18 research outputs found
Observation of the Pairing Gap in a Strongly Interacting Fermi Gas
We study fermionic pairing in an ultracold two-component gas of Li atoms
by observing an energy gap in the radio-frequency excitation spectra. With
control of the two-body interactions via a Feshbach resonance we demonstrate
the dependence of the pairing gap on coupling strength, temperature, and Fermi
energy. The appearance of an energy gap with moderate evaporative cooling
suggests that our full evaporation brings the strongly interacting system deep
into a superfluid state.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure
Exploring the BEC-BCS Crossover with an Ultracold Gas of Li Atoms
We present an overview of our recent measurements on the crossover from a
Bose-Einstein condensate of molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer
superfluid. The experiments are performed on a two-component spin-mixture of
Li atoms, where a Fesh\-bach resonance serves as the experimental key to
tune the s-wave scattering length and thus to explore the various interaction
regimes. In the BEC-BCS crossover, we have characterized the interaction energy
by measuring the size of the trapped gas, we have studied collective excitation
modes, and we have observed the pairing gap. Our observations provide strong
evidence for superfluidity in the strongly interacting Fermi gas.Comment: Proceedings of ICAP-2004 (Rio de Janeiro). Review on Innsbruck
BEC-BCS crossover experiments with updated Feshbach resonance positio
Precision Measurements of Collective Oscillations in the BEC-BCS Crossover
We report on precision measurements of the frequency of the radial
compression mode in a strongly interacting, optically trapped Fermi gas of Li-6
atoms. Our results allow for a test of theoretical predictions for the equation
of state in the BEC-BCS crossover. We confirm recent quantum Monte-Carlo
results and rule out simple mean-field BCS theory. Our results show the
long-sought beyond-mean-field effects in the strongly interacting BEC regime.Comment: improved discussion of small ellipticity and anharmonicity
correction
Collective excitations of a degenerate gas at the BEC-BCS crossover
We study collective excitation modes of a fermionic gas of Li atoms in
the BEC-BCS crossover regime. While measurements of the axial compression mode
in the cigar-shaped trap close to a Feshbach resonance confirm theoretical
expectations, the radial compression mode shows surprising features. In the
strongly interacting molecular BEC regime we observe a negative frequency shift
with increasing coupling strength. In the regime of a strongly interacting
Fermi gas, an abrupt change in the collective excitation frequency occurs,
which may be a signature for a transition from a superfluid to a collisionless
phase.Comment: Feshbach resonance position updated, few minor change
Pure Gas of Optically Trapped Molecules Created from Fermionic Atoms
We report on the production of a pure sample of up to 3x10^5 optically
trapped molecules from a Fermi gas of 6Li atoms. The dimers are formed by
three-body recombination near a Feshbach resonance. For purification a
Stern-Gerlach selection technique is used that efficiently removes all trapped
atoms from the atom-molecule mixture. The behavior of the purified molecular
sample shows a striking dependence on the applied magnetic field. For very
weakly bound molecules near the Feshbach resonance, the gas exhibits a
remarkable stability with respect to collisional decay.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Precise determination of Li cold collision parameters by radio-frequency spectroscopy on weakly bound molecules
We employ radio-frequency spectroscopy on weakly bound Li molecules
to precisely determine the molecular binding energies and the energy splittings
between molecular states for different magnetic fields. These measurements
allow us to extract the interaction parameters of ultracold Li atoms based
on a multi-channel quantum scattering model. We determine the singlet and
triplet scattering lengths to be and (1
= 0.0529177 nm), and the positions of the broad Feshbach resonances in
the energetically lowest three wave scattering channels to be 83.41(15) mT,
69.04(5) mT, and 81.12(10) mT
Theory of ultracold Fermi gases
The physics of quantum degenerate Fermi gases in uniform as well as in
harmonically trapped configurations is reviewed from a theoretical perspective.
