Ground-state Bethe root densities and quantum phase transitions

Abstract

Exactly solvable models provide a unique method, via qualitative changes in the distribution of the ground-state roots of the Bethe ansatz equations, to identify quantum phase transitions. Here we expand on this approach, in a quantitative manner, for two models of Bose–Einstein condensates. The first model deals with the interconversion of bosonic atoms and molecules. The second is the two-site Bose–Hubbard model, widely used to describe tunneling phenomena in Bose–Einstein condensates. For these systems we calculate the ground-state root density. This facilitates the determination of analytic forms for the ground-state energy, and associated correlation functions through the Hellmann–Feynman theorem. These calculations provide a clear identification of the quantum phase transition in each model. For the first model we obtain an expression for the molecular fraction expectation value. For the two-site Bose–Hubbard model we find that there is a simple characterization of condensate fragmentation.