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A momentum distribution describes the statistical weight of particle momenta, with its normalization stated. A one-particle distribution $n(p)$ can be normalized to one as a probability density or to the particle number; these conventions differ by a factor.

For a pure state with momentum-space wavefunction $\tilde{\psi }(p)$, the probability density is $|\tilde{\psi }(p){|}^2$ under the chosen Fourier normalization. In many-body systems, the one-body density matrix determines the single-particle momentum occupation. A narrow momentum peak can indicate coherence, but finite size, interactions and the measurement protocol also affect the observed profile.

Here number-conserving means invariant under a global particle-number quantum phase rotation: the field mean and anomalous averages $⟨\psi \psi ⟩$ vanish. It does not mean a sharp total particle number. All normal correlations are obtained by Wick pairings of the one-body density matrix. Independent thermal bosonic modes satisfy this rule; generic nonvacuum bosonic number states do not. A Slater determinant is the analogous fermionic pairing state.

For the normalized Hartree product state $|N:\varphi ⟩$, applying the bosonic annihilation operator gives $\psi (y)|N:\varphi ⟩=\sqrt{N}\varphi (y)|N-1:\varphi ⟩$. Taking the inner product proves the displayed factorization of the one-body density matrix. Its diagonal is the total number density in this approximation. For a real positive orbital, $G^{(1)}(0,r)=\sqrt{n(0)n(r)}$. Restoring the kinetic energy in a Gross–Pitaevskii equation can smooth a Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate edge while retaining this factorization. Describing quantum depletion of a Bose condensate additionally requires noncondensate mode occupations and their contribution to the one-body density matrix.

The one-body density matrixuses a creation operator and an annihilation operator to describe first-order spatial quantum coherence. Its diagonal is particle-number density and its trace is the expectation value of the particle number operator, $\mathrm{Tr}{G}^{(1)}=⟨N⟩$. Dividing by $⟨N⟩$ instead gives a unit-trace convention, so the normalization matters when interpreting its eigenvalues.

For bosons, an eigenvalue that remains proportional to particle number in the thermodynamic limit identifies Bose-Einstein condensation. This criterion extends occupation of a single-particle mode to interacting systems.^[ref]

In a homogeneous system of volume $V$, an occupied plane-wave mode contributesA constant long-distance limit therefore corresponds to a zero-momentum condensate; a moving condensate can retain a spatial phase. Finite local density or short-distance quantum coherence alone does not establish off-diagonal long-range order.

For each spin let ${\mathcal{F}}_{\sigma }$ contain the $N_{\sigma }$ lowest tight binding energy levels, and set $n_{\sigma }=N_{\sigma }/M$ and $C_{\sigma }=M^{-1}{\sum }_{k\in {\mathcal{F}}_{\sigma }}{e}^{ik}$. The normalized trial Slater determinant isIts nearest-neighbour one-body density matrix is $⟨c_{\sigma ,j}^{†}{c}_{\sigma ,j+1}⟩=C_{\sigma }$. By Wick's theorem, fermionic exchange symmetry subtracts the squared off-diagonal one-body density matrix from the direct contributionThis formula also specifies the finite-$M$ answer exactly, including partially filled terminal energy levels through the chosen occupied set. For $N_{\sigma }$ consecutive allowed wavevectors, $|C_{\sigma }|=|\sin (\pi N_{\sigma }/M)|/[M\sin (\pi /M)]$; its phase locates the centre of that occupied interval.

Write $\tau =|t|$. In the large-$M$ limit the Fermi sea is centred at $k_0=0$ for $t>0$ and $k_0=\pi$ for $t<0$, with Fermi wavevector $k_{F,\sigma }=\pi n_{\sigma }$ measured from $k_0$. ConsequentlyThe subtraction due to fermionic exchange symmetry is essential: replacing $⟨n_j{n}_{j+1}⟩$ by $n^2$ would discard the suppression of neighbouring equal-spin occupation. A completely filled spin band has zero kinetic energy and interaction energy $MV$, as the formula also shows.

Write $G(r)=⟨{\psi }^{†}(0)\psi (\mathbf{r})⟩$, $r=|\mathbf{r}|$, and ${\ell }^2=\hslash /(m\omega )$. At zero temperature all $N$ particles occupy ${\varphi }_0(\mathbf{r})=(\ell \sqrt{\pi }{)}^{-1}{e}^{-r^2/(2{\ell }^2)}$. Expanding the bosonic annihilation operator in single-particle orbitals givesThis one-body density matrix is a Gaussian function of width $\ell$; it contains one wavefunction evaluated at $r$, so its exponent is half that of the spatial number density $N|{\varphi }_0(r){|}^2$. In particular,the total number density at the trap centre, including condensed and noncondensed particles.

