Ultracold Atomic Fermi Gases Research Articles

Nonlinear localization of ultracold atomic Fermi gas in moiré optical lattices

Nonlinear localization of ultracold atomic Fermi gas in moiré optical lattices

Magnetic impurity states of a Fermi system in a local magnetic field

The ultracold atomic Fermi gas provides a flexible and controllable experimental platform for exploring magnetic impurity states. In this study, we theoretically examine the magnetic impurity states in a Fermi system with spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 under a local magnetic field. Firstly, the spin-1/2 impurity system contains three types of magnetic solutions. One type magnetic solution with higher energy can be regarded as the result of induced magnetization of a trivial solution, while the other two types magnetic solutions with lower energy can be understood as the results of Zeeman splitting of nontrivial solutions with double degeneracy. Notably, the magnetic solution corresponding to the spin state parallel to the Zeeman magnetic field is always the most stable in terms of the energy. Secondly, we extend the idea of studying spin-1/2 impurity to spin-3/2 impurity, where the half-filled state of impurity atoms is calculated. We found that four types of magnetic solutions at zero magnetic field were split into four, six, four, and twelve new magnetic solutions in the presence of a Zeeman magnetic field, respectively. We obtained that the magnetic solution corresponding to the spin state parallel to the magnetic field is the most stable, and its energy is lower than that of the corresponding magnetic solution at zero magnetic field. Therefore, the introduction of a local magnetic field is beneficial for the formation of magnetic impurity states. Finally, the calculated data illustrate that the Anderson impurity model we adopt exhibits invariance under the combined transformations of spin-flip and particle–hole.

A lattice pairing-field approach to ultracold Fermi gases

We develop a pairing-field formalism for ab initio studies of non-relativistic two-component fermions on a (d+1)-dimensional spacetime lattice. More specifically, we focus on theories where the interaction between the two components can be described by the exchange of a corresponding pairing field. The introduction of a pairing field may indeed be convenient for studies of, e.g., the finite-temperature phase structure and critical behavior of, e.g., ultracold atomic Fermi gases. Moreover, such a formalism allows to directly compute the momentum and frequency dependence of the pair propagator, from which the pair-correlation function can be extracted. For a first illustration of the application of our formalism, we compute the density equation of state and the superfluid order parameter for a gas of unpolarized fermions in (0+1) dimensions by employing the complex Langevin approach to surmount the sign problem.

Flat band effects on the ground-state BCS-BEC crossover in atomic Fermi gases in a quasi-two-dimensional Lieb lattice

The ground-state superfluid behavior of ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short-range attractive interaction in a quasi-two-dimensional Lieb lattice is studied using BCS mean-field theory, within the context of BCS-BEC crossover. We find that the flat band leads to nontrivial exotic effects. As the Fermi level enters the flat band, both the pairing gap and the in-plane superfluid density exhibit an unusual power law as a function of interaction, with strongly enhanced quantum geometric effects, in addition to a dramatic increase of compressibility as the interaction approaches the BCS limit. As the Fermi level crosses the van Hove singularities, the character of pairing changes from particle-like to hole-like or vice versa. We present the computed phase diagram, in which a pair density wave state emerges at high densities with relatively strong interaction strength.

BCS–BEC crossover in a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi superfluid

We study the crossover from the Bardeen–Cooper–Shrieffer regime to the Bose–Einstein-condensation regime in an anisotropic trapped quantum gas of ultracold fermionic atoms. Using an effective two-dimensional Hamiltonian with renormalized interactions between atoms and dressed molecules, we extend the Gaussian pair fluctuation theory to quasi-two-dimensional systems. The equation of state, pair size and sound velocity as well as the convexity parameters of the Goldstone mode are investigated to show how Fermi superfluidity is affected by reduced dimensionality and Gaussian fluctuations at zero temperature in a wide range of crossover. We compare our results with the recent experiment of atomic gases and find good agreements.

