the quantum-mechanical many-body problem and why the material world appears to be as stable as it is despite the serious -1/|x|singularity of the Coulomb potential that attracts negative electrons to positive atomic nuclei. Many problems remain, however, especially the understanding of the interaction of matter and the quantized radiation field discovered by Planck in 1900. A short review of some of the main topics is given.

math-ph↗

arXiv2003

Existence of Atoms and Molecules in Non-Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics

We show that the Hamiltonian describing N nonrelativistic electrons with spin, interacting with the quantized radiation field and several fixed nuclei with total charge Z has a ground state when N <Z+1. The result holds for any value of the fine structure constant alpha and for any value of the ultraviolet cutoff Lambda on the radiation field. There is no infrared cutoff. The basic mathematical ingredient in our proof is a novel way of localizing the electromagnetic field in such a way that the errors in the energy are of smaller order than 1/L, where L is the localization radius.

math-ph↗

arXiv2003

One-Dimensional Behavior of Dilute, Trapped Bose Gases

Recent experimental and theoretical work has shown that there are conditions in which a trapped, low-density Bose gas behaves like the one-dimensional delta-function Bose gas solved years ago by Lieb and Liniger. This is an intrinsically quantum-mechanical phenomenon because it is not necessary to have a trap width that is the size of an atom -- as might have been supposed -- but it suffices merely to have a trap width such that the energy gap for motion in the transverse direction is large compared to the energy associated with the motion along the trap. Up to now the theoretical arguments have been based on variational - perturbative ideas or numerical investigations. In contrast, this paper gives a rigorous proof of the one-dimensional behavior as far as the ground state energy and particle density are concerned. There are four parameters involved: the particle number, $N$, transverse and longitudinal dimensions of the trap, $r$ and $L$, and the scattering length $a$ of the interaction potential. Our main result is that if $r/L\to 0$ and $N\to\infty$ the ground state energy and density can be obtained by minimizing a one-dimensional density functional involving the Lieb-Liniger energy density with coupling constant $\sim a/r^2$.

math-ph↗

arXiv2003

One-dimensional Bosons in Three-dimensional Traps

Recent experimental and theoretical work has indicated conditions in which a trapped, low-density Bose gas ought to behave like the 1D delta-function Bose gas solved by Lieb and Liniger. Up to now the theoretical arguments have been based on variational - perturbative ideas or numerical investigations. There are 4 parameters: density, transverse and longitudinal dimensions, and scattering length. In this paper we explicate 5 parameter regions in which various types of 1D or 3D behavior occur. Our discussion is based on a rigorous analysis of the many-body Schroedinger equation. This version of the article is a combination of the earlier 4-page arXiv version and the revised 4-page Physical Review Letters version.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2003

The Mathematical Structure of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

The essence of the second law of classical thermodynamics is the `entropy principle' which asserts the existence of an additive and extensive entropy function, S, that is defined for all equilibrium states of thermodynamic systems and whose increase characterizes the possible state changes under adiabatic conditions. It is one of the few really fundamental physical laws (in the sense that no deviation, however tiny, is permitted) and its consequences are far reaching. This principle is independent of models, statistical mechanical or otherwise, and can be understood without recourse to Carnot cycles, ideal gases and other assumptions about such things as `heat', `temperature', `reversible processes', etc., as is usually done. Also the well known formula of statistical mechanics, S = -\sum p log p, is not needed for the derivation of the entropy principle. This contribution is partly a summary of our joint work (Physics Reports, Vol. 310, 1--96 (1999)) where the existence and uniqueness of S is proved to be a consequence of certain basic properties of the relation of adiabatic accessibility among equilibrium states. We also present some open problems and suggest directions for further study.

math-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Ground State of the Bose Gas

