Quantum correlations and degeneracy of identical bosons in a two-dimensional harmonic trap

Abstract

We consider a small number of identical bosons trapped in a two-dimensional isotropic harmonic potential and also the N-boson system when it is feasible. The atom-atom interaction is modeled by means of a finite-range Gaussian interaction. The spectral properties of the system are scrutinized and, in particular, we derive analytic expressions for the degeneracies and their breaking for the lower-energy states at small but finite interactions. We demonstrate that the degeneracy of the low-energy states is independent of the number of particles in the noninteracting limit and also for sufficiently weak interactions. In the strongly interacting regime, we show how the many-body wave function develops holes whenever two particles are at the same position in space to avoid the interaction, a mechanism reminiscent of the Tonks-Girardeau gas in one dimension. The evolution of the system as the interaction is increased is studied by means of the density profiles, pair correlations, and fragmentation of the ground state for 2, 3, and 4 bosons.