Quantum Monte Carlo study of the role of p -wave interactions in ultracold repulsive Fermi gases

Single-component ultracold atomic Fermi gases are usually described using noninteracting many-fermion models. However, recent experiments reached a regime where $p$-wave interactions among identical fermionic atoms are important. In this paper, we employ variational and fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the ground-state properties of single-component Fermi gases with short-range repulsive interactions. We determine the zero-temperature equation of state, and elucidate the roles played by the $p$-wave scattering volume and the $p$-wave effective range. A comparison against recently derived second-order perturbative results shows good agreement in a broad range of interaction strength. We also compute the quasiparticle effective mass, and we confirm the perturbative prediction of a linear contribution in the $p$-wave scattering volume, while we find significant deviations from the beyond-mean-field perturbative result, already for moderate interaction strengths. Finally, we determine ground-state energies for two-component unpolarized Fermi gases with both interspecies and intraspecies hard-sphere interactions, finding remarkable agreement with a recently derived fourth-order expansion that includes $p$-wave contributions.

Quantized Nonlinear Transport with Ultracold Atoms

In this letter, we propose how to measure the quantized nonlinear transport using two-dimensional ultracold atomic Fermi gases in a harmonic trap. This scheme requires successively applying two optical pulses in the left and lower half-planes and then measuring the number of extra atoms in the first quadrant. In ideal situations, this nonlinear density response to two successive pulses is quantized, and the quantization value probes the Euler characteristic of the local Fermi sea at the trap center. We investigate the practical effects in experiments, including finite pulse duration, finite edge width of pulses, and finite temperature, which can lead to deviation from quantization. We propose a method to reduce the deviation by averaging measurements performed at the first and third quadrants, inspired by symmetry considerations. With this method, the quantized nonlinear response can be observed reasonably well with experimental conditions readily achieved with ultracold atoms.

Scattering hypervolume of fermions in two dimensions

We define the three-body scattering hypervolume ${D}_{F}$ for identical spin-polarized fermions in two dimensions by considering the wave function of three such fermions colliding at zero energy and zero orbital angular momentum. We derive the asymptotic expansions of such a wave function when three fermions are far apart or one pair and the third fermion are far apart, and ${D}_{F}$ appears in the coefficients of such expansions. For weak-interaction potentials, we derive an approximate formula of ${D}_{F}$ by using the Born expansion. We then study the shift of energy of three such fermions in a large periodic area due to ${D}_{F}$. This shift is proportional to ${D}_{F}$ times the square of the area of the triangle formed by the momenta of the fermions. We also calculate the shifts of energy and of pressure of spin-polarized two-dimensional Fermi gases due to a nonzero ${D}_{F}$ and the three-body recombination rate of spin-polarized ultracold atomic Fermi gases in two dimensions.

Ground states of atomic Fermi gases in a two-dimensional optical lattice with and without population imbalance

We study the ground state phase diagram of population balanced and imbalanced ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction throughout the crossover from BCS to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), in a two-dimensional optical lattice (2DOL) comprised of two lattice and one continuum dimensions. We find that the mixing of lattice and continuum dimensions, together with population imbalance, has an extraordinary effect on pairing and the superfluidity of atomic Fermi gases. In the balanced case, the superfluid ground state prevails the majority of the phase space. However, for relatively small lattice hopping integral $t$ and large lattice constant $d$, a pair density wave (PDW) emerges unexpectedly at intermediate coupling strength, and the nature of the in-plane and overall pairing changes from particle-like to hole-like in the BCS and unitary regimes, associated with an abnormal increase in the Fermi volume with the pairing strength. In the imbalanced case, the stable polarized superfluid phase shrinks to only a small portion of the entire phase space spanned by $t$, $d$, imbalance $p$ and interaction strength $U$, mainly in the bosonic regime of low $p$, moderately strong pairing, and relatively large $t$ and small $d$. Due to the Pauli exclusion between paired and excessive fermions within the confined momentum space, a PDW phase emerges and the overall pairing evolves from particle-like into hole-like, as the pairing strength grows stronger in the BEC regime. In both cases, the ground state property is largely governed by the Fermi surface topology. These findings are very different from the cases of pure 3D continuum, 3D lattice or 1DOL.

