One-dimensional Harmonic Trap Research Articles

Treatment of backscattering in a gas of interacting fermions confined to a one-dimensional harmonic atom trap

An asymptotically exact many body theory for spin polarized interacting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic atom trap is developed using the bosonization method and including backward scattering. In contrast to the Luttinger model, backscattering in the trap generates one-particle potentials which must be diagonalized simultaneously with the two-body interactions. Inclusion of backscattering becomes necessary because backscattering is the dominant interaction process between confined identical one-dimensional fermions. The bosonization method is applied to the calculation of one-particle matrix elements at zero temperature. A detailed discussion of the validity of the results from bosonization is given, including a comparison with direct numerical diagonalization in fermionic Hilbert space. A model for the interaction coefficients is developed along the lines of the Luttinger model with only one coupling constant $K$. With these results, particle densities, the Wigner function, and the central pair correlation function are calculated and displayed for large fermion numbers. It is shown how interactions modify these quantities. The anomalous dimension of the pair correlation function in the center of the trap is also discussed and found to be in accord with the Luttinger model.

Two-component Fermi gas in a one-dimensional harmonic trap

A many body theory for a two-component system of spin polarized interacting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap is developed. The model considers two different states of the same fermionic species and treats the dominant interactions between the two using the bosonization method for forward scattering. Asymptotically exact results for the one-particle matrix elements at zero temperature are given. Using them, occupation probabilities of oscillator states are discussed. Particle and momentum densities are calculated and displayed. It is demonstrated how interactions modify all these quantities. An asymptotic connection with Luttinger liquids is suggested. The relation of the coupling constant of the theory to the dipole-dipole interaction is also discussed.

Collective Excitations of a One-Dimensional Fermi Gas Under Harmonic Confinement

We study the spectrum of collective excitations of a spin-polarized Fermi gas confined in a one-dimensional harmonic trap at zero temperature. In the collisionless regime we evaluate exactly the dynamic structure factor, while in the collisional regime we solve analytically the linearized equations of hydrodynamics in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. We also verify the validity of the Thomas-Fermi theory by solving numerically a time-dependent nonlinear Schroedinger equation with a fifth-order interaction term. We find that in both the collisionless and the collisional regime the excitation frequencies of the Fermi gas are multiples of the trap frequency, analogously to the case of the one-dimensional homogeneous Fermi fluid where the velocities of zero and first sound coincide. Due to boson-fermion dynamical mapping our results for the spectrum apply as well to a one-dimensional Bose gas with hard-core point-like interactions (“Tonks gas”).

Noninteracting fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic atom trap: Exact one-particle properties at zero temperature

One-particle properties of non-interacting Fermions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap and at zero temperature are studied. Exact expressions and asymptotic results for large Fermion number N are given for the particle density distribution n_0(z,N). For large N and near the classical boundary at the Fermi energy the density displays increasing fluctuations. A simple scaling of these tails of the density distribution with respect to N is established. The Fourier transform of the density distribution is calculated exactly. It displays a small but characteristic hump near 2 k_F with k_F being a properly defined Fermi wave number. This is due to Friedel oscillations which are identified and discussed. These quantum effects are missing in the semi-classical approximation. Momentum distributions are also evaluated and discussed. As an example of a time-dependent one-particle problem we calculate exactly the evolution of the particle density when the trap is suddenly switched off and find a simple scaling behaviour in agreement with recent general results.