Feshbach resonances in a quasi-2D atomic gas

Strongly confining an ultracold atomic gas in one direction to create a quasi-2D system alters the scattering properties of this gas. We investigate the effects of confinement on Feshbach scattering resonances and show that strong confinement results in a shift in the position of the Feshbach resonance as a function of the magnetic field. This shift, as well as the change of the width of the resonance, are computed. We find that the resonance is strongly damped in the thermal gas, but in the condensate the resonance remains sharp due to many-body effects. We introduce a 2D model system, suited for the study of resonant superfluidity, and having the same scattering properties as the tightly confined real system near a Feshbach resonance. Exact relations are derived between measurable quantities and the model parameters.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Three-body problem in Fermi gases with short-range interparticle interaction

We discuss 3-body processes in ultracold two-component Fermi gases with short-range intercomponent interaction characterized by a large and positive scattering length $a$. It is found that in most cases the probability of 3-body recombination is a universal function of the mass ratio and $a$, and is independent of short-range physics. We also calculate the scattering length corresponding to the atom-dimer interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Trapped two-component Fermi gases with up to six particles: Energetics, structural properties, and molecular condensate fraction

We investigate small equal-mass two-component Fermi gases under external spherically symmetric confinement in which atoms with opposite spins interact through a short-range two-body model potential. We employ a non-perturbative microscopic framework, the stochastic variational approach, and determine the system properties as functions of the interspecies s-wave scattering length a, the orbital angular momentum L of the system, and the numbers N1 and N2 of spin-up and spin-down atoms (with N1-N2 =0 or 1 and N < 7, where N=N1+N2). At unitarity, we determine the energies of the five- and six-particle systems for various ranges r0 of the underlying two-body model potential and extrapolate to the zero-range limit. These energies serve as benchmark results that can be used to validate and assess other numerical approaches. We also present structural properties such as the pair distribution function and the radial density. Furthermore, we analyze the one-body and two-body density matrices. A measure for the molecular condensate fraction is proposed and applied. Our calculations show explicitly that the natural orbitals and the momentum distributions of atomic Fermi gases approach those characteristic for a molecular Bose gas if the s-wave scattering length a, a>0, is sufficiently small.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures; accepted for publication in special issue of CRA

Superfluid transition in quasi2D Fermi gases

We show that atomic Fermi gases in quasi2D geometries are promising for achieving superfluidity. In the regime of BCS pairing for weak attraction, we calculate the critical temperature T_c and analyze possibilities of increasing the ratio of T_c to the Fermi energy. In the opposite limit, where a strong coupling leads to the formation of weakly bound quasi2D dimers, we find that their Bose-Einstein condensate will be stable on a long time scale.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Hydrodynamic behavior in expanding thermal clouds of Rb-87

We study hydrodynamic behavior in expanding thermal clouds of Rb-87 released from an elongated trap. At our highest densities the mean free path is smaller than the radial size of the cloud. After release the clouds expand anisotropically. The cloud temperature drops by as much as 30%. This is attributed to isentropic cooling during the early stages of the expansion. We present an analytical model to describe the expansion and to estimate the cooling. Important consequences for time-of-flight thermometry are discussed.Comment: 7 pages with 2 figure

Crossovers in Unitary Fermi Systems

Universality and crossover is described for attractive and repulsive interactions where, respectively, the BCS-BEC crossover takes place and a ferromagnetic phase transition is claimed. Crossovers are also described for optical lattices and multicomponent systems. The crossovers, universal parameters and phase transitions are described within the Leggett and NSR models and calculated in detail within the Jastrow-Slater approximation. The physics of ultracold Fermi atoms is applied to neutron, nuclear and quark matter, nuclei and electrons in solids whenever possible. Specifically, the differences between optical lattices and cuprates is discussed w.r.t. antiferromagnetic, d-wave superfluid phases and phase separation.Comment: 50 pages, 15 figures. Contribution to Lecture Notes in Physics "BCS-BEC crossover and the Unitary Fermi Gas" edited by W. Zwerge

Perception of Relative Depth Interval: Systematic Biases in Perceived Depth

Given an estimate of the binocular disparity between a pair of points and an estimate of the viewing distance, or knowledge of eye position, it should be possible to obtain an estimate of their depth separation. Here we show that, when points are arranged in different vertical geometric configurations across two intervals, many observers find this task difficult. Those who can do the task tend to perceive the depth interval in one configuration as very different from depth in the other configuration. We explore two plausible explanations for this effect. The first is the tilt of the empirical vertical horopter: Points perceived along an apparently vertical line correspond to a physical line of points tilted backwards in space. Second, the eyes can rotate in response to a particular stimulus. Without compensation for this rotation, biases in depth perception would result. We measured cyclovergence indirectly, using a standard psychophysical task, while observers viewed our depth configuration. Biases predicted from error due either to cyclovergence or to the tilted vertical horopter were not consistent with the depth configuration results. Our data suggest that, even for the simplest scenes, we do not have ready access to metric depth from binocular disparity.</jats:p

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters