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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Quantum hydrodynamics and expansion of a strongly interacting Fermi gas

W. Y. Zhang, Liqin Zhou, Y. L.

Published Nov 1, 2009• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We generalize the quantum hydrodynamical equations and study the dynamics of a strongly interacting Fermi gas trapped in an anisotropic harmonic trap. By using this simple theory to simulate the expansion of the Fermi gas observed experimentally by O'Hara et al ., Science , 298 (2002) 2179, we find that the density profiles of the system are well described by the Fetter-like form in the dynamical process in all spatial directions. We also discuss the anisotropic dependence on the expansion.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/88/40001

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We generalize the quantum hydrodynamical equations and study the dynamics of a strongly interacting Fermi gas trapped in an anisotropic harmonic trap. By using this simple theory to simulate the expansion of the Fermi gas observed experimentally by O'Hara et al ., Science , 298 (2002) 2179, we find that the density profiles of the system are well described by the Fetter-like form in the dynamical process in all spatial directions. We also discuss the anisotropic dependence on the expansion.
In summary, we use all-optical methods with evaporative cooling near a Feshbach resonance to produce a strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gas. We observe hydrodynamic behavior in the expansion dynamics. At low temperatures, collisions may not explain the expansion dynamics. We observe hydrodynamics in the trapped gas. Our observations include collisionally-damped excitation spectra at high temperature which were not discussed above. In addition, we observe weakly damped breathing modes at low temperature. The observed temperature dependence of the damping time and hydrodynamic frequency are not consistent with collisional dynamics nor with collisionless mean field interactions. These observations constitute the first evidence for superfluid hydrodynamics in a Fermi gas.
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.
This thesis considers out-of-equilibrium dynamics of strongly interacting non-relativistic Fermi gases in several two and three dimensional geometries. The tools of second-order hydrodynamics and gauge-gravity duality will be utilized to address this system. Many of the themes of this work are motivated by the observed similarities in transport properties between strongly interacting Fermi gases and other very different strongly interacting quantum fluids such as the quark-gluon plasma, high temperature superconductors, and quantum field theories described by gauge-gravity duality. In particular, these systems all nearly saturate the conjectured lower bound on the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density η/s≥ℏ/(4πkB)η/s \geq \hbar/(4 πk_B)η/s≥ℏ/(4πkB​) coming from the AdS/CFT correspondence. Among other things, this observation, in conjunction with current experiment and data analysis in atomic, condensed matter, and nuclear physics lends itself to the following questions: How perfect of a fluid is the strongly interacting Fermi gas, and can one find a more stringent constraint on η/sη/sη/s in Fermi gases? Do the similarities in transport properties among strongly interacting quantum systems extend beyond dynamics controlled by the hydrodynamical shear viscosity? In regards to the first question, by utilizing second-order hydrodynamics, it will be demonstrated that higher-order collective modes of a harmonically trapped Fermi gas may serve as a more sensitive probe of the shear viscosity. For the second question, both second-order hydrodynamics and a gravity dual theory are used to make predictions about dynamics occurring on short timescales where hydrodynamics is expected to break down. In particular the appearance of a class of "non-hydrodynamic" collective modes not contained within a Navier-Stokes description of the strongly interacting Fermi gas will be discussed.
We study collisions between two strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas clouds. We observe exotic nonlinear hydrodynamic behavior, distinguished by the formation of a very sharp and stable density peak as the clouds collide and subsequent evolution into a boxlike shape. We model the nonlinear dynamics of these collisions by using quasi-1D hydrodynamic equations. Our simulations of the time-dependent density profiles agree very well with the data and provide clear evidence of shock wave formation in this universal quantum hydrodynamic system.
Abstract This chapter is devoted to discussing relevant dynamical and superfluid phenomena exhibited by interacting Fermi gases at low temperatures, with special focus on the strongly interacting Fermi gas at unitarity. The chapter discusses the predictions of hydrodynamic theory concerning the propagation of sound, the collective oscillations and the expansion of the gas after release of the trap. The Landau criterion for superfluidity and the behaviour of the dynamic structure factor are discussed. It also provides some considerations on the radiofrequency transitions as a method to observe pair-breaking transitions and to measure the pairing gap. The chapter discusses the behaviour of two-fluid hydrodynamics and the propagation of second sound as a tool to measure the superfluid density of interacting Fermi gases. It finally provides a brief summary of the rotational properties of the superfluid Fermi gas, like the quenching of the moment of inertia and the occurrence of quantized vortices.