Pairing Phenomena and Superfluidity of Atomic Fermi Gases in a Two‐Dimensional Optical Lattice: Unusual Effects of Lattice‐Continuum Mixing

AbstractThe superfluid behavior of ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction in a two‐dimensional optical lattice (2DOL) is studied using a pairing fluctuation theory, within the context of BCS‐BEC crossover. It is found that the mixing of lattice and continuum dimensions leads to exotic phenomena. For relatively large lattice constant d and small hopping integral t, the superfluid transition temperature exhibits a remarkable reentrant behavior as a function of the interaction strength, and leads to a pair density wave ground state, where vanishes, for a range of intermediate coupling strength. In the unitary and BCS regimes, the nature of the in‐plane and overall pairing changes from particle‐like to hole‐like, with an unexpected nonmonotonic dependence of the chemical potential on the pairing strength. The Bose–Einstein condensation asymptotic behaviors exhibit distinct power law dependencies on the interaction strength compared to cases of pure 3D lattice, 3D continuum, and 1DOL. These predictions can be tested in future experiments.

Scattering hypervolume of spin-polarized fermions

We analyze the collision of three identical spin-polarized fermions at zero collision energy, assuming arbitrary finite-range potentials, and define the corresponding three-body scattering hypervolume ${D}_{F}$. The scattering hypervolume $D$ was first defined for identical bosons in 2008. It is the three-body analog of the two-body scattering length. We solve the three-body Schr\"odinger equation asymptotically when the three fermions are far apart or one pair and the third fermion are far apart, deriving two asymptotic expansions of the wave function. Unlike the case of bosons for which $D$ has the dimension of length to the fourth power, here the ${D}_{F}$ we define has the dimension of length to the eighth power. We then analyze the interaction energy of three such fermions with momenta $\ensuremath{\hbar}{\mathbf{k}}_{1}$, $\ensuremath{\hbar}{\mathbf{k}}_{2}$, and $\ensuremath{\hbar}{\mathbf{k}}_{3}$ in a large periodic cubic box. The energy shift due to ${D}_{F}$ is proportional to ${D}_{F}/{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}^{2}$, where $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}$ is the volume of the box. We also calculate the shifts of energy and pressure of spin-polarized Fermi gases due to a nonzero ${D}_{F}$ and the three-body recombination rate of spin-polarized ultracold atomic Fermi gases at finite temperatures.

Spin Susceptibility above the Superfluid Onset in Ultracold Fermi Gases

Ultracold atomic Fermi gases can be tuned to interact strongly, which produces a display of spectroscopic signatures above the superfluid transition reminiscent of the pseudogap in cuprates. However, the extent of the analogy can be questioned since many thermodynamic quantities in the low temperature spin-imbalanced normal state can be described successfully using Fermi liquid theory. Here we present spin susceptibility measurements across the interaction strength-temperature phase diagram using a novel radio frequency technique with ultracold ^{6}Li gases. For all significant interaction strengths and at all temperatures we find the spin susceptibility is reduced compared to the equivalent value for a noninteracting Fermi gas. At unitarity, we can use the local density approximation to extract the integrated spin susceptibility for the uniform gas as a function of temperature, which at high temperatures is generally less than theoretically predicted. At low temperatures, our data lie within the range of theoretical predictions, although we can also describe the entire curve using a very simple one-parameter mean field model with monotonically increasing spin susceptibility.