At positive temperature, with occupations ${\overline{n}}_a$ of the trap energy eigenstates, the exact ideal-gas decomposition isFor $\hslash \omega \ll k_{B}T<k_B{T}_c$, the sketch has a broad Bose-Einstein condensate component on scale $\ell$ and a narrower thermal peak near the origin. On approaching $T_c$ the broad component loses its weight $N_0$, while the thermal part remains. Above $T_c$ there is no macroscopic broad Bose-Einstein condensate component; close to $T_c$, low energy levels can still give a shoulder, so a single narrow Gaussian function is only a high-temperature description. At $k_{B}T\lesssim \hslash \omega$ individual excited energy levels matter and the two-scale description need not apply.

For $T\gg T_c$ the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution applies. The leading off-diagonal one-body density matrix isHere ${\sigma }_r$ is the Gaussian function width defined by $e^{-r^2/(2{\sigma }_r^2)}$, and ${\lambda }_T$ is the thermal de Broglie wavelength. The thermal cloud itself extends over the much larger spatial scale $\sqrt{k_{B}T/\kappa }$; this is a correlation width, not the cloud radius.

The Hartree product state underlying the Gross–Pitaevskii equation has the factorized one-body coherence of a Hartree condensate. Choosing its nodeless ground state orbital real givesIn particular, the Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate from part (d) predictsThe curve starts at $\mu /g$, decreases with zero slope at the origin, and reaches zero with an infinite slope at $R$. Restoring the kinetic energy in the full Gross–Pitaevskii equation rounds that edge and produces a nonzero tail. This corrects the Thomas–Fermi approximation for a condensate, but the resulting one-body density matrix still factorizes.

The additional missing physics is quantum depletion. Interactions scatter pairs of bosons into orbitals outside the Bose-Einstein condensate even at zero temperature. In terms of the true Bose-Einstein condensate orbital ${\phi }_0$ the exact one-body density matrix decomposes asThe single-orbital Hartree product state sets $N_0=N$ and omits ${\rho }_{\mathrm{ex}}$ altogether. In a weakly interacting Bose gas, Bogoliubov theory adds a comparatively short-range noncondensed contribution near the origin, together with reduced weight in the broad Bose-Einstein condensate component. The central value remains the total number density, not just the condensate density. Its numerical shift relative to the original Gross–Pitaevskii equation solution also depends on the interaction-induced redistribution of number density; it is not fixed by the condensate fraction alone.

There is a state-assumption issue. For a number-conserving Gaussian quantum state with no anomalous contractions, put ${\psi }_i=\psi ({\mathbf{r}}_i)$, $n_i=⟨{\psi }_i^{†}{\psi }_i⟩$ and the one-body density matrix $g_{ij}=⟨{\psi }_i^{†}{\psi }_j⟩$. Wick's theorem pairs each creation operator with an annihilation operator. The direct pairing gives $n_1{n}_2$; the exchanged pairing gives $ϵg_{12}{g}_{21}$, with $ϵ=+1$ for bosons and $-1$ for fermions. Hencenormal ordering removes the equal-position delta-function self-counting term. Fermionic occupation-number product states are Slater determinants and obey this Wick theorem. Independent thermal bosonic modes also obey it, with $N_{\alpha }$ understood as mean occupations.

A bosonic Fock product state does not generally obey the asserted identity. The bosonic number-state corrections to Gaussian density correlations follow from $⟨a_{\alpha }^{†2}{a}_{\alpha }^2⟩=N_{\alpha }(N_{\alpha }-1)$ and giveFor one occupied mode this is $N(N-1)|{\phi }_1{|}^2|{\phi }_2{|}^2$, whereas the uncorrected Gaussian expression gives $2N^2|{\phi }_1{|}^2|{\phi }_2{|}^2$. This counterexample disproves the asserted identity for arbitrary bosonic number-product states. The formulas below give both the Gaussian result, with its additional state assumption, and the exact bosonic number-state alternative. The ensemble distinction is also explicit in a later primary treatment of ideal-gas correlations.^[ref]

For a number-conserving Gaussian pairing state, six permutations give this expression. Each transposition has sign $ϵ$, positive for bosons and negative for fermions; the two three-cycles have positive sign for either statistics. Equivalently it is the permanent or determinant of the three-by-three one-body density matrix. For bosonic number states, repeated-mode factorial corrections must be included instead of assuming that Wick theorem.