P-wave Feshbach Resonance Research Articles

Topological Superconductivity in Doped Magnetic Moiré Semiconductors.

We show that topological superconductivity may emerge upon doping of transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers above an integer-filling magnetic state of the topmost valence moiré band. The effective attraction between charge carriers is generated by an electric p-wave Feshbach resonance arising from interlayer excitonic physics and has a tunable strength, which may be large. Together with the low moiré carrier densities reachable by gating, this robust attraction enables access to the long-sought p-wave BEC-BCS transition. The topological protection arises from an emergent time reversal symmetry occurring when the magnetic order and long wavelength magnetic fluctuations do not couple different valleys. The resulting topological superconductor features helical Majorana edge modes, leading to half-integer quantized spin-thermal Hall conductivity and to charge currents induced by circularly polarized light or other time-reversal symmetry-breaking fields.

The influence of collision energy on magnetically tuned 6Li-6Li Feshbach resonance

The effect of collision energy on the magnetically tuned 6Li–6Li Feshbach resonance (FR) is investigated theoretically by using the coupled-channel (CC) method for the collision energy ranging from 1 μK ⋅ k B to 100 μK ⋅ k B. At the collision energy of 1 μK ⋅ k B, the resonance positions calculated are 543.152 Gs (s wave, the unit 1 Gs = 10−4 T), 185.109 Gs (p wave |ml | = 0), and 185.113 Gs (p wave |ml | = 1), respectively. The p-wave FR near 185 Gs exibits a doublet structure of 4 mGs, associated with dipole–dipole interaction. With the increase of the collision energy, it is found that the splitting width remains the same (4 mGs), and that the resonance positions of s and p waves are shifted to higher magnetic fields with the increase of collision energy. The variations of the other quantities including the resonance width and the amplitude of the total scattering section are also discussed in detail. The thermally averaged elastic rate coefficients at T = 10, 15, 20, 25 K are calculated and compared.

Probing open- and closed-channel p -wave resonances

We study the near-threshold molecular and collisional physics of a strong $^{40}$K p-wave Feshbach resonance through a combination of measurements, numerical calculations, and modeling. Dimer spectroscopy employs both radio-frequency spin-flip association in the MHz band and resonant association in the kHz band. Systematic uncertainty in the measured binding energy is reduced by a model that includes both the Franck-Condon overlap amplitude and inhomogeneous broadening. Coupled-channels calculations based on mass-scaled $^{39}$K potentials compare well to the observed binding energies and also reveal a low-energy p-wave shape resonance in the open channel. Contrary to conventional expectation, we observe a nonlinear variation of the binding energy with magnetic field, and explain how this arises from the interplay of the closed-channel ramping state with the near-threshold shape resonance in the open channel. We develop an analytic two-channel model that includes both resonances as well as the dipole-dipole interactions which, we show, become important at low energy. Using this parameterization of the energy dependence of the scattering phase, we can classify the studied $^{40}$K resonance as broad. Throughout the paper, we compare to the well understood s-wave case, and discuss the significant role played by van der Waals physics. The resulting understanding of the dimer physics of p-wave resonances provides a solid foundation for future exploration of few- and many-body orbital physics.

Unitarity-limited behavior of three-body collisions in a p -wave interacting Fermi gas

We experimentally investigate the unitarity-limited behavior of the three-body loss near a p-wave Feshbach resonance in a single-component Fermi gas of $^6$Li atoms. At the unitarity limit, the three-body loss coefficient $L_{3}$ exhibits universality in the sense that it is independent of the interaction strength and follows the predicted temperature scaling law of $L_3 \propto T^{-2}$. When decreasing the interaction strength from the unitarity regime, the three-body loss coefficient as a function of the interaction strength and temperature can be described by the theory based on the association of an excited resonant quasibound state and its relaxation into a deep stable dimer by collision with a third atom in the framework of the standard Breit-Wigner theoretical approach. The results reported here are important to understand the properties of a resonant p-wave Fermi gas in the prospect of quantum few- and many-body physics.

