A homogeneous static saddle minimizes for . With and ,
The mean-field Bose-Einstein condensate has a macroscopic coherent occupation of the uniform mode. Its continuous particle-number phase symmetry is , the circle group generated by particle number. Choosing one phase breaks it, and the saddle manifold is a circle. For , the constrained minimum is the vacuum , so the condensed saddle requires the stated positive-density regime.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is understood through a phase-selected thermodynamic description: an exact finite-volume number eigenstate has vanishing field expectation. The resulting Goldstone boson is a gapless phase/sound mode, while phase gradients carry the superfluid velocity . This is the saddle-point conclusion requested, not a proof of true condensate order in every dimension or temperature. Long-wavelength phase fluctuations can invalidate the assumed order, as quantified below.