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

For fixed particle number, Bose-Einstein condensation means that a macroscopic fraction occupies the single-particle ground state. As $\mu \uparrow 0$, the excited-state population reaches its maximumAt the transition this equals $N$, soBelow $T_c$, the chemical potential is approximately zero in the large-$N$ continuum description. Additional particles occupy the ground state, givingFor finite $N$, the actual chemical potential remains slightly negative; the saturation statement is the macroscopic approximation used here.