Two-dimensional Fermi gases near a p -wave resonance: Effect of quantum fluctuations

We study the stability of p-wave superfluidity against quantum fluctuations in two-dimensional Fermi gases near a p-wave Feshbach resonance . An analysis is carried out in the limit when the interchannel coupling is strong. By investigating the effective potential for the pairing field via the standard loop expansion, we show that a homogeneous p-wave pairing state becomes unstable when two-loop quantum fluctuations are taken into account. This is in contrast to the previously predicted $p + ip$ supefluid in the weak-coupling limit [V. Gurarie et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 230403 (2005)]. It implies a possible onset of instability at certain intermediate interchannel coupling strength. Alternatively, the instability can also be driven by lowering the particle density. We also discuss the validity of our analysis.

Scaling Law for Three-Body Collisions of Identical Fermions with p-Wave Interactions.

We experimentally confirmed the threshold behavior and scattering length scaling law of the three-body loss coefficients in an ultracold spin-polarized gas of ^{6}Li atoms near a p-wave Feshbach resonance. We measured the three-body loss coefficients as functions of temperature and scattering volume, and we found that the threshold law and the scattering length scaling law hold in limited temperature and magnetic field regions. We also found that the breakdown of the scaling laws is due to the emergence of the effective-range term. This work is an important first step towards a full understanding of the loss of identical fermions with p-wave interactions.

Universal feature in optical control of a p -wave Feshbach resonance

In this Letter we report the experimental results on optical control of a p-wave Feshbach resonance, by utilizing a laser driven bound-to-bound transition to shift the energy of closed channel molecule. The magnetic field location for p-wave resonance as a function of laser detuning can be captured by a simple formula with essentially one parameter, which describes how sensitive the resonance depends on the laser detuning. The key result of this work is to demonstrate, both experimentally and theoretically, that the ratio between this parameter for $m=0$ resonance and that for $m=\pm 1$ resonance, to large extent, is universal. We also show that this optical control can create intriguing situations where interesting few- and many-body physics can occurs, such as a p-wave resonance overlapping with an s-wave resonance or three p-wave resonances being degenerate.

Two-body relaxation in a Fermi gas at a p -wave Feshbach resonance

We systematically studied the two-body loss in a two-component Fermi gas of $^6$Li atoms near a p-wave Feshbach resonance. The two-body loss rate constants were measured for various temperatures and magnetic fields using atoms trapped in three-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional traps. Our results were nicely reproduced by a theoretical model that incorporates the two-body loss as an imaginary part to the inverse of the scattering volume in the scattering amplitude expression. The observed loss suppression in quasi-two-dimensional traps may provide a promising strategy to realize a p-wave superfluid in a system of ultracold atoms.

Fermi–Bose mixture in mixed dimensions

One of the challenging goals in the studies of many-body physics with ultracold atoms is the creation of a topological superfluid for identical fermions in two dimensions (2D). The expectations of reaching the critical temperature Tc through p-wave Feshbach resonance in spin-polarized fermionic gases have soon faded away because on approaching the resonance, the system becomes unstable due to inelastic-collision processes. Here, we consider an alternative scenario in which a single-component degenerate gas of fermions in 2D is paired via phonon-mediated interactions provided by a 3D BEC background. Within the weak-coupling regime, we calculate the critical temperature Tc for the fermionic pair formation using the Bethe–Salpeter formalism, and show that it is significantly boosted by higher-order diagrammatic terms, such as phonon dressing and vertex corrections. We describe in detail an experimental scheme to implement our proposal, and show that the long-sought p-wave superfluid is at reach with state-of-the-art experiments.

Topological quantum phase transition from a fermionic integer quantum Hall phase to a bosonic fractional quantum Hall phase through a p -wave Feshbach resonance

We use exact diagonalization to study the quantum phases and phase transitions when a single species of fermionic atoms at Landau level filling factor $\nu_f = 1$ in a rotating trap interact through a p-wave Feshbach resonance. We show that under weak pairing interaction, the system undergoes a second order quantum phase transition from $\nu_{f} = 1$ fermionic integer quantum Hall (FIQH) state at positive detuning, to $\nu_{b} = \frac{1}{4}$ bosonic fractional quantum Hall (BFQH) state at negative detuning. However, when the pairing interaction increases, a new phase between them emerges, corresponding to a fraction of fermionic atoms stay in a coherent superposition of bosonic molecule state and an unbound pair. The phase transition from FIQH phase to the new phase is of second order and that from the new phase to BFQH phase is of first order.

