Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / ii / Paper 2 / 33C / a / Solution

The Bose-Einstein distribution gives $n_i=[\exp ((E_i-\mu )/(k_{B}T))-1{]}^{-1}$, with chemical potential below the lowest energy when its discrete occupation is finite. In the continuum approximation,If the zero-energy ground state is macroscopically occupied, its discrete occupation $N_0$ must be added to the first integral; it contributes no energy to the second. This distinction is essential when applying the formulas to Bose-Einstein condensation.