Now that the low temperature properties of quantum-mechanical many-body systems (bosons) at low density, $ρ$, can be examined experimentally it is appropriate to revisit some of the formulas deduced by many authors 4-5 decades ago. For systems with repulsive (i.e. positive) interaction potentials the experimental low temperature state and the ground state are effectively synonymous -- and this fact is used in all modeling. In such cases, the leading term in the energy/particle is $2π\hbar^2 a ρ/m$ where $a$ is the scattering length of the two-body potential. Owing to the delicate and peculiar nature of bosonic correlations (such as the strange $N^{7/5}$ law for charged bosons), four decades of research failed to establish this plausible formula rigorously. The only previous lower bound for the energy was found by Dyson in 1957, but it was 14 times too small. The correct asymptotic formula has recently been obtained by us and this work will be presented. The reason behind the mathematical difficulties will be emphasized. A different formula, postulated as late as 1971 by Schick, holds in two-dimensions and this, too, will be shown to be correct. With the aid of the methodology developed to prove the lower bound for the homogeneous gas, two other problems have been successfully addressed. One is the proof by us that the Gross-Pitaevskii equation correctly describes the ground state in the `traps' actually used in the experiments. For this system it is also possible to prove complete Bose condensation, as we have shown. Another topic is a proof that Foldy's 1961 theory of a high density Bose gas of charged particles correctly describes its ground state energy.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

Polarization of interacting bosons with spin

We demonstrate rigorously that in the absence of explicit spin-dependent forces one of the ground states of interacting bosons with spin is always fully polarized -- however complicated the many-body interaction potential might be. Depending on the particle spin, the polarized ground state will generally be degenerate with other states, but one can specify the exact degeneracy. For T>0 the magnetization and susceptibility necessarily exceed that of a pure paramagnet. These results are relevant to recent experiments exploring the relation between triplet superconductivity and ferromagnetism, and the Bose-Einstein condensation of atoms with spin. They eliminate the possibility, raised in some theoretical speculations, that the ground state or positive temperature state might be antiferromagnetic.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Dilute Gases in Traps

The ground state of a gas of Bosons confined in an external trap potential and interacting via repulsive two-body forces has recently been shown to exhibit complete Bose-Einstein condensation in the dilute limit, yielding for the first time a rigorous proof of this phenomenon in a physically realistic setting. We give here an account of this work about the Gross-Pitaevskii limit where the particle number $N$ goes to infinity with $Na$ fixed, where $a$ is the scattering length of the interparticle interaction, measured in units of the trap size.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

The Stability of Matter and Quantum Electrodynamics

A survey of the stability of matter problem is given, starting with the stability of the hydrogen atom. The stablity of bulk matter with Coulomb potentials, with or without relativistic mechanics, and with or without magnetic fields is discussed. The final section discusses the stability of matter in a relativistic model with the Dirac operator as kinetic energy (but restricted to the positive subspace) and with the quantized electromagnetic field in the Coulomb gauge.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

Superfluidity in Dilute Trapped Bose Gases

A commonly used theoretical definition of superfluidity in the ground state of a Bose gas is based on the response of the system to an imposed velocity field or, equivalently, to twisted boundary conditions in a box. We are able to carry out this program in the case of a dilute interacting Bose gas in a trap. We prove that a gas with repulsive interactions is 100% superfluid in the dilute limit in which the Gross-Pitaevskii equation is exact. This is the first example in an experimentally realistic continuum model in which superfluidity is rigorously verified.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

A Bound on Binding Energies and Mass Renormalization in Models of Quantum Electrodynamics

We study three well known models of matter coupled to the ultraviolet cutoff, quantized radiation field and to the Coulomb potential of arbitrarily many nuclei. Two are nonrelativistic: the first uses the kinetic energy (p+eA(x))^2 and the second uses the Pauli-Fierz energy (p+eA(x))^2 +eσ\cdot B(x). The third, no-pair model, is relativistic and replaces the kinetic energy with the Dirac operator D(A), but restricted to its positive spectral subspace, which is the ``electron subspace''. In each case we are able to give an upper bound to the {\it binding} energy -- as distinct from the less difficult ground state energy. This implies, for the first time we believe, an estimate, albeit a crude one, of the mass renormalization in these theories.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

