arXiv:1801.02639 · Physical Review A
Larkin-Ovchinnikov superfluidity in time-reversal-symmetric bilayer Fermi gases
Qing Sun, Liang‐Liang Wang, Xiong-Jun Liu, Gediminas Juzeliūnas, An-Chun Ji
Abstract
The Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) state which combines the superfluidity and spatial periodicity of pairing order parameters and exhibits supersolid properties has been attracting intense attention in both condensed-matter physics and ultracold atoms. Conventionally, realization of the LO state from an intrinsic $s$-wave interacting system necessitates breaking the time-reversal (TR) and sometimes spatial-inversion (SI) symmetries. Here we report a prediction that the LO state can be realized in a TR- and SI-symmetric system representing a bilayer Fermi gas subjected to a laser-assisted interlayer tunneling. We show that the intralayer $s$-wave atomic interaction acts effectively like a $p$-wave interaction in the pseudospin space. This provides distinctive pairing effects in the present system with pseudspin spin-orbit coupling, and leads to a spontaneous density modulation of the pairing order predicted in a very broad parameter regime. Unlike the conventional schemes, our results do not rely on the spin imbalance or external Zeeman fields, showing a highly feasible way to observe the long-sought-after LO superfluid phase using the laser-assisted bilayer Fermi gases.