46 research outputs found
Fermionic Superfluidity with Imbalanced Spin Populations and the Quantum Phase Transition to the Normal State
Whether it occurs in superconductors, helium-3 or inside a neutron star,
fermionic superfluidity requires pairing of fermions, particles with
half-integer spin. For an equal mixture of two states of fermions ("spin up"
and "spin down"), pairing can be complete and the entire system will become
superfluid. When the two populations of fermions are unequal, not every
particle can find a partner. Will the system nevertheless stay superfluid? Here
we study this intriguing question in an unequal mixture of strongly interacting
ultracold fermionic atoms. The superfluid region vs population imbalance is
mapped out by employing two complementary indicators: The presence or absence
of vortices in a rotating mixture, as well as the fraction of condensed fermion
pairs in the gas. Due to the strong interactions near a Feshbach resonance, the
superfluid state is remarkably stable in response to population imbalance. The
final breakdown of superfluidity marks a new quantum phase transition, the
Pauli limit of superfluidity.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Pairing without Superfluidity: The Ground State of an Imbalanced Fermi Mixture
Radio-frequency spectroscopy is used to study pairing in the normal and
superfluid phases of a strongly interacting Fermi gas with imbalanced spin
populations. At high spin imbalances the system does not become superfluid even
at zero temperature. In this normal phase full pairing of the minority atoms is
observed. This demonstrates that mismatched Fermi surfaces do not prevent
pairing but can quench the superfluid state, thus realizing a system of fermion
pairs that do not condense even at the lowest temperature
Tomographic RF Spectroscopy of a Trapped Fermi Gas at Unitarity
We present spatially resolved radio-frequency spectroscopy of a trapped Fermi
gas with resonant interactions and observe a spectral gap at low temperatures.
The spatial distribution of the spectral response of the trapped gas is
obtained using in situ phase-contrast imaging and 3D image reconstruction. At
the lowest temperature, the homogeneous rf spectrum shows an asymmetric
excitation line shape with a peak at 0.48(4) with respect to the
free atomic line, where is the local Fermi energy
Atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential
A trapped-atom interferometer was demonstrated using gaseous Bose-Einstein
condensates coherently split by deforming an optical single-well potential into
a double-well potential. The relative phase between the two condensates was
determined from the spatial phase of the matter wave interference pattern
formed upon releasing the condensates from the separated potential wells.
Coherent phase evolution was observed for condensates held separated by 13
m for up to 5 ms and was controlled by applying ac Stark shift potentials
to either of the two separated condensates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Optical Weak Link between Two Spatially Separate Bose-Einstein Condensates
Two spatially separate Bose-Einstein condensates were prepared in an optical
double-well potential. A bidirectional coupling between the two condensates was
established by two pairs of Bragg beams which continuously outcoupled atoms in
opposite directions. The atomic currents induced by the optical coupling depend
on the relative phase of the two condensates and on an additional controllable
coupling phase. This was observed through symmetric and antisymmetric
correlations between the two outcoupled atom fluxes. A Josephson optical
coupling of two condensates in a ring geometry is proposed. The continuous
outcoupling method was used to monitor slow relative motions of two elongated
condensates and characterize the trapping potential.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Distillation of Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential
Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms, prepared in an optical dipole
trap, were distilled into a second empty dipole trap adjacent to the first one.
The distillation was driven by thermal atoms spilling over the potential
barrier separating the two wells and then forming a new condensate. This
process serves as a model system for metastability in condensates, provides a
test for quantum kinetic theories of condensate formation, and also represents
a novel technique for creating or replenishing condensates in new locations
Suppression of Density Fluctuations in a Quantum Degenerate Fermi Gas
We study density profiles of an ideal Fermi gas and observe Pauli suppression
of density fluctuations (atom shot noise) for cold clouds deep in the quantum
degenerate regime. Strong suppression is observed for probe volumes containing
more than 10,000 atoms. Measuring the level of suppression provides sensitive
thermometry at low temperatures. After this method of sensitive noise
measurements has been validated with an ideal Fermi gas, it can now be applied
to characterize phase transitions in strongly correlated many-body systems.Comment: minor edit: fixed technical problem with arxiv's processing of .eps
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Observation of Phase Separation in a Strongly-Interacting Imbalanced Fermi Gas
We have observed phase separation between the superfluid and the normal
component in a strongly interacting Fermi gas with imbalanced spin populations.
The in situ distribution of the density difference between two trapped spin
components is obtained using phase-contrast imaging and 3D image
reconstruction. A shell structure is clearly identified where the superfluid
region of equal densities is surrounded by a normal gas of unequal densities.
The phase transition induces a dramatic change in the density profiles as
excess fermions are expelled from the superfluid.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure
Quantum reflection of atoms from a solid surface at normal incidence
We observed quantum reflection of ultracold atoms from the attractive
potential of a solid surface. Extremely dilute Bose-Einstein condensates of
^{23}Na, with peak density 10^{11}-10^{12}atoms/cm^3, confined in a weak
gravito-magnetic trap were normally incident on a silicon surface. Reflection
probabilities of up to 20 % were observed for incident velocities of 1-8 mm/s.
The velocity dependence agrees qualitatively with the prediction for quantum
reflection from the attractive Casimir-Polder potential. Atoms confined in a
harmonic trap divided in half by a solid surface exhibited extended lifetime
due to quantum reflection from the surface, implying a reflection probability
above 50 %.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (December 2004)5 pages, 4 figure
Dynamical Instability of a Doubly Quantized Vortex in a Bose-Einstein condensate
Doubly quantized vortices were topologically imprinted in Na
condensates, and their time evolution was observed using a tomographic imaging
technique. The decay into two singly quantized vortices was characterized and
attributed to dynamical instability. The time scale of the splitting process
was found to be longer at higher atom density.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure