transition, critical parameters Abstract Strongly interacting Fermi gases provide a clean and controllable laboratory system for modeling strong interparticle interactions between fermions in nature, from high temperature superconductors to neutron matter and quark-gluon plasmas. Model-independent thermodynamic measurements, which do not require theoretical models for calibrations, are very important for exploring this important system experimentally, as they enable direct tests of predictions based on the best current non-perturbative many-body theories. At Duke University, we use all-optical methods to produce a strongly interacting Fermi gas of spin-1/2-up and spin-1/2-down 6 Li atoms that is magnetically tuned near a collisional (Feshbach) resonance. We conduct a series of measurements on the thermodynamic properties of this unique quantum gas, including the energy E, entropy S, and sound velocity c. Our model-independent measurements of E and S enable a precision study of the finite temperature thermodynamics. The E(S) data are directly compared to several recent predictions. The temperature in both the superfluid and normal fluid
transition, critical parameters Abstract Strongly interacting Fermi gases provide a clean and controllable laboratory system for modeling strong interparticle interactions between fermions in nature, from high temperature superconductors to neutron matter and quark-gluon plasmas. Model-independent thermodynamic measurements, which do not require theoretical models for calibrations, are very important for exploring this important system experimentally, as they enable direct tests of predictions based on the best current non-perturbative many-body theories. At Duke University, we use all-optical methods to produce a strongly interacting Fermi gas of spin-1/2-up and spin-1/2-down 6 Li atoms that is magnetically tuned near a collisional (Feshbach) resonance. We conduct a series of measurements on the thermodynamic properties of this unique quantum gas, including the energy E, entropy S, and sound velocity c. Our model-independent measurements of E and S enable a precision study of the finite temperature thermodynamics. The E(S) data are directly compared to several recent predictions. The temperature in both the superfluid and normal fluid
The quantum many-body problem is at the heart of some of the most formidable open problems in modern physics, such as high-Tc superconductivity or the behaviour of neutron stars. Ultracold atomic systems can now be used to simulate model Hamiltonians of condensed matter or nuclear physics, in very well-controlled environnement. In this thesis, we have developed a general method to probe the thermodynamics of homogeneous quantum systems using trapped atomic gases. These measurements are directly compared to the predictions of theories of the quantum many-body problem. We have applied this technique to the spin-1/2 Fermi gas and the Bose with short-range interactions. Using fermionic 6Li, we explored a part of the wide parameter space by changing the interaction strength, the spin-population imbalance or the temperature of the gas. This system exhibits remarkably rich physics, such as normal/superfluid phase transitions (that can be of thermal or quantum character) or a Fermi liquid-type behaviour of the normal phase. We have also used this method to probe a Bose gas of 7Li atoms close to a Feshbach resonance. We have measured the Equation of State of the Bose gas as a function of interactions at very low temperature. For the first time, we measured quantitatively the Lee-Huang-Yang beyond mean-field correction to the ground-state energy of the system, first predicted in 1957. We compared the experimental results to Quantum Monte-Carlo calculations. We have extended this study using out-of-equilibrium measurements of the Bose gas in the strongly interacting regime, which gives a first hint on the properties of the hypothetical unitary Bose gas.
Strongly interacting, dilute Fermi gases exhibit a scale-invariant, universal thermodynamic behavior. This is notoriously difficult to understand theoretically because of the absence of a small interaction parameter. Here, we present a systematic comparison of theoretical predictions from different quantum many-body theories with recent experimental data of Nascimbne et al (2010 Nature 463 1057). Our comparisons have no adjustable parameters, either theoretically or experimentally. All the model approximations seem to fluctuate rather than converge on the experimental data. It turns out that a simple Gaussian pair fluctuation theory gives the best quantitative agreement, except at the critical superfluid transition region. In the normal state, we also calculate the equation of state by using a quantum cluster expansion theory and explore in detail its applicability to low temperatures. Using the accurate experimental result for the thermodynamic function S ( T ), we determine the temperature T of a trapped Fermi gas at unitarity as a function of a non-interacting temperature T i , which can be obtained by an adiabatic sweep to the free gas limit. By analyzing the recent experimental data, we find a characteristic temperature ( T / T F ) 0 =0.19±0.02 or ( T i / T F ) 0 =0.16±0.02 in a harmonic trap, below which there are deviations from normal Fermi-liquid-like behavior that may be attributed to pairing effects. Here, T F is the Fermi temperature for a trapped ideal, non-interacting Fermi gas. Our thorough comparison may shed light on the further theoretical development of strongly interacting fermions.
