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arXiv:1003.1881 · Physical Review A

Dipolar Fermi gases in anisotropic traps

Aristeu R. P. Lima, Axel Pelster

Published Jun 23, 2010• 31 citations
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Abstract

The quest for quantum degenerate Fermi gases interacting through the anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction is an exciting and fast developing branch within the cold-atom research program. Recent experimental progress in trapping, cooling, and controlling polar molecules with large electric dipole moments has, therefore, motivated much theoretical effort. In a recent letter, we have briefly discussed the application of a variational time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach to study theoretically both the static and the dynamic properties of such a system in a cylinder-symmetric harmonic trap. We focused on the hydrodynamic regime, where collisions ensure the equilibrium locally. Here we present a detailed theory extended to encompass the general case of a harmonic trap geometry without any symmetry. After deriving the equations of motion for the gas, we explore their static solutions to investigate key properties like the aspect ratios in both real and momentum space as well as the stability diagram. We find that, despite the lack of symmetry of the trap, the momentum distribution remains cylinder symmetric. The equations of motion are then used to study the low-lying hydrodynamic excitations, where, apart from the quadrupole and monopole modes, the radial quadrupole mode is also investigated. Furthermore, we study the time-of-flight dynamics as it represents an important diagnostic tool for quantum gases. We find that the real-space aspect ratios are inverted during the expansion, while that in momentum space becomes asymptotically unity. In addition, anisotropic features of the dipole-dipole interaction are discussed in detail. These results could be particularly useful for future investigations of strongly dipolar heteronuclear polar molecules deep in the quantum degenerate regime.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.063629