Emphasis is given to the effect of interactions which play a crucial role,
bringing the gas into a superfluid phase at low temperature. In these dilute
systems interactions are characterized by a single parameter, the s-wave
scattering length, whose value can be tuned using an external magnetic field
near a Feshbach resonance. The BCS limit of ordinary Fermi superfluidity, the
Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of dimers and the unitary limit of large
scattering length are important regimes exhibited by interacting Fermi gases.
In particular the BEC and the unitary regimes are characterized by a high value
of the superfluid critical temperature, of the order of the Fermi temperature.
Different physical properties are discussed, including the density profiles and
the energy of the ground-state configurations, the momentum distribution, the
fraction of condensed pairs, collective oscillations and pair breaking effects,
the expansion of the gas, the main thermodynamic properties, the behavior in
the presence of optical lattices and the signatures of superfluidity, such as
the existence of quantized vortices, the quenching of the moment of inertia and
the consequences of spin polarization. Various theoretical approaches are
considered, ranging from the mean-field description of the BCS-BEC crossover to
non-perturbative methods based on quantum Monte Carlo techniques. A major goal
of the review is to compare the theoretical predictions with the available
experimental results.Comment: Revised and abridged version accepted for publication in Rev. Mod.
Phys.: 63 pages, 36 figure
Hydrodynamic Modes in a Trapped Strongly Interacting Fermi Gases of Atoms
The zero-temperature properties of a dilute two-component Fermi gas in the
BCS-BEC crossover are investigated. On the basis of a generalization of the
variational Schwinger method, we construct approximate semi-analytical formulae
for collective frequencies of the radial and the axial breathing modes of the
Fermi gas under harmonic confinement in the framework of the hydrodynamic
theory. It is shown that the method gives nearly exact solutions.Comment: 11 page
Thermodynamic Measurements in a Strongly Interacting Fermi Gas
We conduct a series of measurements on the thermodynamic properties of an
optically-trapped strongly interacting Fermi gas, including the energy ,
entropy , and sound velocity . Our model-independent measurements of
and enable a precision study of the finite temperature thermodynamics. The
data are directly compared to several recent predictions. The
temperature in both the superfluid and normal fluid regime is obtained from the
fundamental thermodynamic relation by parameterizing
the data. Our data are also used to experimentally calibrate the
endpoint temperatures obtained for adiabatic sweeps of the magnetic field
between the ideal and strongly interacting regimes. This enables the first
experimental calibration of the temperature scale used in experiments on
fermionic pair condensation. Our calibration shows that the ideal gas
temperature measured for the onset of pair condensation corresponds closely to
the critical temperature estimated in the strongly interacting regime from the
fits to our data. The results are in very good agreement with recent
predictions. Finally, using universal thermodynamic relations, we estimate the
chemical potential and heat capacity of the trapped gas from the data.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures. To appear in JLTP online, and in the January,
2009 volum
Nearly Perfect Fluidity: From Cold Atomic Gases to Hot Quark Gluon Plasmas
Shear viscosity is a measure of the amount of dissipation in a simple fluid.
In kinetic theory shear viscosity is related to the rate of momentum transport
by quasi-particles, and the uncertainty relation suggests that the ratio of
shear viscosity eta to entropy density s in units of hbar/k_B is bounded by a
constant. Here, hbar is Planck's constant and k_B is Boltzmann's constant. A
specific bound has been proposed on the basis of string theory where, for a
large class of theories, one can show that eta/s is greater or equal to hbar/(4
pi k_B). We will refer to a fluid that saturates the string theory bound as a
perfect fluid. In this review we summarize theoretical and experimental
information on the properties of the three main classes of quantum fluids that
are known to have values of eta/s that are smaller than hbar/k_B. These fluids
are strongly coupled Bose fluids, in particular liquid helium, strongly
correlated ultracold Fermi gases, and the quark gluon plasma. We discuss the
main theoretical approaches to transport properties of these fluids: kinetic
theory, numerical simulations based on linear response theory, and holographic
dualities. We also summarize the experimental situation, in particular with
regard to the observation of hydrodynamic behavior in ultracold Fermi gases and
the quark gluon plasma.Comment: 76 pages, 11 figures, review article, extensive revision