Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0707.2354 · Physical Review Letters

Critical Velocity for Superfluid Flow across the BEC-BCS Crossover

Daniel E. Miller, J. K. Chin, Claudiu A. Stan, Yingmei Liu, Widagdo Setiawan, Christian Sanner, Wolfgang Ketterle

Published Aug 16, 2007• 165 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Critical velocities have been observed in an ultracold superfluid Fermi gas throughout the BEC-BCS crossover. A pronounced peak of the critical velocity at unitarity demonstrates that superfluidity is most robust for resonant atomic interactions. Critical velocities were determined from the abrupt onset of dissipation when the velocity of a moving one-dimensional optical lattice was varied. The dependence of the critical velocity on lattice depth and on the inhomogeneous density profile was studied.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.99.070402

Related papers

Critical currents in the BEC-BCS crossover regime in an optical lattice

Jacques Tempere, J. T. Devreese

Both the trapping geometry and the interatomic interaction strength of a dilute ultracold fermionic gas can be well controlled experimentally. Adapting the interaction strength between the fermionic atoms allows tuning the gas from a molecular condensate to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluid. We adopt a functional integral point of view to investigate how the superfluid properties vary during this crossover. In particular, the critical superfluid velocity for flowing through an optical lattice is derived. The observation of undamped motion in an optical lattice constitutes a hallmark of superfluidity, also in the fermionic systems. We discuss our theoretical results for the critical velocity of a fermionic superfluid in comparison to the experimental results for a bosonic superfluid in an optical lattice.

arXiv:cond-mat/0508018•Physical Review A•Dec 1, 2005•3 citations

Vortices in Superfluid Fermi Gases through the BEC to BCS Crossover

Rajdeep Sensarma, Mohit Randeria, Tin-Lun Ho

We have analyzed a single vortex at T=0 in a 3D superfluid atomic Fermi gas across a Feshbach resonance. On the BCS side, the order parameter varies on two scales: k(F)(-1)and the coherence length xi, while only variation on the scale of xi is seen away from the BCS limit. The circulating current has a peak value jmax which is a nonmonotonic function of 1/k(F)a(s) implying a maximum critical velocity approximately v(F) at unitarity. The number of fermionic bound states in the core decreases as we move from the BCS to the BEC regime. Remarkably, a bound state branch persists even on the BEC side reflecting the composite nature of bosonic molecules.

arXiv:cond-mat/0510761•Physical Review Letters•Mar 9, 2006•118 citations

Effects of periodic potentials on the critical velocity of superfluid Fermi gases in the BCS-BEC crossover

Gentaro Watanabe A, F. Dalfovo, Лев П. Питаевский +1 more

We study the effects of an external periodic potential on the critical velocity of a superfluid Fermi gas in the crossover between the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) phase and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We numerically solve the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations to model a three-dimensional gas of ultracold atoms in the superfluid phase flowing through a one-dimensional optical lattice. We find that when the recoil energy is comparable to the Fermi energy, the presence of the periodic potential reduces the effect of pair-breaking excitations. This behavior is a consequence of the peculiar band structure of the quasiparticle energy spectrum in the lattice. When the lattice height is much larger than the Fermi energy, the periodic potential makes pairs of atoms to be strongly bound, even in the BCS regime, and pair-breaking excitations are further suppressed. We have also found that when the recoil energy is comparable to or larger than the Fermi energy, the critical velocity due to long-wavelength phonon excitations shows a nonmonotonic behavior along the BCS-BEC crossover.

