Correlated N-boson systems for arbitrary scattering length

Abstract

We investigate systems of identical bosons with the focus on two-body correlations and attractive finite-range potentials. We use a hyperspherical adiabatic method and apply a Faddeev type of decomposition of the wave function. We discuss the structure of a condensate as function of particle number and scattering length. We establish universal scaling relations for the critical effective radial potentials for distances where the average distance between particle pairs is larger than the interaction range. The correlations in the wave function restore the large distance mean-field behaviour with the correct two-body interaction. We discuss various processes limiting the stability of condensates. With correlations we confirm that macroscopic tunneling dominates when the trap length is about half of the particle number times the scattering length.