Stability of a Model of Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics

The relativistic ``no pair'' model of quantum electrodynamics uses the Dirac operator, D(A), for the electron dynamics together with the usual self-energy of the quantized ultraviolet cutoff electromagnetic field A -- in the Coulomb gauge. There are no positrons because the electron wave functions are constrained to lie in the positive spectral subspace of some Dirac operator, D, but the model is defined for any number, N, of electrons, and hence describes a true many-body system. In addition to the electrons there are a number, K, of fixed nuclei with charges \leq Z. If the fields are not quantized but are classical, it was shown earlier that such a model is always unstable (the ground state energy E=-\infty) if one uses the customary D(0) to define the electron space, but is stable (E > - const.(N+K)) if one uses D(A) itself (provided the fine structure constant αand Z are not too large). This result is extended to quantized fields here, and stability is proved for α=1/137 and Z \leq 42. This formulation of QED is somewhat unusual because it means that the electron Hilbert space is inextricably linked to the photon Fock space. But such a linkage appears to better describe the real world of photons and electrons.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

Proof of Bose-Einstein Condensation for Dilute Trapped Gases

The ground state of bosonic atoms in a trap has been shown experimentally to display Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We prove this fact theoretically for bosons with two-body repulsive interaction potentials in the dilute limit, starting from the basic Schroedinger equation; the condensation is 100% into the state that minimizes the Gross-Pitaevskii energy functional. This is the first rigorous proof of BEC in a physically realistic, continuum model.

math-ph↗

arXiv2002

Segregation in the Falicov-Kimball model

The Falicov-Kimball model is a simple quantum lattice model that describes light and heavy electrons interacting with an on-site repulsion; alternatively, it is a model of itinerant electrons and fixed nuclei. It can be seen as a simplification of the Hubbard model; by neglecting the kinetic (hopping) energy of the spin up particles, one gets the Falicov-Kimball model. We show that away from half-filling, i.e. if the sum of the densities of both kinds of particles differs from 1, the particles segregate at zero temperature and for large enough repulsion. In the language of the Hubbard model, this means creating two regions with a positive and a negative magnetization. Our key mathematical results are lower and upper bounds for the sum of the lowest eigenvalues of the discrete Laplace operator in an arbitrary domain, with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The lower bound consists of a bulk term, independent of the shape of the domain, and of a term proportional to the boundary. Therefore, one lowers the kinetic energy of the itinerant particles by choosing a domain with a small boundary. For the Falicov-Kimball model, this corresponds to having a single `compact' domain that has no heavy particles.

math-ph↗

arXiv2001

Convex Multivariable Trace Functions

For any densely defined, lower semi-continuous trace τon a C*-algebra A with mutually commuting C*-subalgebras A_1, A_2, ... A_n, and a convex function f of n variables, we give a short proof of the fact that the function (x_1, x_2, ..., x_n) --> τ(f(x_1, x_2, ..., x_n)) is convex on the space \bigoplus_{i=1}^n (A_i)_{self-adjoint}. If furthermore the function f is log-convex or root-convex, so is the corresponding trace function. We also introduce a generalization of log-convexity and root-convexity called \ell-convexity, show how it applies to traces, and give a few examples. In particular we show that the trace of an operator mean is always dominated by the corresponding mean of the trace values.

math.OA↗

arXiv2001

Ground States in Non-relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics

The excited states of a charged particle interacting with the quantized electromagnetic field and an external potential all decay, but such a particle should have a true ground state--one that minimizes the energy and satisfies the Schrödinger equation. We prove quite generally that this state exists for {\it all values} of the fine-structure constant and ultraviolet cutoff. We also show the same thing for a many-particle system under physically natural conditions.

math-ph↗

arXiv2000

A Rigorous Derivation of the Gross-Pitaevskii Energy Functional for a Two-Dimensional Bose Gas

We consider the ground state properties of an inhomogeneous two-dimensional Bose gas with a repulsive, short range pair interaction and an external confining potential. In the limit when the particle number $N$ is large but $\barρa^2$ is small, where $\barρ$ is the average particle density and $a$ the scattering length, the ground state energy and density are rigorously shown to be given to leading order by a Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) energy functional with a coupling constant $g\sim 1/|\ln(\barρa^2)|$. In contrast to the 3D case the coupling constant depends on $N$ through the mean density. The GP energy per particle depends only on $Ng$. In 2D this parameter is typically so large that the gradient term in the GP energy functional is negligible and the simpler description by a Thomas-Fermi type functional is adequate.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