We present the results of a variational calculation of the frequencies of the low-lying Landau two-fluid hydrodynamic modes in a trapped Fermi superfluid gas at unitarity. Landau's two-fluid hydrodynamics is expected to be the correct theory of Fermi superfluids at finite temperatures close to unitarity, where strong interactions give rise to collisional hydrodynamics. Two-fluid hydrodynamics predicts the existence of in-phase modes in which the superfluid and normal fluid components oscillate together, as well as out-of-phase modes where the two components move against each other. We prove that, at unitarity, the dipole and breathing in-phase modes are locally isentropic. Their frequencies are independent of temperature and are the same above and below the superfluid transition, a feature due as much to the harmonic trapping potential as to the thermodynamic properties at unitarity. The out-of-phase modes, in contrast, are strongly dependent on temperature and hence can be used to test the thermodynamic properties and superfluid density of a Fermi gas at unitarity. We give numerical results for the frequencies of these modes as function of temperature in an isotropic trap at unitarity.We present the results of a variational calculation of the frequencies of the low-lying Landau two-fluid hydrodynamic modes in a trapped Fermi superfluid gas at unitarity. Landau's two-fluid hydrodynamics is expected to be the correct theory of Fermi superfluids at finite temperatures close to unitarity, where strong interactions give rise to collisional hydrodynamics. Two-fluid hydrodynamics predicts the existence of in-phase modes in which the superfluid and normal fluid components oscillate together, as well as out-of-phase modes where the two components move against each other. We prove that, at unitarity, the dipole and breathing in-phase modes are locally isentropic. Their frequencies are independent of temperature and are the same above and below the superfluid transition, a feature due as much to the harmonic trapping potential as to the thermodynamic properties at unitarity. The out-of-phase modes, in contrast, are strongly dependent on temperature and hence can be used to test the thermodynamic properties and superfluid density of a Fermi gas at unitarity. We give numerical results for the frequencies of these modes as function of temperature in an isotropic trap at unitarity.

arXiv:0711.0561Physical Review AMar 7, 200829 citations

Two-fluid hydrodynamic modes in a trapped superfluid gas

Edward Taylor, Adam Griffin

In the collisional region at finite temperatures, the collective modes of superfluids are described by the Landau two-fluid hydrodynamic equations. This region can now be probed over the entire BCS--Bose-Einstein-condensate crossover in trapped Fermi superfluids with a Feshbach resonance, including the unitarity region. Building on the approach initiated by Zaremba, Nikuni, and Griffin in 1999 for trapped atomic Bose gases, we present a variational formulation of two-fluid hydrodynamic collective modes based on the work of Zilsel in 1950 developed for superfluid helium. Assuming a simple variational Ansatz for the superfluid and normal fluid velocities, the frequencies of the hydrodynamic modes are given by solutions of coupled algebraic equations, with constants only involving spatial integrals over various equilibrium thermodynamic derivatives. This variational approach is both simpler and more physical than a direct attempt to solve the Landau two-fluid differential equations. Our two-fluid results are shown to reduce to those of Pitaevskii and Stringari for a pure superfluid at $T=0$ .In the collisional region at finite temperatures, the collective modes of superfluids are described by the Landau two-fluid hydrodynamic equations. This region can now be probed over the entire BCS--Bose-Einstein-condensate crossover in trapped Fermi superfluids with a Feshbach resonance, including the unitarity region. Building on the approach initiated by Zaremba, Nikuni, and Griffin in 1999 for trapped atomic Bose gases, we present a variational formulation of two-fluid hydrodynamic collective modes based on the work of Zilsel in 1950 developed for superfluid helium. Assuming a simple variational Ansatz for the superfluid and normal fluid velocities, the frequencies of the hydrodynamic modes are given by solutions of coupled algebraic equations, with constants only involving spatial integrals over various equilibrium thermodynamic derivatives. This variational approach is both simpler and more physical than a direct attempt to solve the Landau two-fluid differential equations. Our two-fluid results are shown to reduce to those of Pitaevskii and Stringari for a pure superfluid at $T=0$.

arXiv:cond-mat/0509040Physical Review ANov 23, 200541 citations

T=0