  In this paper we study the properties of Bose-Einstein condensates in shallow
traps. We discuss the case of a Gaussian potential, but many of our results
apply also to the traps having a small quadratic anharmonicity. We show the
errors introduced when a Gaussian potential is approximated with a parabolic
potential, these errors can be quite large for realistic optical trap parameter
values. We study the behavior of the condensate fraction as a function of trap
depth and temperature and calculate the chemical potential of the condensate in
a Gaussian trap. Finally we calculate the frequencies of the collective
excitations in shallow spherically symmetric and 1D traps.
