The Beliaev Broken Symmetry Description of Superfluidity vs the Classical-Field Approach

Abstract

The standard theoretical basis for understanding superfluidity in Bose systems was formulated by Beliaev in 1957, based on splitting the quantum field operator into a macroscopically occupied condensate component and a non-condensate component. This leads to a description of the condensate in terms of a 'single-particle state', the so-called macroscopic wavefunction. Since the discovery of Bose-condensed gases, an alternative theoretical picture has been developed which is based on a 'coherent band' of classically occupied states. This is often called the classical or c-field approach. The goal of this chapter is to review the differences between the Beliaev broken symmetry and c-field approach, and to argue that the c-field concept of a coherent condensate band of states has problems as a description of Bose superfluidity. However, the c-field idea of treating the lowest energy excitations classically can be used to advantage to simplify calculations within the Beliaev broken-symmetry formalism.