BCS Side Research Articles

Bound states of two spin-12fermions in a synthetic non-Abelian gauge field

We study the bound states of two spin-$\half$ fermions interacting via a contact attraction (characterized by a scattering length) in the singlet channel in 3D space in presence of a uniform non-Abelian gauge field. The configuration of the gauge field that generates a Rashba type spin-orbit interaction is described by three coupling parameters $(\lambda_x, \lambda_y, \lambda_z)$. For a generic gauge field configuration, the critical scattering length required for the formation of a bound state is {\em negative}, i.e. shifts to the "BCS side" of the resonance. Interestingly, we find that there are special high-symmetry configurations (e.g., $\lambda_x = \lambda_y = \lambda_z$) for which there is a two body bound state for {\em any} scattering length however small and negative. Remarkably, the bound-state wave functions obtained for such configurations have nematic spin structure similar to those found in liquid $^3$He. Our results show that the BCS-BEC crossover is drastically affected by the presence of a non-Abelian gauge field. We discuss possible experimental signatures of our findings both at high and low temperatures.

Gap solitons of a superfluid fermion gas in optical lattices

Based on the hydrodynamic model, gap soliton of a superfluid fermion gas in optical lattices was discussed. By using the variational method, the condition for existing gap soliton is obtained. It is found that, when the system crosses from Bose-Eingtein condensation side to the BCS side, the condition for existing gap soliton and the structure of gap soliton are very different.

Gradient corrections to the local-density approximation for trapped superfluid Fermi gases

Two species superfluid Fermi gas is investigated on the BCS side up to the Feshbach resonance. Using the Greens's function technique gradient corrections are calculated to the generalized Thomas-Fermi theory including Cooper pairing. Their relative magnitude is found to be measured by the small parameter $(d/R_{TF})^4$, where $d$ is the oscillator length of the trap potential and $R_{TF}$ is the radial extension of the density $n$ in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. In particular at the Feshbach resonance the universal %constant $A_{TF}$ has the %correction in the center $A=A_{TF}+A_2(d/R_{TF})^4+\...$ corrections to the local density approximation are calculated and a universal prefactor $\kappa_W=7/27$ is derived for the von Weizs\"acker type correction $\kappa_W(\hbar^2/2m)(\nabla^2 n^{1/2}/n^{1/2})$.

Tunneling dynamics of superfluid Fermi gases in an accelerating optical lattice

The nonlinear Landau-Zener tunneling and the nonlinear Rabi oscillations of superfluid Fermi gases between Bloch bands in an accelerating optical lattice are discussed. Within the hydrodynamic theory and a two-level model, the tunneling probability of superfluid Fermi gases between Bloch bands is obtained. We find that, as the system crosses from the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) side to the BCS side, the tunneling rate is closely related to the particle density: when the density is smaller (larger) than a critical value, the tunneling rate at unitarity is larger (smaller) than that in the BEC limit. This is well explained in terms of an effective interaction and an effective potential. Furthermore, the nonlinear Rabi oscillations of superfluid Fermi gases between the bands are discussed by imposing a periodic modulation on the level bias and the strength of the lattice. Analytical expressions of the critical density for suppressing or enhancing the Rabi oscillations are obtained. It is shown that, as the system crosses from the BEC side to the BCS side, the critical density strongly depends on the modulation parameters (i.e., the modulation amplitude and the modulation frequency). For a fixed density, a high-frequency or low-frequency modulation can suppress or enhance the Rabimore » oscillations both at unitarity and in the BEC limit. For an intermediate modulation frequency, the Rabi oscillations are chaotic along the entire BEC-BCS crossover, especially, on the BCS side. Interestingly, we find that the modulation of the lattice strength only with an intermediate modulation frequency has significant effect on the Rabi oscillations both in the BEC limit and at unitarity; that is, an intermediate-frequency modulation can enhance the Rabi oscillations, especially on the BCS side.« less

Speed of sound in an optical lattice

AbstractA system of equal mixture of 6Li atomic Fermi gas of two hyperfine states loaded into a cubic three‐dimensional optical lattice is studied assuming a negative scattering length (BCS side of the Feshbach resonance). When the interaction is attractive, fermionic atoms can pair and form a superfluid. The dispersion of the phonon‐like mode and the speed of sound in the long‐wavelength limit are obtained by solving the Bethe‐Salpeter equations for the collective modes of the attractive Hubbard Hamiltonian.

Population and mass imbalance in atomic Fermi gases

We develop an accurate theory of resonantly interacting Fermi mixtures with both spin and mass imbalance. We consider Fermi mixtures with arbitrary mass imbalances, but focus in particular on the experimentally available ${}^{6}$Li-${}^{40}$K mixture. We determine the phase diagram of the mixture for different interactions strengths that lie on the BCS side of the Feshbach resonance. We also determine the universal phase diagram at unitarity. We find for the mixtures with a sufficiently large mass imbalance, that includes the ${}^{6}$Li-${}^{40}$K mixture, a Lifshitz point in the universal phase diagram that signals an instability towards a supersolid phase.