Ground state of the polaron in an ultracold dipolar Fermi gas

An impurity atom immersed in an ultracold atomic Fermi gas can form a quasiparticle, so-called Fermi polaron, due to impurity-fermion interaction. We consider a three-dimensional homogeneous dipolar Fermi gas as a medium, where the interatomic dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) makes the Fermi surface deformed into a spheroidal shape, and, using a Chevy-type variational method, investigate the ground-state properties of the Fermi polaron: the effective mass, the momentum distribution of a particle-hole excitation, the drag parameter, and the medium-density modification around the impurity. These quantities are shown to exhibit spatial anisotropies in such a way as to reflect the momentum anisotropy of the background dipolar Fermi gas. We also give numerical results for the polaron properties at the unitarity limit of the impurity-fermion interaction in the case in which the impurity and fermion masses are equal. It has been found that the transverse effective mass and the transverse momentum drag parameter of the polaron both tend to decrease by $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ when the DDI strength is raised from 0 up to around its critical value, while the longitudinal ones exhibit a very weak dependence on the DDI.

Superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases in one-dimensional optical lattices. I. Balanced case

The superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases have been of great interest in recent years, with multiple tunable parameters. Here we study the BCS-BEC crossover behavior of balanced two-component Fermi gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice, which is distinct from the simple three-dimensional (3D) continuum and a fully 3D lattice often found in a condensed matter system. We use a pairing fluctuation theory which includes self-consistent feedback effects at finite temperatures, and find widespread pseudogap phenomena beyond the BCS regime. As a consequence of the lattice periodicity, the superfluid transition temperature $T_c$ decreases with pairing strength in the BEC regime, where it approaches asymptotically $T_c = \pi an/2m$, with $a$ being the $s$-wave scattering length, and $n$ ($m$) the fermion density (mass). In addition, the quasi-two dimensionality leads to fast growing (absolute value of the) fermionic chemical potential $\mu$ and pairing gap $\Delta$, which depends exponentially on the ratio $d/a$. Importantly, $T_c$ at unitarity increases with the lattice constant $d$ and hopping integral $t$. The effect of the van Hove singularity on $T_c$ is identified. The superfluid density exhibits $T^{3/2}$ power laws at low $T$, away from the extreme BCS limit. These predictions can be tested in future experiments.

Superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases in one-dimensional optical lattices. II. Effects of population imbalance

In this paper, we study the effect of population imbalance and its interplay with pairing strength and lattice effect in atomic Fermi gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice. We compute various phase diagrams as the system undergoes BCS-BEC crossover, using the same pairing fluctuation theory as in Part I of this work [Phys. Rev. A 101, 053617 (2020)]. We find widespread pseudogap phenomena beyond the BCS regime and intermediate temperature superfluid states for relatively low population imbalances. The Fermi surface topology plays an important role in the behavior of ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$. For large $d$ and/or small $t$, which yield an open Fermi surface, superfluidity can be readily destroyed by a small amount of population imbalance $p$. The superfluid phase, especially in the BEC regime, can exist only for a highly restricted volume of the parameter space. An open Fermi surface often leads to destruction of the superfluid ground state in the BEC regime. Due to the continuum-lattice mixing, population imbalance gives rise to a new mechanism for pair hopping, as assisted by excessive majority fermions, which may lead to significant enhancement of ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ on the BEC side of the Feshbach resonance, and also render ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ approaching a constant asymptote in the BEC limit, when it exists. Furthermore, we find that not all minority fermions will be paired up in BEC limit, unlike the 3D continuum case. These predictions can be tested in future experiments.

Unusual Destruction and Enhancement of Superfluidity of Atomic Fermi Gases by Population Imbalance in a One-Dimensional Optical Lattice**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11774309 and 11674283) and the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China (Grant No. LZ13A040001).

We study the superfluid behavior of a population imbalanced ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice, using a pairing fluctuation theory. We show that, besides widespread pseudogap phenomena and intermediate temperature superfluidity, the superfluid phase is readily destroyed except in a limited region of the parameter space. We find a new mechanism for pair hopping, assisted by the excessive majority fermions, in the presence of continuum-lattice mixing, which leads to an unusual constant Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) asymptote for Tc that is independent of pairing strength. In result, on the BEC side of unitarity, superfluidity, when it exists, may be strongly enhanced by population imbalance.

