© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

Terms Privacy Legal Notice

Acta Physica Sinica

Density fluctuations and sub-Poisson distribution in the ultracold Fermi gas of 6Li

Juan Wang, Xiaotian Zhang, Zemao Wu, Shujin Deng, Haibin Wu

Published Jan 1, 2020• 0 citations

Abstract

In this paper, we study the spatial noise fluctuations of the density distribution of non-interacting 6Li ultracold Fermi gases. For ideal ultracold Fermi gases, the Fermi-Dirac statistics governs its quantum distribution. The suppression of density fluctuations at low temperature, due to Pauli exclusion principle, is observed in a large cloud of fermions. To clearly reveal the density noise fluctuations of the ideal Fermi gases, other noises, such as the background noise, imaging laser noise, CCD photon counting noise, are greatly suppressed. The noise fluctuation shows a sub-Poissonian statistics in excess of 10,000 atoms per spin state. The dependence of the spatial atom noise fluctuation on the quantum degeneracy is also investigated by changing the temperature of the degenerated Fermi gases. The Fermi gases with lower temperature exhibit larger suppression of the noise fluctuations. The results may have great applications in measuring the temperature of strongly correlated many-body physics and observing the phase transition of incompressible quantum phases.

DOI: 10.7498/aps.69.20200603

Related papers

Suppression of Density Fluctuations in a Quantum Degenerate Fermi Gas

Christian Sanner, Edward Su, Aviv Keshet +4 more

We study density profiles of an ideal Fermi gas and observe Pauli suppression of density fluctuations (atom shot noise) for cold clouds deep in the quantum degenerate regime. Strong suppression is observed for probe volumes containing more than 10 000 atoms. Measuring the level of suppression provides sensitive thermometry at low temperatures. After this method of sensitive noise measurements has been validated with an ideal Fermi gas, it can now be applied to characterize phase transitions in strongly correlated many-body systems.

arXiv:1005.1309•Physical Review Letters•Jul 19, 2010•112 citations

Local Observation of Antibunching in a Trapped Fermi Gas

Torben Müller, Bruno Zimmermann, Jakob Meineke +3 more

Local density fluctuations and density profiles of a Fermi gas are measured in situ and analyzed. In the quantum degenerate regime, the weakly interacting 6Li gas shows a suppression of the density fluctuations compared to the nondegenerate case, where atomic shot noise is observed. This manifestation of antibunching is a direct result of the Pauli principle and constitutes a local probe of quantum degeneracy. We analyze our data using the predictions of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the local density approximation, demonstrating a fluctuation-based temperature measurement.

arXiv:1005.0302•Physical Review Letters•Jul 19, 2010•101 citations

Suppressed fluctuations in Fermi gases

Christoph Ira Westbrook

Local density fluctuations and density profiles of a Fermi gas are measured in situ and analyzed.In the quantum degenerate regime, the weakly interacting 6 Li gas shows a suppression of the density fluctuations compared to the nondegenerate case, where atomic shot noise is observed.This manifestation of antibunching is a direct result of the Pauli principle and constitutes a local probe of quantum degeneracy.We analyze our data using the predictions of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the local density approximation, demonstrating a fluctuation-based temperature measurement.

Physics•Jul 19, 2010•9 citations

Density correlations in ultracold atomic Fermi gases

Wolfgang Belzig, Christian Schroll, Christoph Bruder

We investigate density fluctuations in a coherent ensemble of interacting fermionic atoms. Adapting the concept of full counting statistics, well known from quantum optics and mesoscopic electron transport, we study second-order as well as higher-order correlators of density fluctuations. Using the mean-field BCS state to describe the whole interval between the BCS limit and the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) limit, we obtain an exact expression for the cumulant-generating function of the density fluctuations of an atomic cloud. In the two-dimensional case, we obtain a closed analytical expression. Poissonian fluctuations of a molecular condensate on the BEC side are strongly suppressed on the BCS side. The size of the fluctuations in the BCS limit is a direct measure of the pairing potential. We also discuss the BEC-BCS crossover of the third cumulant and the temperature dependence of the second cumulant.

arXiv:cond-mat/0412269•Physical Review A•Jun 12, 2007•22 citations

Observation of Pauli blocking in light scattering from quantum degenerate fermions

Amita B. Deb, Niels Kjærgaard

The Pauli exclusion principle forbids indistinguishable fermions from occupying the same quantum mechanical state. The implications of this are profound; for example, it accounts for the electronic shell structure of atoms. Here, we performed measurements on the scattering of light from ultracold ensembles of atoms. For a Fermi gas in the quantum degenerate regime, we observed a marked suppression in scattering compared with a similarly prepared Bose gas. The observed decrease in fluorescence and the corresponding increase in light transmission results from Pauli blocking, where Fermi-Dirac statistics limits the number of accessible states for a scattering atom in a large Fermi sea. Our work confirms a fundamental result on the optical response of quantum gases and may contribute to cooling and thermometry schemes.