arXiv:1010.4852•Physical Review A•Mar 22, 2011•11 citations

FERMIONIC SUPERFLUIDITY AND THE BEC-BCS CROSSOVER IN ULTRACOLD ATOMIC FERMI GASES

Martin W. Zwierlein

In our recent experiments at MIT, superfluidity has been observed in a strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas. These systems constitute a novel form of matter with model character: One can vary the temperature, density and dimensionality, the number of “spin up” versus “spin down” fermions, and, most remarkably, the interactions can be precisely controlled over an enormous range. This allows to study the crossover of a Bose-Einstein condensate of tightly bound molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluid of long-range Cooper pairs. Superfluidity in this crossover regime is demonstrated by setting the gas under rotation and observing ordered lattices of quantized vortices [1]. Thanks to its strong interactions, the gas is a high-temperature superfluid: Scaled to the density of electrons in a metal, superfluidity would occur already far above room temperature. A new regime is entered when the number of spin up versus spin down atoms is imbalanced. In this case, not every spin up atom can find a spin down partner. The ground state of such a system has been under debate for over 40 years. We observe the breakdown of superfluidity at a critical imbalance, the Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit [2]. The superfluid gives way to an intriguing, strongly-interacting Fermi gas with unequal spin populations [3, 4].

Foundations of Quantum Mechanics in the Light of New Technology•Jun 1, 2009•0 citations

Critical Vortex Shedding in a Strongly Interacting Fermionic Superfluid

Jee Woo Park, Bumsuk Ko, Yong-il Shin

We study the critical vortex shedding in a strongly interacting fermionic superfluid of ^{6}Li across the BEC-BCS crossover. By moving an optical obstacle in the sample and directly imaging the vortices after the time of flight, the critical velocity u_{vor} for vortex shedding is measured as a function of the obstacle travel distance L. The observed u_{vor} increases with decreasing L, where the rate of increase is the highest in the unitary regime. In the deep Bose-Einstein condensation regime, an empirical dissipation model well captures the dependence of u_{vor} on L, characterized by a constant value of η=-[d(1/u_{vor})/d(1/L)]. However, as the system is tuned across the resonance, a step increase of η develops about a characteristic distance L_{c} as L is increased, where L_{c} is comparable to the obstacle size. This bimodal behavior is strengthened as the system is tuned towards the BCS regime. We attribute this evolution of u_{vor} to the emergence of the underlying fermionic degree of freedom in the vortex-shedding dynamics of a Fermi condensate.

arXiv:1805.08950•Physical Review Letters•Nov 28, 2018•33 citations

Sound modes at the BCS-BEC crossover

H. Heiselberg

First and second sound speeds are calculated for a uniform superfluid gas of Fermi atoms as a function of temperature, density, and interaction strength. The second sound speed is of particular interest as it is a clear signal of a superfluid component and it determines the critical temperature. The sound modes and their dependence on density, scattering length, and temperature are calculated in the BCS, molecular Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), and unitarity limits and a smooth crossover is extrapolated. It is found that first and second sounds undergo avoided crossing on the BEC side due to mixing. Consequently, they are detectable at crossover both as density and thermal waves in traps.