Exploring emergent heterogeneous phases in strongly repulsive Fermi gases

Recent experiments have revitalized the interest in a Fermi gas of ultracold atoms with strong repulsive interactions. In spite of its seeming simplicity, this system exhibits a complex behavior, resulting from the competing action of two distinct instabilities: ferromagnetism, which promotes spin anticorrelations and domain formation; and pairing, that renders the repulsive fermionic atoms unstable towards forming weakly bound bosonic molecules. The breakdown of the homogeneous repulsive Fermi liquid arising from such concurrent mechanisms has been recently observed in real time through pump-probe spectroscopic techniques [A. Amico et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 253602 (2018)]. These studies also lead to the discovery of an emergent metastable many-body state, an unpredicted quantum emulsion of anticorrelated fermions and pairs. Here, we investigate in detail the properties of such an exotic regime by studying the evolution of kinetic and release energies, the spectral response and coherence of the unpaired fermionic population, and its spin-density noise correlations. All our observations consistently point to a low-temperature heterogeneous phase, where paired and unpaired fermions macroscopically coexist while featuring micro-scale phase separation. Our findings open new appealing avenues for the exploration of quantum emulsions and also possibly of inhomogeneous superfluid regimes, where pair condensation may coexist with magnetic order.

Ultra high temperature superfluidity in ultracold atomic Fermi gases with mixed dimensionality

Achieving a higher superfluid transition $T_c$ has been a goal for the fields of superconductivity and atomic Fermi gases. Here we propose that, by using mixed dimensionality, one may achieve ultra high temperature superfluids in two component atomic Fermi gases, where one component feels a regular three-dimensional (3D) continuum space, while the other is subject to a 1D optic lattice potential. Via tuning the lattice spacing and trap depth, one can effectively raise the Fermi level dramatically upon pairing so that superfluidity may occur at an ultra high temperature (in units of Fermi energy) even beyond the quantum degeneracy regime, well surpassing that in an ordinary 3D Fermi gas and all other known superfluids and superconductors.

Scale-Invariant Continuous Entanglement Renormalization of a Chern Insulator.

The multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) postulates the existence of quantum circuits that renormalize entanglement in real space at different length scales. Chern insulators, however, cannot have scale-invariant discrete MERA circuits with a finite bond dimension. In this Letter, we show that the continuous MERA (cMERA), a modified version of MERA adapted for field theories, possesses a fixed point wave function with a nonzero Chern number. Additionally, it is well known that reversed MERA circuits can be used to prepare quantum states efficiently in time that scales logarithmically with the size of the system. However, state preparation via MERA typically requires the advent of a full-fledged universal quantum computer. In this Letter, we demonstrate that our cMERA circuit can potentially be realized in existing analog quantum computers, i.e., an ultracold atomic Fermi gas in an optical lattice with light-induced spin-orbit coupling.

Recent progress of expansion dynamics in strongly-interacting ultracold Fermi gases

The evolution of non-equilibrium dynamic for many-body systems is one of the most challenging problems in physics. Ultra-cold quantum atomic Fermi gas provide an test-bed for studying many-body non-equilibrium dynamics due to its high freedom of controllability, which can be used to simulate and understand the dynamics of the early universe after the Big Bang, quark-gluon produced in heavy ion collisions and nuclear physics. Generally, the evolution of many-body systems is very complex, and usually needs to be studied by symmetry. Feshbach resonance can be used to prepare scale invariant atomic Fermi gases: non-interacting and unitary Fermi gases. When far away from equilibrium state, universal exponents and functions can be used to characterize the dynamics of the system, which can be identified by scaling the temporal and spatial evolution of the system. In this review, the recent developments in the expansion dynamics of strongly interacting ultracold Fermi gases are introduced, including the anisotropic expansion of atomic gases, scaling dynamics and Efimovian expansion dynamics.