P-wave superfluidity of atomic lattice fermions

We discuss the emergence of p-wave superfluidity of identical atomic fermions in a two-dimensional optical lattice. The optical lattice potential manifests itself in an interplay between an increase in the density of states on the Fermi surface and the modification of the fermion-fermion interaction (scattering) amplitude. The density of states is enhanced due to an increase of the effective mass of atoms. In deep lattices the scattering amplitude is strongly reduced compared to free space due to a small overlap of wavefunctions of fermion sitting in the neighboring lattice sites, which suppresses the p-wave superfluidity. However, for moderate lattice depths the enhancement of the density of states can compensate the decrease of the scattering amplitude. Moreover, the lattice setup significantly reduces inelastic collisional losses, which allows one to get closer to a p-wave Feshbach resonance. This opens possibilities to obtain the topological $p_x+ip_y$ superfluid phase, especially in the recently proposed subwavelength lattices. We demonstrate this for the two-dimensional version of the Kronig-Penney model allowing a transparent physical analysis.

Two-body relaxation of spin-polarized fermions in reduced dimensionalities near a p -wave Feshbach resonance

We study inelastic two-body relaxation in a spin-polarized ultracold Fermi gas in the presence of a p-wave Feshbach resonance. It is shown that in reduced dimensionalities, especially in the quasi-one-dimensional case, the enhancement of the inelastic rate constant on approach to the resonance is strongly suppressed compared to three dimensions. This may open promising paths for obtaining novel many-body states.

Specific Heat of Ultracold Fermi Gas with a Uniaxially Anisotropic p-Wave Interaction at the Superfluid Transition Temperature

We theoretically investigate the specific heat at constant volume \(C_\mathrm{V}\) and strong-coupling effects in a Fermi gas with p-wave interaction. In a \(^{40}\)K Fermi gas, a uniaxial anisotropy of a p-wave interaction associated with a p-wave Feshbach resonance is expected as a result of the split of the p-wave Feshbach resonance by a dipole interaction. Including this, as well as pairing fluctuations, we show that \(C_\mathrm{V}\) is significantly affected by this anisotropy in the strong-coupling regime. We also discuss the physical origin of this effect. Our results would contribute to the further understanding of an ultracold p-wave Fermi gas.

Universal High-Momentum Asymptote and Thermodynamic Relations in a Spinless Fermi Gas with a Resonantp-Wave Interaction

We investigate universal relations in a spinless Fermi gas near a p-wave Feshbach resonance, and show that the momentum distribution n_{k} has an asymptote proportional to k^{-2} with the proportionality constant-the p-wave contact-scaling with the number of closed-channel molecules. We prove the adiabatic sweep theorem for a p-wave resonance which reveals the thermodynamic implication of the p-wave contact. In contrast to the unitary Fermi gas in which Tan's contact is universal, the p-wave contact depends on the short-range details of the interaction.

Manipulation of p-wave scattering of cold atoms in low dimensions using the magnetic field vector.

It is well known that the magnetic Feshbach resonances of cold atoms are sensitive to the magnitude of the external magnetic field. Much less attention has been paid to the direction of such a field. In this work we calculate the scattering properties of spin polarized fermionic atoms in reduced dimensions, near a p-wave Feshbach resonance. Because of the spatial anisotropy of the p-wave interaction, the scattering has a nontrivial dependence on both the magnitude and the direction of the magnetic field. In addition, we identify an inelastic scattering process which is impossible in the isotropic-interaction model; the rate of this process depends considerably on the direction of the magnetic field. Significantly, an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled pair of identical fermions may be produced during this inelastic collision. This work opens a new method to manipulate resonant cold atomic interactions.