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•Jan 1, 2012•0 citations
The quest for quantum degenerate Fermi gases interacting through the anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction is an exciting and fast developing branch within the cold-atom research program. Recent experimental progress in trapping, cooling, and controlling polar molecules with large electric dipole moments has, therefore, motivated much theoretical effort. In a recent letter, we have briefly discussed the application of a variational time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach to study theoretically both the static and the dynamic properties of such a system in a cylinder-symmetric harmonic trap. We focused on the hydrodynamic regime, where collisions ensure the equilibrium locally. Here we present a detailed theory extended to encompass the general case of a harmonic trap geometry without any symmetry. After deriving the equations of motion for the gas, we explore their static solutions to investigate key properties like the aspect ratios in both real and momentum space as well as the stability diagram. We find that, despite the lack of symmetry of the trap, the momentum distribution remains cylinder symmetric. The equations of motion are then used to study the low-lying hydrodynamic excitations, where, apart from the quadrupole and monopole modes, the radial quadrupole mode is also investigated. Furthermore, we study the time-of-flight dynamics as it represents an important diagnostic tool for quantum gases. We find that the real-space aspect ratios are inverted during the expansion, while that in momentum space becomes asymptotically unity. In addition, anisotropic features of the dipole-dipole interaction are discussed in detail. These results could be particularly useful for future investigations of strongly dipolar heteronuclear polar molecules deep in the quantum degenerate regime.
By means of the Boltzmann-Vlasov kinetic equation we investigate dynamical properties of a trapped, one-component Fermi gas at zero temperature, featuring the anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction. To this end, we determine an approximate solution by rescaling both space and momentum variables of the equilibrium distribution, thereby obtaining coupled ordinary differential equations for the corresponding scaling parameters. Based on previous results on how the Fermi sphere is deformed in the hydrodynamic regime of a dipolar Fermi gas, we are able to implement the relaxation-time approximation for the collision integral. Then, we proceed by linearizing the equations of motion around the equilibrium in order to study both the frequencies and the damping of the low-lying excitation modes all the way from the collisionless to the hydrodynamic regime. Our theoretical results are expected to be relevant for understanding current experiments with trapped dipolar Fermi gases.
By means of the Boltzmann-Vlasov kinetic equation we investigate dynamical properties of a trapped one-component Fermi gas at zero temperature, featuring the anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction. To this end, we determine an approximate solution by rescaling both space and momentum variables of the equilibrium distribution, thereby obtaining coupled ordinary differential equations for the corresponding scaling parameters. Based on previous results on how the Fermi sphere is deformed in the hydrodynamic regime of a dipolar Fermi gas, we are able to implement the relaxation-time approximation for the collision integral. Then, we proceed by linearizing the equations of motion around the equilibrium in order to study both the frequencies and the damping of the low-lying excitation modes all the way from the collisionless to the hydrodynamic regime. Our theoretical results are expected to be relevant for understanding current experiments with trapped dipolar Fermi gases.
We theoretically investigate various beyond mean-field effects on Bose gases at zero temperature featuring the anisotropic and long-range dipole-dipole interaction in addition to the isotropic and short-range contact interaction. Within the realm of the Bogoliubov--de Gennes theory, we consider static properties and low-lying excitations of both homogeneous and harmonically trapped dipolar bosonic gases. For the homogeneous system, the condensate depletion, the ground-state energy, the equation of state, and the speed of sound are discussed in detail. Making use of the local density approximation, we extend these results in order to study the properties of a dipolar Bose gas in a harmonic trap and in the regime of large particle numbers. After deriving the equations of motion for the general case of a triaxial trap, we analyze the influence of quantum fluctuations on important properties of the gas, such as the equilibrium configuration and the low-lying excitations in the case of a cylinder-symmetric trap. In addition to the monopole and quadrupole oscillation modes, we also discuss the radial quadrupole mode. We find that the latter acquires a quantum correction exclusively due to the dipole-dipole interaction. As a result, we identify the radial quadrupole as a reasonably accessible source for the signature of dipolar many-body effects and stress the enhancing character that dipolar interactions have for quantum fluctuations in the other oscillation modes.
Recently, a seminal stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) experiment allowed the creation of 40K^{40}\mathrm{K}40K87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb molecules in the rovibrational ground state [K.-K. Ni et al., Science 322, 231 (2008)]. To describe such a polarized dipolar Fermi gas in the hydrodynamic regime, we work out a variational time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach. With this we calculate dynamical properties of such a system, for instance, the frequencies of the low-lying excitations and the time-of-flight expansion. We find that the dipole-dipole interaction induces anisotropic breathing oscillations in momentum space. In addition, after release from the trap, the momentum distribution becomes asymptotically isotropic, while the particle density becomes anisotropic.
A recent time-of-flight (TOF) expansion experiment with polarized fermionic erbium atoms measured a Fermi surface deformation from a sphere to an ellipsoid due to dipole-dipole interaction, thus confirming previous theoretical predictions. Here we perform a systematic study of the ground-state properties and TOF dynamics for trapped dipolar Fermi gases from the collisionless to the hydrodynamic regime at zero temperature. To this end, we solve analytically the underlying Boltzmann-Vlasov equation within the relaxation-time approximation in the vicinity of equilibrium by using a suitable rescaling of the equilibrium distribution. The resulting ordinary differential equations for the respective scaling parameters are then solved numerically for experimentally realistic parameters and relaxation times that correspond to the collisionless, collisional, and hydrodynamic regimes. The equations for the collisional regime are first solved in the approximation of a fixed relaxation time, and then this approach is extended to include a self-consistent determination of the relaxation time. The presented analytical and numerical results are relevant for a detailed quantitative understanding of ongoing experiments and the design of future experiments with ultracold fermionic dipolar atoms and molecules. In particular, the obtained results are relevant for systems with strong dipole-dipole interaction, which turn out to affect significantly the aspect ratios during the TOF expansion.
We develop and apply meanfield methods to two systems of significant interest in cold atom physics. The first system, and the main subject of this thesis, is a gas of polarized dipoles, in which the particles have a long range anisotropic interaction. The second system is a toroidally trapped gas that interacts via short range interactions. \n \nDipolar gases: We develop accurate techniques for dipolar Bose and Fermi gases accounting for both direct and exchange interactions. We detail an efficient numerical implementation of the meanfield treatment. \n \nWe study the thermodynamic and the first and second order correlation properties of the system. We find that exchange interactions cause the correlation functions to be anisotropic in the low temperature regime. We also find that many uniform gas thermodynamic predictions, for which direct interaction effects vanish, are qualitatively unreliable for trapped systems, most notably for oblate traps. \n \nUsing Hartree-Fock theory and analytic approximations, we examine the magnetostrictive position and momentum space distortions that occur in harmonically confined dipolar Bose and Fermi gases. The Bose gas momentum distribution distorts in the opposite sense to that of the Fermi gas. By relating exchange effects to short range correlations between the particles we discuss the energetic origin of this difference. \n \nIntroducing local momentum distortion fields, we develop a practical Hartree-Fock theory in which exchange effects are described by a local effective potential. This theory is applicable at zero and finite temperature, and is in excellent agreement with full Hartree-Fock calculations. \n \nContact gases: We show how considerable simplification of numerical results and analytical derivations can be achieved in the local density approximation using a variety of density of states techniques. \n \nWe examine the process of isentropic loading of a Bose or Fermi gas from a harmonic trap into the scale invariant toroidal regime that exhibits a high degree of system invariance when increasing the radius of the toroid. For bosons a regime of cooling is identified and we find that the Fermi gas is subjected to irreducible heating during loading, caused by the loss of one degree of freedom for thermalization.