We investigate the low-energy scattering and bound states of two two-component fermionic atoms in pure two-dimensional (2D) and quasi-2D confinements with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We find that the SOC qualitatively changes the behavior of the 2D scattering amplitude in the low-energy limit. For quasi-2D systems we obtain the analytic expression for the effective-2D scattering amplitude and the algebraic equations for the two-atom bound state energy. Based on these results, we further derive the effective 2D interaction potential between two ultracold atoms in the quasi-2D confinement with Rashba SOC. These results are crucial for the control of the 2D effective physics in quasi-2D geometry via the confinement intensity and the atomic three-dimensional scattering length.
One of the most dynamic directions in ultracold atomic gas research is the study of low-dimensional physics in quasi-low-dimensional geometries, where atoms are confined in strongly anisotropic traps. Recently, interest has significantly intensified with the realization of synthetic spin–orbit coupling (SOC). As a first step toward understanding the SOC effect in quasi-low-dimensional systems, the solution of two-body problems in different trapping geometries and different types of SOC has attracted great attention in the past few years. In this review, we discuss both the scattering-state and the bound-state solutions of two-body problems in quasi-one and quasi-two dimensions. We show that the degrees of freedom in tightly confined dimensions, in particular with the presence of SOC, may significantly affect system properties. Specifically, in a quasi-one-dimensional atomic gas, a one-dimensional SOC can shift the positions of confinement-induced resonances whereas, in quasitwo- dimensional gases, a Rashba-type SOC tends to increase the two-body binding energy, such that more excited states in the tightly confined direction are occupied and the system is driven further away from a purely two-dimensional gas. The effects of the excited states can be incorporated by adopting an effective low-dimensional Hamiltonian having the form of a two-channel model. With the bare parameters fixed by two-body solutions, this effective Hamiltonian leads to qualitatively different many-body properties compared to a purely low-dimensional model.
We investigate the scattering and two-body bound states of two ultracold atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) confinement, with the confinement potential being an infinitely deep square well (box potential) in the transverse (
z) direction, and the motion of the atoms in the $x\text{\ensuremath{-}}y$ plane being free. Specifically, we calculate the effective 2D scattering length and 2D effective range parameter of the low-energy scattering, as well as the energy and the transverse-excited-mode probability of the bound states. Comparing these results with those obtained under a harmonic transverse confinement potential, which has the same characteristic length as the box potential, we find that in most of the cases the 2D effective range parameter for the box confinement is approximately 0.28 of the one for the harmonic confinement. Moreover, the transverse-excited-mode probability of the bound states for the box confinement is also much lower than the one for the harmonic confinement. These results suggest that the transverse excitation in the box confinement is notably weaker than the one in the harmonic confinement with the same characteristic length. Therefore, achieving quasi-2D ultracold gases well described by pure-2D effective models, particularly those with 2D contact interaction, is more feasible through box confinement. Our results are helpful for the quantum simulation of 2D many-body physics with ultracold atoms, e.g., the suppression of 2D effective range parameter may lead to an enhancement of quantum anomaly in two-dimensional Fermi gases. Additionally, our calculation method is applicable to the two-body problems of ultracold atoms in other types of quasi-2D confinements.
We solve the two-body problem of ultracold heteronuclear atoms in a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) geometry. The quasi-2D confinement is realized by a harmonic trap along the longitudinal (
z-) direction, with different trap frequencies for the two atoms, as in many current experiments on ultracold heteronuclear gases. As a consequence, the longitudinal center-of-mass (CoM) motion is coupled to the relative motion, which significantly complicates the two-body problem. We solve this problem exactly and derive the 2D scattering length
a2D, the 2D effective range parameter
R2D, and the bound-state energies, as functions of the
s-wave scattering length and effective range of the two atoms in free three-dimensional (3D) space. We show that multiple 2D scattering resonances can be induced by the coupling between the longitudinal CoM and relative motion. Around these resonances,
a2D varies rapidly with the 3D scattering parameters, while
R2D is strongly enhanced. Since the effective pairwise interaction in quasi-2D ultracold gases is determined by i.e., the two-body scattering amplitudes and bound-state energies, our results can be used for manipulating the effective 2D interatomic interaction in quasi-2D ultracold heteronuclear gases by tuning the confinement frequencies and the 3D scattering parameters.
We derive an analytical expression for the scattering amplitude of two ultracold atoms of arbitrary spin and with general spin-orbit (SO) coupling, on the basis of our recent work [Phys. Rev. A 86, 053608 (2012)]. As an application, we demonstrate that SO coupling can induce scattering resonance in the case with finite scattering length. The same approach can be applied to calculate the two-body bound state of SO-coupled ultracold atoms. For the ultracold spin-
1/2 Fermi gases in three- or two- dimensional systems with SO coupling, we also obtain the renormalization relation of effective contact interaction with momentum cutoff, as well as the applicability of Huang-Yang pseudopotential.
In a recent experiment, a two-dimensional spin-orbit coupling (SOC) was realized for fermions in the continuum [Nat. Phys. 12, 540 (2016)], which represents an important step forward in the study of synthetic gauge fields using cold atoms. In the experiment it was shown that a Raman-induced two-dimensional SOC exists in the dressed-state basis close to a Dirac point of the single-particle spectrum. By contrast, the short-range interatomic interactions of the system are typically expressed in the hyperfine-spin basis. The interplay between synthetic SOC and interactions can potentially lead to interesting few- and many-body phenomena but has so far eluded theoretical attention. Here we study in detail properties of two-body bound states of such a system. We find that, due to the competition between SOC and interaction, the stability region of the two-body bound state is in general reduced. Particularly, the threshold of the lowest two-body bound state is shifted to a positive, SOC-dependent scattering length. Furthermore, the center-of-mass momentum of the lowest two-body bound state becomes nonzero, suggesting the emergence of Fulde-Ferrell pairing states in a many-body setting. Our results reveal the critical difference between the experimentally realized two-dimensional SOC and the more symmetric Rashba or Dresselhaus SOCs in an interacting system, paving the way for future characterizations of topological superfluid states in the experimentally relevant systems.