Surface-Directed Spinodal Decomposition in Binary Fluid Mixtures

We consider the phase separation of binary fluids in contact with a surface which is preferentially wetted by one of the components of the mixture. We review the results available for this problem and present new numerical results obtained using a mesoscopic-level simulation technique for the 3-dimensional problem.Comment: RevTeX, 7 figure

Polarization Measurements and the Pairing Gap in the Universal Regime

We analyze recent cold-atom experiments on imbalanced Fermi systems using a minimal model with a BCS-like superfluid phase coexisting with a normal phase. This model is used to extract the T=0 pairing gap in the fully paired superfluid state. The recently measured particle density profiles are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained from the universal parameters from previous Quantum Monte Carlo calculations. We find that the T=0 pairing gap is greater than 0.4 times the Fermi energy $E_F$, with a preferred value of $0.45 \pm 0.05$ $E_F$. The ratio of the pairing gap $\Delta$ to the Fermi Energy $E_F$ is larger here than in any other system of strongly-paired fermions in which individual pairs are unbound.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Revised verison includes cosmetic changes to the text and figures. One reference adde