arXiv:cond-mat/0503101•Physical Review A•Jan 10, 2006•39 citations
Critical velocities have been observed in an ultracold superfluid Fermi gas throughout the BEC-BCS crossover. A pronounced peak of the critical velocity at unitarity demonstrates that superfluidity is most robust for resonant atomic interactions. Critical velocities were determined from the abrupt onset of dissipation when the velocity of a moving one-dimensional optical lattice was varied. The dependence of the critical velocity on lattice depth and on the inhomogeneous density profile was studied.
Both the trapping geometry and the interatomic interaction strength of a dilute ultracold fermionic gas can be well controlled experimentally. Adapting the interaction strength between the fermionic atoms allows tuning the gas from a molecular condensate to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluid. We adopt a functional integral point of view to investigate how the superfluid properties vary during this crossover. In particular, the critical superfluid velocity for flowing through an optical lattice is derived. The observation of undamped motion in an optical lattice constitutes a hallmark of superfluidity, also in the fermionic systems. We discuss our theoretical results for the critical velocity of a fermionic superfluid in comparison to the experimental results for a bosonic superfluid in an optical lattice.
We have analyzed a single vortex at T=0 in a 3D superfluid atomic Fermi gas across a Feshbach resonance. On the BCS side, the order parameter varies on two scales: k(F)(-1)and the coherence length xi, while only variation on the scale of xi is seen away from the BCS limit. The circulating current has a peak value jmax which is a nonmonotonic function of 1/k(F)a(s) implying a maximum critical velocity approximately v(F) at unitarity. The number of fermionic bound states in the core decreases as we move from the BCS to the BEC regime. Remarkably, a bound state branch persists even on the BEC side reflecting the composite nature of bosonic molecules.
We study the effects of an external periodic potential on the critical velocity of a superfluid Fermi gas in the crossover between the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) phase and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We numerically solve the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations to model a three-dimensional gas of ultracold atoms in the superfluid phase flowing through a one-dimensional optical lattice. We find that when the recoil energy is comparable to the Fermi energy, the presence of the periodic potential reduces the effect of pair-breaking excitations. This behavior is a consequence of the peculiar band structure of the quasiparticle energy spectrum in the lattice. When the lattice height is much larger than the Fermi energy, the periodic potential makes pairs of atoms to be strongly bound, even in the BCS regime, and pair-breaking excitations are further suppressed. We have also found that when the recoil energy is comparable to or larger than the Fermi energy, the critical velocity due to long-wavelength phonon excitations shows a nonmonotonic behavior along the BCS-BEC crossover.
In our recent experiments at MIT, superfluidity has been observed in a strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas. These systems constitute a novel form of matter with model character: One can vary the temperature, density and dimensionality, the number of “spin up” versus “spin down” fermions, and, most remarkably, the interactions can be precisely controlled over an enormous range. This allows to study the crossover of a Bose-Einstein condensate of tightly bound molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluid of long-range Cooper pairs. Superfluidity in this crossover regime is demonstrated by setting the gas under rotation and observing ordered lattices of quantized vortices [1]. Thanks to its strong interactions, the gas is a high-temperature superfluid: Scaled to the density of electrons in a metal, superfluidity would occur already far above room temperature. A new regime is entered when the number of spin up versus spin down atoms is imbalanced. In this case, not every spin up atom can find a spin down partner. The ground state of such a system has been under debate for over 40 years. We observe the breakdown of superfluidity at a critical imbalance, the Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit [2]. The superfluid gives way to an intriguing, strongly-interacting Fermi gas with unequal spin populations [3, 4].
We study the critical vortex shedding in a strongly interacting fermionic superfluid of ^{6}Li across the BEC-BCS crossover. By moving an optical obstacle in the sample and directly imaging the vortices after the time of flight, the critical velocity u_{vor} for vortex shedding is measured as a function of the obstacle travel distance L. The observed u_{vor} increases with decreasing L, where the rate of increase is the highest in the unitary regime. In the deep Bose-Einstein condensation regime, an empirical dissipation model well captures the dependence of u_{vor} on L, characterized by a constant value of η=-[d(1/u_{vor})/d(1/L)]. However, as the system is tuned across the resonance, a step increase of η develops about a characteristic distance L_{c} as L is increased, where L_{c} is comparable to the obstacle size. This bimodal behavior is strengthened as the system is tuned towards the BCS regime. We attribute this evolution of u_{vor} to the emergence of the underlying fermionic degree of freedom in the vortex-shedding dynamics of a Fermi condensate.
First and second sound speeds are calculated for a uniform superfluid gas of Fermi atoms as a function of temperature, density, and interaction strength. The second sound speed is of particular interest as it is a clear signal of a superfluid component and it determines the critical temperature. The sound modes and their dependence on density, scattering length, and temperature are calculated in the BCS, molecular Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), and unitarity limits and a smooth crossover is extrapolated. It is found that first and second sounds undergo avoided crossing on the BEC side due to mixing. Consequently, they are detectable at crossover both as density and thermal waves in traps.