The admixture of spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states in superconductors can be typically induced by breaking spatial inversion symmetry. Employing the numerically exact auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method, we study such mixed-parity pairing phenomena of attractive fermions with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a two-dimensional optical lattice at finite temperature. We systematically explore the evolution of the essential pairing structure in both singlet and triplet channels versus the temperature, fermion filling, and SOC and interaction strengths, via computing the finite-size results of the condensate fraction and pair wave function. Our numerical results reveal that the singlet channel dominates in the fermion pairing and the triplet pairing has a relatively small contribution to the superfluidity for physically relevant parameters. In contrast to the singlet channel mainly consisting of the on-site Cooper pairs, the triplet pairing has plentiful patterns in real space with the largest contributions from several nearest neighbors. As the SOC strength increases, the pairing correlation is first enhanced and then suppressed for triplet pairing while it is simply weakened in the singlet channel. We have also obtained the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperatures through the finite-size analysis of the condensate fraction. Our results can serve as a quantitative guide for future optical lattice experiments as well as accurate benchmarks for theories and other numerical methods.
The admixture of spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states in superconductors can be typically induced by breaking spatial inversion symmetry. Employing the numerically exact auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method, we study such mixed-parity pairing phenomena of attractive fermions with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a two-dimensional optical lattice at finite temperature. We systematically explore the evolution of the essential pairing structure in both singlet and triplet channels versus the temperature, fermion filling, and SOC and interaction strengths, via computing the finite-size results of the condensate fraction and pair wave function. Our numerical results reveal that the singlet channel dominates in the fermion pairing and the triplet pairing has a relatively small contribution to the superfluidity for physically relevant parameters. In contrast to the singlet channel mainly consisting of the on-site Cooper pairs, the triplet pairing has plentiful patterns in real space with the largest contributions from several nearest neighbors. As the SOC strength increases, the pairing correlation is first enhanced and then suppressed for triplet pairing while it is simply weakened in the singlet channel. We have also obtained the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperatures through the finite-size analysis of the condensate fraction. Our results can serve as a quantitative guide for future optical lattice experiments as well as accurate benchmarks for theories and other numerical methods.
We present an ab initio, numerically exact study of attractive fermions in square lattices with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The ground state of this system is a supersolid, with coexisting charge and superfluid order. The superfluid is composed of both singlet and triplet pairs induced by spin-orbit coupling. We perform large-scale calculations using the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method to provide the first full, quantitative description of the charge, spin, and pairing properties of the system. In addition to characterizing the exotic physics, our results will serve as essential high-accuracy benchmarks for the intense theoretical and especially experimental efforts in ultracold atoms to realize and understand an expanding variety of quantum Hall and topological superconductor systems.
The recent experimental realization of spin-orbit coupled Fermi gases provides a unique opportunity to study the interplay between strong interaction and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a tunable, disorder-free system. We present here precision ab initio numerical results on the two-dimensional, unpolarized, uniform Fermi gas with attractive interactions and Rashba SOC. Using the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method and incorporating recent algorithmic advances, we carry out exact calculations on sufficiently large system sizes to provide accurate results systematically as a function of experimental parameters. We obtain the equation of state, the momentum distributions, the pseudospin correlations, and the pair wave functions. Our results help illuminate the rich pairing structure induced by SOC, and provide benchmarks for theory and guidance to future experimental efforts.
We investigate the single-particle and collective excitations of a Rashba spin-orbit-coupled atomic Fermi gas with attractive interaction, loaded in a two-dimensional (2D) square optical lattice, in the presence of an effective out-of-plane Zeeman field. Our numerical calculations show that the many-body physics of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) side is strongly modified compared to the Fermi gases in the free space. The physics behind this statement lies in the fact that in the 2D lattice case the single-particle ground-state energy is four times degenerated, while without a lattice structure the ground state is infinitely degenerate, and because of that, the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in optical lattices gives rise to unusual properties entirely different from the continuum. For example, in the continuum, the pairing gap as well as the condensate fraction is strongly enhanced by the SOC strength on the BCS side. In the presence of lattice geometry the gap and the condensate fraction increase as a function of the SOC strength only at small fillings and a weak attraction limit. Moreover, we found that the speed of sound also exhibits different behavior: in the 3D and 2D continua, the slope of the Goldstone mode decreases as a function of the SOC strength, while in the lattice case the speed of sound increases monotonically with the SOC strength.
We use a determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulation and a mean-field approach to study the Rashba spin-orbit coupled Fermi gases in square optical lattice. Notably, we show that the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thoules phase transition temperature can be enhanced by the spin-orbit coupling. The superfluidity is always dominated by spin-singlet pairing when the attraction or the spin-orbit coupling increases. Moreover, the spin susceptibility is shown to be anisotropic and attends a steady value in the presence of the spin-orbit coupling.
Strongly interacting many-body systems remain a central challenge of modern physics. Recent developments in the field of ultra-cold atomic physics have opened a new window onto this enduring problem. Experimental progress has revolutionized the approach to studying many-body systems and the exotic behaviors that emerge in these systems. It is now possible to engineer and directly measure a variety of models that can capture the essential features of real materials without the added complexity of disorder, impurities, or complicated or irregular geometries. The parameters of these models can be freely tuned with tremendous precision. These experimental realizations are an ideal setting in which to test and calibrate computational many-body methods that can provide insight and quantitative understanding to many of the open questions in condensed matter and many-body physics. in this thesis we study several models of strongly interacting many-fermion systems using cutting-edge numerical techniques including Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) mean-field theory and auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC). We explore the exotic phases and behaviors that emerge in these systems, beginning with finite-momentum pairing states in attractive spin-polarized fermions. We next demonstrate the unique capability of AFQMC to treat systems with spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We obtain high-precision, and in many cases numerically exact, results on SOC systems that can eventually be compared directly to experiment. The first system we highlight is the attractive Fermi gas with Rashba SOC, which displays unconventional pairing, charge, and spin properties. We then study the coexistence of charge and superfluid order, as well as topological signatures, in attractive lattice fermions with Rashba SOC. Our results provide a new, high-accuracy understanding of a strongly interacting many-body system and its exotic behaviors. These techniques can serve as a general framework for the treatment of strong interactions and SOC in many-body systems, and provide a foundation for future work on exotic phases in models and real materials.
Understanding novel pairings in attractive degenerate Fermi gases is crucial for exploring rich superfluid physics. In this report, we reveal unconventional pairings induced by spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a one-dimensional optical lattice, using a state-of-the-art density-matrix renormalization group method. When both bands are partially occupied, we find a strong competition between the interband Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) and intraband Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) pairings. In particular, for the weak and moderate SOC strengths, these two pairings can coexist, giving rise to a new phase called the FFLO-BCS phase, which exhibits a unique three-peak structure in pairing momentum distribution. For the strong SOC strength, the intraband BCS pairing always dominates in the whole parameter regime, including the half filling. We figure out the whole phase diagrams as functions of filling factor, SOC strength, and Zeeman field. Our results are qualitatively different from recent mean-field predictions. Finally, we address that our predictions could be observed in a weaker trapped potential.