We study the properties of an optically‐trapped, Fermi gas of 6Li atoms, near the center of a broad Feshbach resonance, where strong interactions are observed. Strongly interacting Fermi gases exhibit universal behavior, and are of interest as models of exotic systems ranging from high temperature superconductors to neutron stars and quark‐gluon plasmas. We measure the frequency and damping rate of the radial breathing mode of the trapped gas and consider quantum viscosity as a damping mechanism. We also demonstrate that the virial theorem holds and measure the heat capacity. In the experiments, energy is precisely added to the gas and an empirical temperature is determined from the spatial profiles of the cloud. Transitions are observed in both the damping rate and the heat capacity, measured as functions of the empirical temperature. Recent theory, using a pseudogap formalism, enables the first temperature calibration, and shows that the observed transition temperatures are close to that predicted for the onset of superfluidity in a strongly attractive Fermi gas.
Strongly interacting gases of ultracold fermions have become an amazingly rich test-bed for many-body theories of fermionic matter. Here we present our recent experiments on these systems. Firstly, we discuss high-precision measurements on the thermodynamics of a strongly interacting Fermi gas across the superfluid transition. The onset of superfluidity is directly observed in the compressibility, the chemical potential, the entropy, and the heat capacity. Our measurements provide benchmarks for current many-body theories on strongly interacting fermions. Secondly, we have studied the evolution of fermion pairing from three to two dimensions in these gases, relating to the physics of layered superconductors. In the presence of p-wave interactions, Fermi gases are predicted to display toplogical superfluidity carrying Majorana edge states. Two possible avenues in this direction are discussed, our creation and direct observation of spin-orbit coupling in Fermi gases and the creation of fermionic molecules of 23Na 40K that will feature strong dipolar interactions in their absolute ground state.
Fermi gases, collections of fermions such as neutrons and electrons, are found throughout nature, from solids to neutron stars. Interacting Fermi gases can form a superfluid or, for charged fermions, a superconductor. We have observed the superfluid phase transition in a strongly interacting Fermi gas by high-precision measurements of the local compressibility, density, and pressure. Our data completely determine the universal thermodynamics of these gases without any fit or external thermometer. The onset of superfluidity is observed in the compressibility, the chemical potential, the entropy, and the heat capacity, which displays a characteristic lambda-like feature at the critical temperature T(c)/T(F) = 0.167(13). The ground-state energy is 3/5ξN E(F) with ξ = 0.376(4). Our measurements provide a benchmark for many-body theories of strongly interacting fermions.
We will present recent experimental work on the thermodynamics of strongly interacting Fermi gases. We have developed a general method to probe with high precision the Equation of State (EoS) of locally homogeneous ultracold gases. This allows stringent tests of recent many-body theories. First, we focus on the finite-temperature EoS of the unpolarized unitary gas. Precise thermometry is provided by adding to the Fermi gas of 6Li a trace of bosonic 7Li. We show that the low-temperature properties of the strongly interacting normal phase are well described by Fermi liquid theory and we localize the superfluid transition. Second, we address the zero-temperature EoS of the spin-polarized system in the BEC-BCS crossover. Surprisingly, despite strong interactions, the polarized phase behaves as a mixture of two ideal gases: a Fermi gas of majority atoms and a non-interacting gas of dressed quasi-particles, the Fermi polarons. We also obtain the equation of state of the superfluid state as a function of interaction strength, that we compare to Monte Carlo simulations and to the Lee-Huang-Yang corrections for low-density bosonic and fermionic superfluids.