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Physics of Particles and Nuclei

Quantum condensates in nuclear matter

GERD RÖPKE

Published Nov 22, 2008• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nonrelativistic nuclear matter is considered as a special example of a many-particle system. Quantum statistical methods are applied to treat the formation and dissolution of bound states in dense matter. The formation of quantum condensates is investigated. Special aspects are the transition from Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) pairing as well as the occurrence of quartetting. Consequences for the structure of nuclei are compared with experimental data. Exercises to illustrate the main features of in-medium effects in nuclear matter are given.

DOI
10.1134/s1063779608070022

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Nonrelativistic nuclear matter is considered as a special example of a many-particle system. Quantum statistical methods are applied to treat the formation and dissolution of bound states in dense matter. The formation of quantum condensates is investigated. Special aspects are the transition from Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) pairing as well as the occurrence of quartetting. Consequences for the structure of nuclei are compared with experimental data. Exercises to illustrate the main features of in-medium effects in nuclear matter are given.
We investigate the quartet correlations in four-component fermionic systems at the thermodynamic limit within a variational many-body theory. The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)--type variational wave function is extended to the systems with the coexistence of pair and quartet correlations at zero temperature. Special attention is paid to the application of the present framework to an $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-particle condensation in symmetric nuclear matter, where the coexistence of deuteron and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ condensations is anticipated. We also discuss how physical properties, such as quasiparticle dispersion, can be modified by the pair and quartet correlations and show a hierarchical structure of in-medium cluster formations in infinite nuclear matter. The present results may also contribute to the interdisciplinary understanding of fermionic condensations beyond the BCS paradigm in many-body systems.
Four-particle correlations in fermion systems at finite temperatures are investigated with special attention to the formation of a condensate. Instead of the instability of the normal state with respect to the onset of pairing described by the Gorkov equation, a new equation is obtained which describes the onset of ``quartetting.'' Applying to symmetric nuclear matter, below a critical density, the four-particle condensation ( $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-like quartetting) is found to be favored over deuteron condensation (triplet pairing). This pairing-quartetting competition is expected to be a general feature of interacting fermion systems, such as the exciton-biexciton system in excited semiconductors. Possible experimental consequences are pointed out.
The experimental revolution in ultracold atomic gas physics over the past decades has brought tremendous amounts of new insight to the world of degenerate quantum systems. Here we compare and contrast the developments of cold atomic gases with the physics of nuclei since many concepts, techniques, and nomenclatures are common to both fields. However, nuclei are finite systems with interactions that are typically much more complicated than those of ultracold atomic gases. The similarities and differences must therefore be carefully addressed for a meaningful comparison and to facilitate fruitful crossdisciplinary activity. We first consider condensates of bosonic and paired systems of fermionic particles with the mean-field description, but take great care to point out potential problems in the limit of small particle numbers. Along the way we review some of the basic results of Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) and Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory, as well as the BCS–BEC crossover and the Fermi gas in the unitarity limit, all within the context of ultracold atoms. Subsequently, we consider the specific example of an atomic Fermi gas from a nuclear physics perspective, comparing degrees of freedom, interactions, and relevant length and energy scales of cold atoms and nuclei. Next we address some attempts in nuclear physics to transfer the concepts of condensates in nuclei that can in principle be built from bosonic alpha-particle constituents. We also consider Efimov physics, a prime example of nuclear physics transferred to cold atoms, and consider which systems are more likely to show interesting bound state spectra. Finally, we address some recent studies of the BCS–BEC crossover in light nuclei and compare them to the concepts used in ultracold atomic gases. While many-body concepts such as BEC or BCS states are applicable in both subfields, we find that the interactions and finite particle numbers in nuclei can obscure the clear meaning they have in cold atoms. On the other hand, universal results from atomic physics should have an impact on certain limits of the nuclear domain. In particular, with advances in the trapping of few-body atomic systems we expect a more direct exchange of ideas and results.
We investigate the Bose-Einstein condensation of fermionic pairs in three different superfluid systems: ultracold and dilute atomic gases, bulk neutron matter, and neutron stars. In the case of dilute gases made of fermionic atoms the average distance between atoms is much larger than the effective radius of the inter-atomic potential. Here the condensation of fermionic pairs is analyzed as a function of the s-wave scattering length, which can be tuned in experiments by using the technique of Feshbach resonances from a small and negative value (corresponding to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) regime of Cooper Fermi pairs) to a small and positive value (corresponding to the regime of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of molecular dimers), crossing the unitarity regime where the scattering length diverges. In the case of bulk neutron matter the s-wave scattering length of neutron-neutron potential is negative but fixed, and the condensate fraction of neutron-neutron pairs is studied as a function of the total neutron density. Our results clearly show a BCS-quasiunitary-BCS crossover by increasing the neutron density. Finally, in the case of neutron stars, where again the neutron-neutron scattering length is negative and fixed, we determine the condensate fraction as a function of the distance from the center of the neutron star, finding that the maximum condensate fraction appears in the crust of the neutron star.