Spectroscopy of superfluid pairing in atomic fermi gases

Observing the Influence of Reduced Dimensionality on Fermionic Superfluids

Understanding the origins of unconventional superconductivity has been a major focus of condensed matter physics for many decades. While many questions remain unanswered, experiments have found the highest critical temperatures in layered two-dimensional materials. However, to what extent the remarkable stability of these strongly correlated 2D superfluids is affected by their reduced dimensionality is still an open question. Here, we use dilute gases of ultracold fermionic atoms as a model system to directly observe the influence of dimensionality on the stability of strongly interacting fermionic superfluids. We find that the superfluid gap follows the same universal function of the interaction strength regardless of dimensionality, which suggests that there is no inherent difference in the stability of two- and three-dimensional fermionic superfluids. Finally, we compare our data to results from solid state systems and find a similar relation between the interaction strength and the gap for a wide range of two- and three-dimensional superconductors.

Tunable superfluidity and quantum magnetism with ultracold polar molecules

By selecting two dressed rotational states of ultracold polar molecules in an optical lattice, we obtain a highly tunable generalization of the t-J model, which we refer to as the t-J-V-W model. In addition to XXZ spin exchange, the model features density-density interactions and density-spin interactions; all interactions are dipolar. We show that full control of all interaction parameters in both magnitude and sign can be achieved independently of each other and of the tunneling. As a first step towards demonstrating the potential of the system, we apply the density matrix renormalization group method to obtain the 1D phase diagram of the simplest experimentally realizable case. Specifically, we show that the tunability and the long-range nature of the interactions in the t-J-V-W model enable enhanced superfluidity. Finally, we show that Bloch oscillations in a tilted lattice can be used to probe the phase diagram experimentally.

Establishing the presence of coherence in atomic fermi superfluids: spin-flip and spin-preserving Bragg scattering at finite temperatures

We show how in ultracold Fermi gases the difference between the finite temperature T structure factors, called S_(ω,q), associated with spin and density, reflects coherent order at all ω, q, k(F)a, and T. This observation can be exploited in two photon Bragg scattering experiments on gases which are subject to variable attractive interactions. Our calculations incorporate spin and particle number conservation laws which lead to compatibility at general T with two f-sum rules. Because of its generality a measurement of S_(ω,q) can be a qualitative, direct, in situ approach for establishing superfluid order.

Fermi condensates for dynamic imaging of electromagnetic fields

Ultracold gases provide micrometer size samples whose sensitivity to external fields may be exploited in sensor applications. Bose-Einstein condensates of atomic gases have been demonstrated to perform excellently as magnetic field sensors in atom chips. Here we propose that condensates of fermions can be used for noninvasive sensing of time-dependent and static magnetic and electric fields, by utilizing the tunable energy gap in the excitation spectrum as a frequency filter. Perturbations by the field create collective excitations and quasiparticles. The latter requires the frequency of the perturbation to exceed the gap. The frequencies of the field may be selectively monitored from the amount of quasiparticles which is measurable, e.g., by rf spectroscopy. We analyze the method by calculating the density-density susceptibility and discuss its sensitivity and spatial resolution.

Bragg spectroscopy of a strongly interacting Fermi gas

We present a comprehensive study of the Bose-Einstein condensate to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BEC-BCS) crossover in fermionic 6Li using Bragg spectroscopy. A smooth transition from molecular to atomic spectra is observed with a clear signature of pairing at and above unitarity. These spectra probe the dynamic and static structure factors of the gas and provide a direct link to two-body correlations. We have characterized these correlations and measured their density dependence across the broad Feshbach resonance at 834 G.

Bragg scattering of cooper pairs in an ultracold Fermi gas

We present a theoretical treatment of Bragg scattering of a degenerate Fermi gas in the weakly interacting BCS regime. Our numerical calculations predict correlated scattering of Cooper pairs into a spherical shell in momentum space. The scattered shell of correlated atoms is centered at half the usual Bragg momentum transfer, and can be clearly distinguished from atoms scattered by the usual single-particle Bragg mechanism. We develop an analytic model that explains key features of the correlated-pair Bragg scattering, and determine the dependence of that scattering on the initial pair correlations in the gas.

Two-component Fermi gas on internal-state-dependent optical lattices

We study the phase diagram of a one-dimensional, two-component (i.e., pseudo-"spin"-(1/2)) ultracold atomic Fermi gas. The two atom species can have different hopping or mass. A very rich phase diagram for equal densities of the species is found, containing Mott insulators and superfluids. We also discuss coupling such 1D systems and the experimental signatures of the phases. In particular, we compute the spin-structure factor at small momentum, which should reveal a spin gap.

Density and spin response functions in ultracold fermionic atom gases

We propose a new method of detecting the onset of superfluidity in a two-component ultracold fermionic gas of atoms governed by an attractive short-range interaction. By studying the two-body correlation functions we find that a measurement of the momentum distribution of the density and spin-response functions allows one to access separately the normal and anomalous densities. The change in sign at low momentum transfer of the normal-ordered part of the density response function signals the transition between a BEC and a BCS regime, characterized by small and large pairs, respectively. This change in sign of the density response function represents an unambiguous signature of the BEC-to-BCS crossover. Spin rotational symmetry breaking due to the magnetic field, if observed, can be used to validate the one-channel model.

Direct imaging of spatially modulated superfluid phases in atomic fermion systems

It is proposed that the spatially modulated superfluid phase, or the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state could be observed in resonant fermion atomic condensates which are realized recently. We examine optimal experimental setups to achieve it by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation for both idealized one-dimensional and realistic three-dimensional cases. The spontaneous modulation of this superfluid is shown to be directly imaged as the density profiles either by optical absorption or by Stern-Gerlach experiments.