This thesis deals with systems of interacting particles with very low energy in the limit where the particle-particle scattering is much larger than the range of the interactions. We use a quantum-field-theory approach which allows us to study both few-body and dense-matter systems in a unified framework. This allows to introduce composite fields of two and three particles (when appropriate). The quantum corrections are calculated nonperturbatively with the Functional RenormalisationGroup.We deal with three types of systems. First we study systems with three and four scalar particles. For three-particle systems our framework describes the Efimov effect. During the FRG flow in the scaling limit, the four-particle system has an infinite sequence of (unphysical) four-particle states on top of each Efimov trimer. This is a case of super Efimov behaviour. Three of these four-particle states survive to the physical limit. Two of these three states have been found in exact quantum-mechanical calculations, and have also been observed in gases of ultracold atoms.Next, this thesis studies systems of three and four spin-1/2 particles. In the scaling limit, we find attractive fixed points for the three- and four-particle systems. Out of the scaling limit, we study atom-molecule scattering and molecule-molecule scattering, in particular their scattering length. Finally, we study dense-matter systems of spin-1/2 particles. This calculation includes all the two-, three-, and four-particle interactions. These systems show spontaneous symmetry breaking: the two-particle field has a finite classical value. We find the value of the atom gap in units of the chemical potential.

Jun 10, 20151 citation

Efimov Trimers under Strong Confinement

Jesper Levinsen, Pietro Massignan, Parish, MM

The dimensionality of a system can fundamentally impact the behavior of interacting quantum particles. Classic examples range from the fractional quantum Hall effect to high-temperature superconductivity. As a general rule, one expects confinement to favor the binding of particles. However, attractively interacting bosons apparently defy this expectation: While three identical bosons in three dimensions can support an infinite tower of Efimov trimers, only two universal trimers exist in the two-dimensional case. Here, we reveal how these two limits are connected by investigating the problem of three identical bosons confined by a harmonic potential along one direction. We show that the confinement breaks the discrete Efimov scaling symmetry and successively destroys the weakest bound trimers. However, the deepest bound trimers persist even under strong confinement. In particular, the ground-state Efimov trimer hybridizes with the two-dimensional trimers, yielding a superposition of trimer configurations that effectively involves tunneling through a short-range repulsive barrier. Our results suggest a way to use strong confinement to engineer more stable Efimov-like trimers, which have so far proved elusive.

Jul 31, 201428 citations