Boundary Energy of a Bose Gas in One Dimension

Abstract

By the superposition of Bethe's wave functions, using the Lieb's solution for the system of identical bosons interacting in one dimension via a $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function potential, we construct the wave function of the corresponding system enclosed in a box by imposing the boundary condition that the wave function must vanish at the two ends of an interval. Coupled equations for the energy levels are derived, and approximately solved in the thermodynamic limit in order to calculate the boundary energy of this Bose gas in its ground state. The method of superposition is also applied to the analogous problem of the Heisenberg-Ising chain (not the ring).