Unitarity Schrödinger Equation and Ground State Properties of the Finite Trapped Superfluid Fermi Gases in a BCS-BEC Crossover

On the basis of quantum hydrodynamical equations we derive a unitarity Schrödinger equation of a finite trapped superfluid Fermi gas valid in the whole interaction regime from BCS superfluid to BEC. This equation is just the Ginzburg–Laudau-type equation for the fermionic Cooper pairs in the BCS side, the Gross–Pitaevskii-type equation for the bosonic dimers in the BEC side, and a unitarity equation for a strongly interacting Fermi superfluid in the unitarity limit. By taking a modified Gauss-like trial wave function, we solve the unitarity Schrödinger equation, calculate the energy, chemical potential, sizes and profiles of the ground-state condensate, and discuss the properties of the ground state in the entire BCS-BEC crossover regimes.

Bloch band and Bloch waves of superfluid Fermi gases in optical lattices

Bloch band and stabilities of Bloch waves of superfluid Fermi gases in one-dimensional (1D) periodic optical lattices are discussed. Within the hydrodynamical theory and the two-mode approximation, the Bloch band structure, the energetic and dynamical instabilities of Bloch waves at the first Brilliouin zone are presented. The results show that, when the atom density is beyond a critical value, a loop structure in the Bloch band at the zone edge is developed along the BEC-BCS crossover. The Bloch band structure and the stabilities of Bloch waves are modified dramatically when the system crosses from the BEC side to the BCS side, and they can be adjusted to the required characteristics by changing the atom's interaction (with the Feshbach resonance technique), the atom density, and the lattice parameters. The analytical expressions of the critical atom density for exciting the loop structure and maintaining the stabilities of Bloch waves are obtained.

The ground state solutions of superfluid Fermi gas in optical lattices

The ground state solutions of superfluid Fermi gas in optical lattices are studied by means of the balance condition between the lattices potential and inter-atomic interaction energy. We derive the atoms density distribution, the atoms number and the energy of the ground state along the entire BEC-BCS crossover. It is shown that, the properties of the ground state present very different characters as the system transits from the BEC side to the BCS side.

Shell-model Monte Carlo simulations of the BCS-BEC crossover in few-fermion systems

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany(Dated: July 23, 2009)We study a trapped system of fermions with a zero-range two-body interaction using the shell-model Monte Carlo method, providing ab initio results for the low particle number limit wheremean-field theory is not applicable. We present results for the N-body energies as function ofinteraction strength, particle number, and temperature. The subtle question of renormalization ina finite model space is addressed and the convergence of our method and its applicability acrossthe BCS-BEC crossover is discussed. Our findings indicate that very good quantitative results canbe obtained on the BCS side, whereas at unitarity and in the BEC regime the convergence is lessclear. Comparison to N = 2 analytics at zero and finite temperature, and to other calculations inthe literature for N > 2 show very good agreement.

Induced interaction in a Fermi gas with a BEC-BCS crossover

We study the effect of the induced interaction on the superfluid transition temperature of a Fermi gas with a BEC-BCS crossover. The Gorkov-Melik-Barkhudarov theory about the induced interaction is extended from the BCS side to the entire crossover, and the pairing fluctuation is treated in the approach by Nozi\`{e}res and Schmitt-Rink. At unitarity, the induced interaction reduces the transition temperature by about twenty percent. In the BCS limit, the transition temperature is reduced by a factor about 2.22, as found by Gorkov and Melik-Barkhudarov. Our result shows that the effect of the induced interaction is important both on the BCS side and in the unitary region.

DC and AC Josephson effects with superfluid Fermi atoms across a Feshbach resonance

We show that both DC and AC Josephson effects with superfluid Fermi atoms in the BCS-BEC crossover can be described at zero temperature by a nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE). By comparing our NLSE with mean-field extended BCS calculations, we find that the NLSE is reliable in the BEC side of the crossover up to the unitarity limit. The NLSE can be used for weakly-linked atomic superfluids also in the BCS side of the crossover by taking the tunneling energy as a phenomenological parameter.

Phase diagram of asymmetric Fermi gas across Feshbach resonance

We study the phase diagram of the dilute two-component Fermi gas at zero temperature as a function of the polarization and coupling strength. We map out the detailed phase separations between superfluid and normal states near the Feshbach resonance. We show that there are three different coexistence of superfluid and normal phases corresponding to phase separated states between: (I) the partially polarized superfluid and the fully polarized normal phases, (II) the unpolarized superfluid and the fully polarized normal phases and (III) the unpolarized superfluid and the partially polarized normal phases from strong-coupling BEC side to weak-coupling BCS side. For pairing between two species, we found this phase separation regime gets wider and moves toward the BEC side for the majority species are heavier but shifts to BCS side and becomes narrow if they are lighter.

