The vortex state in the BEC to BCS crossover: a path-integral description

We derive a path-integral description of the vortex state of a fermionic superfluid in the crossover region between the molecular condensate (BEC) regime and the Cooper pairing (BCS) regime. This path-integral formalism, supplemented by a suitable choice for the saddle point value of the pairing field in the presence of a vortex, offers a unified description that encompasses both the BEC and BCS limits. The vortex core size is studied as a function of the tunable interaction strength between the fermionic atoms. We find that in the BEC regime, the core size is determined by the molecular healing length, whereas in the BCS regime, the core size is proportional only to the Fermi wave length. The observation of such quantized vortices in dilute Fermi gases would provide an unambiguous proof of the realization of superfluidity in these gases.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

BCS-to-BEC crossover from the exact BCS solution

The BCS-to-BEC crossover, as well as the nature of Cooper pairs, in a superconducting and Fermi superfluid medium is studied from the exact ground state wavefunction of the reduced BCS Hamiltonian. As the strength of the interaction increases, the ground state continuously evolves from a mixed-system of quasifree fermions and pair resonances (BCS), to pair resonances and quasibound molecules (pseudogap), and finally to a system of quasibound molecules (BEC). A single unified scenario arises where the Cooper-pair wavefunction has a unique functional form. Several exact analytic expressions, such as the binding energy and condensate fraction, are derived. We compare our results with recent experiments in ultracold atomic Fermi gases.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Revised version with one figure adde

Short-coherence length superconductivity in the Attractive Hubbard Model in three dimensions

We study the normal state and the superconducting transition in the Attractive Hubbard Model in three dimensions, using self-consistent diagrammatics. Our results for the self-consistent $T$-matrix approximation are consistent with 3D-XY power-law critical scaling and finite-size scaling. This is in contrast to the exponential 2D-XY scaling the method was able to capture in our previous 2D calculation. We find the 3D transition temperature at quarter-filling and $U=-4t$ to be $T_c=0.207t$. The 3D critical regime is much narrower than in 2D and the ratio of the mean-field transition to $T_c$ is about 5 times smaller than in 2D. We also find that, for the parameters we consider, the pseudogap regime in 3D (as in 2D) coincides with the critical scaling regime.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

The management of scarce water resources using GNSS, InSAR and in-situ micro gravity measurements as monitoring tools

South Africa is a water scarce country hence the careful monitoring and management of available water resources is critical for the wellbeing of the citizens of the country. A high percentage of the Earth’s water supply is stored underground which can be extracted either through pumping or using artesian pressure. This paper describes the application of GNSS, InSAR and In-Situ Micro Gravity measurements for the monitoring of an artesian wellfield in the Oudtshoorn District in the Western Cape province of South Africa. GNSS receivers were run continuously for a period of 133 days between March and August 2014 to detect possible surface subsidence during pumping and artesian free flow extraction of water in the wellfield. Two InSAR scenes were processed, one during the peak period of water extraction from the wellfield and the other approximately 4 months after all boreholes were closed and pumps switched off. A micro-gravity campaign was conducted over two days in the wellfield with the gravity meter co-located at one borehole which was opened on the second day of the campaign. The results from the GNSS monitoring showed a subsidence of approximately 15 to 20 mm at the peak of the free flow and pump while those from the InSAR and microgravity measurements were largely inconclusive

Dynamical Phase Transitions In Driven Integrate-And-Fire Neurons

We explore the dynamics of an integrate-and-fire neuron with an oscillatory stimulus. The frustration due to the competition between the neuron's natural firing period and that of the oscillatory rhythm, leads to a rich structure of asymptotic phase locking patterns and ordering dynamics. The phase transitions between these states can be classified as either tangent or discontinuous bifurcations, each with its own characteristic scaling laws. The discontinuous bifurcations exhibit a new kind of phase transition that may be viewed as intermediate between continuous and first order, while tangent bifurcations behave like continuous transitions with a diverging coherence scale.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Numerical Evidence of Luttinger and Fermi Liquid Behaviour in the 2D Hubbard Model

The two dimensional Hubbard model with a single spin-up electron interacting with a finite density of spin-down electrons is studied using the quantum Monte Carlotechnique, a new conjugate gradient method for the evaluation of the Edwards wavefunction ansatz, and the standard second order perturbation theory. We performed simulations up to 242 sites at $U/t=4$ reaching the zero temperature properties with no ``fermion sign problem'' and found a surprisingly good accuracy of the Edwards wavefunction ansatz at low density or low doping. The conjugate gradient method was then applied to system up to 1922 sites and infinite $U$ for the Edwards state. Fermi liquid theory seems to remain stable in 2D for all cases studied with the exception of the half filling case where a ``Luttinger like behavior'' survives in the Hubbard model , yielding a vanishing quasiparticle weight in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 10 pages + 4 pictures, RevTex, SISSA 121/93/CM/M

Density-induced BCS to Bose-Einstein crossover

We investigate the zero-temperature BCS to Bose-Einstein crossover at the mean-field level, by driving it with the attractive potential and the particle density.We emphasize specifically the role played by the particle density in this crossover.Three different interparticle potentials are considered for the continuum model in three spatial dimensions, while both s- and d-wave solutions are analyzed for the attractive (extended) Hubbard model on a two-dimensional square lattice. For this model the peculiar behavior of the crossover for the d-wave solution is discussed.In particular, in the strong-coupling limit when approaching half filling we evidence the occurrence of strong correlations among antiparallel-spin fermions belonging to different composite bosons, which give rise to a quasi-long-range antiferromagnetic order in this limit.Comment: 10 pages, 5 enclosed figure

An Efficient Algorithm for Optimizing Adaptive Quantum Metrology Processes

Quantum-enhanced metrology infers an unknown quantity with accuracy beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL). Feedback-based metrological techniques are promising for beating the SQL but devising the feedback procedures is difficult and inefficient. Here we introduce an efficient self-learning swarm-intelligence algorithm for devising feedback-based quantum metrological procedures. Our algorithm can be trained with simulated or real-world trials and accommodates experimental imperfections, losses, and decoherence

Ferromagnetism in the two dimensional t-t' Hubbard model at the Van Hove density

Using an improved version of the projection quantum Monte Carlo technique, we study the square-lattice Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor hopping t and next-nearest-neighbor hopping t', by simulation of lattices with up to 20 X 20 sites. For a given R=2t'/t, we consider that filling which leads to a singular density of states of the noninteracting problem. For repulsive interactions, we find an itinerant ferromagnet (antiferromagnet) for R=0.94 (R=0.2). This is consistent with the prediction of the T-matrix approximation, which sums the most singular set of diagrams.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX 3.0 + a single postscript file with all figure