arXiv:2103.02319•Science•Nov 18, 2021•32 citations

Probing the Fermi Sea Topology in a Quantum Gas

Cyprien Daix, Pok Man Tam, Maxime Dixmerias +5 more

Pauli's exclusion principle forces fermions to occupy distinct quantum states, creating a filled region of momentum space at low temperature, the Fermi sea, whose topology governs the system's response to perturbations and the nature of its correlation functions. Recent theory predicts that for non-interacting fermions, the Euler characteristic of a $D$-dimensional Fermi sea -- the topological invariant that describes its shape -- is encoded in its ($D$+1)-point density correlations. Here we experimentally demonstrate this connection in a two-dimensional degenerate gas of neutral $^{6}$Li atoms using single-atom-resolved imaging. By measuring three- and four-point connected density correlations in real space, we directly extract topological invariants of the underlying Fermi sea, including the Euler characteristic. Our results are in remarkable agreement with ideal-gas predictions, despite the presence of sizeable interactions, and establish a new pathway for probing many-body topology through correlation measurements.

cond-mat.quant-gasCross-listedarXiv:2511.23353•Dec 1, 2025•0 citations

In this paper, we study the spatial noise fluctuations of the density distribution of non-interacting 6Li ultracold Fermi gases. For ideal ultracold Fermi gases, the Fermi-Dirac statistics governs its quantum distribution. The suppression of density fluctuations at low temperature, due to Pauli exclusion principle, is observed in a large cloud of fermions. To clearly reveal the density noise fluctuations of the ideal Fermi gases, other noises, such as the background noise, imaging laser noise, CCD photon counting noise, are greatly suppressed. The noise fluctuation shows a sub-Poissonian statistics in excess of 10,000 atoms per spin state. The dependence of the spatial atom noise fluctuation on the quantum degeneracy is also investigated by changing the temperature of the degenerated Fermi gases. The Fermi gases with lower temperature exhibit larger suppression of the noise fluctuations. The results may have great applications in measuring the temperature of strongly correlated many-body physics and observing the phase transition of incompressible quantum phases.

We study density profiles of an ideal Fermi gas and observe Pauli suppression of density fluctuations (atom shot noise) for cold clouds deep in the quantum degenerate regime. Strong suppression is observed for probe volumes containing more than 10 000 atoms. Measuring the level of suppression provides sensitive thermometry at low temperatures. After this method of sensitive noise measurements has been validated with an ideal Fermi gas, it can now be applied to characterize phase transitions in strongly correlated many-body systems.

Local density fluctuations and density profiles of a Fermi gas are measured in situ and analyzed. In the quantum degenerate regime, the weakly interacting 6Li gas shows a suppression of the density fluctuations compared to the nondegenerate case, where atomic shot noise is observed. This manifestation of antibunching is a direct result of the Pauli principle and constitutes a local probe of quantum degeneracy. We analyze our data using the predictions of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the local density approximation, demonstrating a fluctuation-based temperature measurement.

Local density fluctuations and density profiles of a Fermi gas are measured in situ and analyzed.In the quantum degenerate regime, the weakly interacting 6 Li gas shows a suppression of the density fluctuations compared to the nondegenerate case, where atomic shot noise is observed.This manifestation of antibunching is a direct result of the Pauli principle and constitutes a local probe of quantum degeneracy.We analyze our data using the predictions of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the local density approximation, demonstrating a fluctuation-based temperature measurement.

We investigate density fluctuations in a coherent ensemble of interacting fermionic atoms. Adapting the concept of full counting statistics, well known from quantum optics and mesoscopic electron transport, we study second-order as well as higher-order correlators of density fluctuations. Using the mean-field BCS state to describe the whole interval between the BCS limit and the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) limit, we obtain an exact expression for the cumulant-generating function of the density fluctuations of an atomic cloud. In the two-dimensional case, we obtain a closed analytical expression. Poissonian fluctuations of a molecular condensate on the BEC side are strongly suppressed on the BCS side. The size of the fluctuations in the BCS limit is a direct measure of the pairing potential. We also discuss the BEC-BCS crossover of the third cumulant and the temperature dependence of the second cumulant.

The Pauli exclusion principle forbids indistinguishable fermions from occupying the same quantum mechanical state. The implications of this are profound; for example, it accounts for the electronic shell structure of atoms. Here, we performed measurements on the scattering of light from ultracold ensembles of atoms. For a Fermi gas in the quantum degenerate regime, we observed a marked suppression in scattering compared with a similarly prepared Bose gas. The observed decrease in fluorescence and the corresponding increase in light transmission results from Pauli blocking, where Fermi-Dirac statistics limits the number of accessible states for a scattering atom in a large Fermi sea. Our work confirms a fundamental result on the optical response of quantum gases and may contribute to cooling and thermometry schemes.

Pauli's exclusion principle forces fermions to occupy distinct quantum states, creating a filled region of momentum space at low temperature, the Fermi sea, whose topology governs the system's response to perturbations and the nature of its correlation functions. Recent theory predicts that for non-interacting fermions, the Euler characteristic of a

D

-dimensional Fermi sea -- the topological invariant that describes its shape -- is encoded in its (

D

+1)-point density correlations. Here we experimentally demonstrate this connection in a two-dimensional degenerate gas of neutral

^{6}

Li atoms using single-atom-resolved imaging. By measuring three- and four-point connected density correlations in real space, we directly extract topological invariants of the underlying Fermi sea, including the Euler characteristic. Our results are in remarkable agreement with ideal-gas predictions, despite the presence of sizeable interactions, and establish a new pathway for probing many-body topology through correlation measurements.