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arXiv:1005.3239 · Physical Review A

Competition between normal superfluidity and Larkin-Ovchinnikov phases of polarized Fermi gases in elongated traps

Junchen Pei, J. Dukelsky, Witold Nazarewicz

Published Aug 10, 2010• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

By applying the recently proposed antisymmetric superfluid local density approximation (ASLDA) to strongly interacting polarized atomic gases at unitarity in very elongated traps, we find families of solutions of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) type with prominent transversal oscillation of the pairing potential. These LO states coexist with a superfluid state having a smooth pairing potential. We suggest that the LO phase could be accessible experimentally by increasing the trap aspect ratio adiabatically. We show that the local asymmetry effects contained in the ASLDA do not support a deformed superfluid core predicted by previous Bogoliubov--de Gennes treatments.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.82.021603

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By applying the recently proposed antisymmetric superfluid local density approximation (ASLDA) to strongly interacting polarized atomic gases at unitarity in very elongated traps, we find families of solutions of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) type with prominent transversal oscillation of the pairing potential. These LO states coexist with a superfluid state having a smooth pairing potential. We suggest that the LO phase could be accessible experimentally by increasing the trap aspect ratio adiabatically. We show that the local asymmetry effects contained in the ASLDA do not support a deformed superfluid core predicted by previous Bogoliubov--de Gennes treatments.
Superconductivity and superfluidity of fermions require, within the BCS theory, matching of the Fermi energies of the two interacting Fermion species. Difference in the number densities of the two species leads either to a normal state, to phase separation, or---potentially---to exotic forms of superfluidity such as Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state, Sarma state, or breached pair state. We consider ultracold Fermi gases with polarization, i.e., spin-density imbalance. We show that, due to the gases being trapped and isolated from the environment in terms of particle exchange, exotic forms of superfluidity appear as a shell around the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluid core of the gas and, for large density imbalance, in the core as well. We obtain these results by describing the effect of the trapping potential by using the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. For comparison to experiments, we calculate also the condensate fraction, and show that, in the center of the trap, a polarized superfluid leads to a small dip in the central density difference. We compare the results to those given by local density approximation and find qualitatively different behavior.
Based on the integrable Gaudin model and local density approximation, we discuss the ground state of a one-dimensional trapped Fermi gas with imbalanced spin population, for an arbitrary attractive interaction. A phase separation state, with a polarized superfluid core immersed in an unpolarized superfluid shell, emerges below a critical spin polarization. Above it, coexistence of polarized superfluid matter and a fully polarized normal gas is favored. These two exotic states could be realized experimentally in highly elongated atomic traps, and diagnosed by measuring the lowest density compressional mode. We identify the polarized superfluid as having an Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov structure, and predict the resulting mode frequency as a function of the spin polarization.
We investigate two-component attractive Fermi gases with imbalanced spin populations in trapped one-dimensional configurations. The ground state properties are determined with the local density approximation, starting from the exact Bethe-ansatz equations for the homogeneous case. We predict that the atoms are distributed according to a two-shell structure: a partially polarized phase in the center of the trap and either a fully paired or a fully polarized phase in the wings. The partially polarized core is expected to be a superfluid of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov type. The size of the cloud as well as the critical spin polarization needed to suppress the fully paired shell are calculated as a function of the coupling strength.
Recent ground-breaking experiments studying the effects of spin polarization on pairing in unitary Fermi gases encountered mutual qualitative and quantitative discrepancies which seem to be a function of the confining geometry. Using numerical algorithms we study the solution space for a three-dimensional fully self-consistent formulation of realistic systems with up to 105{10}^{5}105 atoms. A study of the three types of solutions obtained demonstrates a tendency toward metastability as the confining geometry is elongated. One of these solutions, which is consistent with Rice experiments at high trap aspect ratio, supports a state strikingly similar to the long sought Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state. Our study helps to resolve the long-standing controversy concerning the discrepancies between the findings from two different experimental groups and highlights the versatility of actual-size numerical calculations for investigating inhomogeneous fermionic superfluids.
We calculate the mean-field thermodynamics of a spherically trapped Fermi gas with unequal spin populations in the unitarity limit, comparing results from the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations and the local density approximation. We follow the usual mean-field decoupling in deriving the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations and set up an efficient and accurate method for solving these equations. In the local density approximation we consider locally homogeneous solutions, with a slowly varying order parameter. With a large particle number these two approximation schemes give rise to essentially the same results for various thermodynamic quantities, including the density profiles. This excellent agreement strongly indicates that the small oscillation of order parameters near the edge of trap, sometimes interpreted as spatially inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov states in previous studies of Bogoliubov--de Gennes equations, is a finite-size effect. We find that a bimodal structure emerges in the density profile of the minority-spin state at finite temperature, as observed in experiments. The superfluid transition temperature as a function of the population imbalance is determined and is shown to be consistent with recent experimental measurements. The temperature dependence of the equation of state is discussed.
We numerically study imbalanced two component Fermi gases with attractive interactions in highly elongated harmonic traps. An accurate parametrization formula for the ground state energy is presented for a spin-polarized attractive Gaudin-Yang model. Our studies are based on an accurate microscopic spin-density-functional theory through the Kohn-Sham scheme which employs the one-dimensional homogeneous Gaudin-Yang model with a Luther-Emery-liquid ground-state correlation as a reference system. A Thomas-Fermi approximation is examined incorporating the exchange-correlation interaction. By studying the charge and spin density profiles of the system based on these methods, we gain a quantitative understanding of the role of attractive interactions and polarization on the formation of the two-shell structure, with the coexisted Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov-type phase in the center of the trap and either the BCS superfluid phase or the normal phase at the edges of the trap. Our results are in good agreement with the recent theoretical consequences.