Particle-hole fluctuations in BCS-BEC crossover

The effect of particle-hole fluctuations for the BCS-BEC crossover is investigated by use of functional renormalization. We compute the Gorkov effect and the critical temperature for the whole range in the scattering length $a$. On the BCS side for small negative $a$ we recover the Gorkov approximation, while on the BEC side of small positive $a$ the particle-hole fluctuations play no important role, and we find a system of interacting bosons. In the unitarity limit of infinite scattering length our quantitative estimate yields ${T}_{c}/{T}_{F}=0.264$. We also investigate the crossover from broad to narrow Feshbach resonances---for the latter we obtain ${T}_{c}/{T}_{F}=0.204$ for ${a}^{\ensuremath{-}1}=0$. A key ingredient for our treatment is the computation of the momentum dependent four-fermion vertex and its bosonization in terms of an effective bound-state exchange.

Trappedp-wave superfluids: A local-density approach

The local-density approximation is used to study the ground state superfluid properties of harmonically trapped $p$-wave Fermi gases as a function of fermion-fermion attraction strength. While the density distribution is bimodal on the weakly attracting BCS side, it becomes unimodal with increasing attraction and saturates towards the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) side. This nonmonotonic evolution is related to the topological gapless-to-gapped phase transition, and may be observed via radio-frequency spectroscopy since quasiparticle transfer current requires a finite threshold only on the BEC side.

Imbalancedd-wave superfluids in the BCS-BEC crossover regime at finite temperatures

Singlet pairing in a Fermi superfluid is frustrated when the amounts of fermions of each pairing partner are unequal. The resulting ``imbalanced superfluid'' has been realized experimentally for ultracold atomic gases with $s$-wave interactions. Inspired by high-temperature superconductivity, we investigate the case of $d$-wave interactions and find marked differences from the $s$-wave superfluid. Whereas $s$-wave imbalanced Fermi gases tend to phase separate in real space, in a balanced condensate and an imbalanced normal halo, we show that the $d$-wave gas can phase separate in reciprocal space so that imbalance and superfluidity can coexist spatially. We show that the mechanism explaining this property is the creation of polarized excitations in the nodes of the gap. The Sarma mechanism, present only at nonzero temperatures for the $s$-wave case, is still applicable in the temperature zero limit for the $d$-wave case. As a result, the $d$-wave BCS superfluid is more robust with respect to imbalance and a region of the phase diagram can be identified where the $s$-wave BCS superfluidity is suppressed whereas the $d$-wave superfluidity is not. When these results are extended into the Bose--Einstein condensate limit of strongly bound molecules, the symmetry of the order parameter matters less. The effects of fluctuations beyond mean field is taken into account in the calculation of the structure factor and the critical temperature. The poles of the structure factor (corresponding to bound molecular states) are less damped in the $d$-wave case as compared to that in $s$ wave. On the BCS side of the unitarity limit, the critical temperature ${T}_{c}$ follows the temperature ${T}^{*}$ corresponding to the pair binding energy and as such will also be more robust against imbalance. Possible routes for the experimental observation of the $d$-wave superfluidity have been discussed.

Lattice structures of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state

Starting from the Ginzburg-Landau free energy describing the normal state to Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state transition, we evaluate the free energy of seven most common lattice structures such as stripe, square, triangular, simple cubic, face centered cubic, body centered cubic, and quasicrystal. We find that the stripe phase, which is the original LO state, is the most stable phase. This result may be relevant to the detection of FFLO state in some heavy fermion compounds and the pairing lattice structure of fermions with unequal populations in the BCS side of Feshbach resonance in ultracold atoms.

Finite-temperature phase diagram of trapped Fermi gases with population imbalance

We consider a trapped Fermi gas with population imbalance at finite temperatures and map out the detailed phase diagram across a wide Feshbach resonance. We take the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrel (LOFF) state into consideration and minimize the thermodynamical potential to ensure stability. Under the local density approximation, we conclude that a stable LOFF state is present only on the BCS side of the Feshbach resonance, but not on the BEC side or at unitarity. Furthermore, even on the BCS side, a LOFF state is restricted at low temperatures and in a small region of the trap, which makes a direct observation of a LOFF state a challenging task.

Finite-Temperature Collective Dynamics of a Fermi Gas in the BEC-BCS Crossover

We report on experimental studies on the collective behavior of a strongly interacting Fermi gas with tunable interactions and variable temperature. A scissors mode excitation in an elliptical trap is used to characterize the dynamics of the quantum gas in terms of hydrodynamic or near-collisionless behavior. We obtain a crossover phase diagram for collisional properties, showing a large region where a nonsuperfluid strongly interacting gas shows hydrodynamic behavior. In a narrow interaction regime on the BCS side of the crossover, we find a novel temperature-dependent damping peak, suggesting a relation to the superfluid phase transition.

Many body exchange effects close to the s-wave Feshbach resonance in two-component Fermi systems: is a triplet superfluid possible?

We suggest that the exchange fluctuations close to a Feshbach resonance in a two-component Fermi gas can result in an effective p-wave attractive interaction. On the BCS side of a Feshbach resonance, the magnitude of this effective interaction is comparable to the s-wave interaction, therefore leading to a possible spin-triplet superfluid in the range of temperatures of actual experiments. We also show that the particle--hole exchange fluctuations introduce an effective scattering length which does not diverge, as the standard mean-field one does. Finally, using the effective interaction quantities we are able to model the molecular binding energy on the BEC side of the resonance.