Experimental determination ofp-wave scattering parameters in ultracold6Li atoms

We report the experimental determination of the scattering parameters for a p-wave Feshbach resonance in a single component Fermi gas of 6Li atoms in the lowest spin state. The time scale of the cross-dimensional relaxation reflects the elastic scattering rate of the atoms, and scattering parameters are determined from the scattering rate as a function of magnetic field by taking into account the momentum distribution and inhomogeneous density profile of the atoms in a trap. Precise determination of the scattering parameters for a p-wave Feshbach resonance is an important step toward the realization of a p-wave superfluid in an ultracold atomic gas.

Pseudogap Phenomena of an Ultracold Fermi Gas with a P-wave Feshbach Resonance

We investigate pseudogap phenomena in an ultracold Fermi gas with a p-wave tunable pairing interaction. Including p-wave pairing fluctuations within a strong-coupling T-matrix theory, we calculate the single-particle density of states (DOS) above the superfluid transition temperature Tc. Starting from the weak-coupling regime, we show that, at first, a dip structure gradually appears to become remarkable in DOS with increasing the strength of the p-wave pairing interaction at Tc. However, this pseudogap structure again becomes less remarkable to eventually disappear, as one passes through the intermediate coupling regime to enter the strong-coupling region. This non-monotonic interaction dependence of the pseudogap is quite different from the s-wave case, where the pseudogap size simply increases with increasing a s-wave interaction strength. This difference is found to originate from the momentum dependence of the p-wave interaction. We also determine the pseudogap temperature below which the dip structure in DOS appears and identify the pseudogap regime in the phase diagram of a Fermi gas with respect to the temperature and p-wave interaction strength.

Finite-momentum superfluidity and phase transitions in ap-wave resonant Bose gas

We study a degenerate two-species gas of bosonic atoms interacting through a p-wave Feshbach resonance as for example realized in a Rb85-Rb87 mixture. We show that in addition to a conventional atomic and a p-wave molecular spinor-1 superfluidity at large positive and negative detunings, respectively, the system generically exhibits a finite momentum atomic-molecular superfluidity at intermediate detuning around the unitary point. We analyze the detailed nature of the corresponding phases and the associated quantum and thermal phase transitions.

Fractionalization viaZ2Gauge Fields at a Cold-Atom Quantum Hall Transition

We study a single species of fermionic atoms in an "effective" magnetic field at total filling factor ν(f)=1, interacting through a p-wave Feshbach resonance, and show that the system undergoes a quantum phase transition from a ν(f)=1 fermionic integer quantum Hall state to ν(b)=1/4 bosonic fractional quantum Hall state as a function of detuning. The transition is in the (2+1)D Ising universality class. We formulate a dual theory in terms of quasiparticles interacting with a Z(2) gauge field and show that charge fractionalization follows from this topological quantum phase transition. Experimental consequences and possible tests of our theoretical predictions are discussed.

Radio-frequency spectroscopy ofLi6p-wave molecules: Towards photoemission spectroscopy of ap-wave superfluid

Understanding superfluidity with higher order partial waves is crucial for the understanding of high-$T_c$ superconductivity. For the realization of a superfluid with anisotropic order parameter, spin-polarized fermionic lithium atoms with strong p-wave interaction are the most promising candidates to date. We apply rf-spectroscopy techniques that do not suffer from severe final-state effects \cite{Perali08} with the goal to perform photoemission spectroscopy on a strongly interacting p-wave Fermi gas similar to that recently applied for s-wave interactions \cite{Stewart08}. Radiofrequency spectra of both quasibound p-wave molecules and free atoms in the vicinity of the p-wave Feshbach resonance located at 159.15\,G \cite{Schunck05} are presented. The observed relative tunings of the molecular and atomic signals in the spectra with magnetic field confirm earlier measurements realized with direct rf-association \cite{Fuchs08}. Furthermore, evidence of bound molecule production using adiabatic ramps is shown. A scheme to observe anisotropic superfluid gaps, the most direct proof of p-wave superfluidity, with 1d-optical lattices is proposed.