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arXiv:cond-mat/0502110 · Physical Review Letters

Density and Spin Response Functions in Ultracold Fermionic Atom Gases

Bogdan Mihaila, S. Gaudio, Krastan B. Blagoev, Alexander V. Balatsky, P. B. Littlewood, Darryl Lyle Smith

Published Aug 25, 2005• 13 citations
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Abstract

We propose a new method of detecting the onset of superfluidity in a two-component ultracold fermionic gas of atoms governed by an attractive short-range interaction. By studying the two-body correlation functions we find that a measurement of the momentum distribution of the density and spin-response functions allows one to access separately the normal and anomalous densities. The change in sign at low momentum transfer of the normal-ordered part of the density response function signals the transition between a BEC and a BCS regime, characterized by small and large pairs, respectively. This change in sign of the density response function represents an unambiguous signature of the BEC-to-BCS crossover. Spin rotational symmetry breaking due to the magnetic field, if observed, can be used to validate the one-channel model.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.95.090402

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We propose a new method of detecting the onset of superfluidity in a two-component ultracold fermionic gas of atoms governed by an attractive short-range interaction. By studying the two-body correlation functions we find that a measurement of the momentum distribution of the density and spin-response functions allows one to access separately the normal and anomalous densities. The change in sign at low momentum transfer of the normal-ordered part of the density response function signals the transition between a BEC and a BCS regime, characterized by small and large pairs, respectively. This change in sign of the density response function represents an unambiguous signature of the BEC-to-BCS crossover. Spin rotational symmetry breaking due to the magnetic field, if observed, can be used to validate the one-channel model.
Finding the distinct features of the crossover from the regime of large overlapping Cooper pairs to the limit of non-overlapping pairs of fermions (Shafroth pairs) in multi-component Fermi systems remains a topical problem in a quantum many-body theory. Here this transition is studied by calculating the two-body density, spin and isospin correlation functions in dilute two-component Fermi superfluid, taking as an example an infinite system of protons and neutrons (nuclear matter). It is shown that criterion of the crossover [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 090402 (2005)], formulated for ultracold fermionic atomic gases and consisting in the change of the sign of the density correlation function at low momentum transfer, fails to describe correctly the density-driven BEC–BCS transition at finite isospin asymmetry or finite temperature. As an unambiguous signature of the BEC–BCS transition, one can use the presence (BCS regime) or absence (BEC regime) of the singularity in the momentum distribution of the quasiparticle density of states.
Ultracold atomic Fermi gases close to Feshbach resonances represent the ideal platform to study strongly correlated fermionic states [1]. Up to now, most of the experimental efforts have been dedicated to the study of the famous BEC-BCS crossover, i.e. the transition from a Bose-Einstein condensate of tightly bound molecules to a BCS superfluid of long-range fermion pairs. However, such fermionic gases are the ideal environment to explore also the effects of strong, repulsive interactions. The interest in studying repulsive Fermi gases is manifold, since many phase transitions are driven by the strong repulsion between electrons in solids. One notable example is represented by the onset of itinerant ferromagnetism in metals, as envisioned by Stoner almost ninety years ago.
In our recent experiments at MIT, superfluidity has been observed in a strongly interacting atomic Fermi gas. These systems constitute a novel form of matter with model character: One can vary the temperature, density and dimensionality, the number of “spin up” versus “spin down” fermions, and, most remarkably, the interactions can be precisely controlled over an enormous range. This allows to study the crossover of a Bose-Einstein condensate of tightly bound molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superfluid of long-range Cooper pairs. Superfluidity in this crossover regime is demonstrated by setting the gas under rotation and observing ordered lattices of quantized vortices [1]. Thanks to its strong interactions, the gas is a high-temperature superfluid: Scaled to the density of electrons in a metal, superfluidity would occur already far above room temperature. A new regime is entered when the number of spin up versus spin down atoms is imbalanced. In this case, not every spin up atom can find a spin down partner. The ground state of such a system has been under debate for over 40 years. We observe the breakdown of superfluidity at a critical imbalance, the Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit [2]. The superfluid gives way to an intriguing, strongly-interacting Fermi gas with unequal spin populations [3, 4].
Ultracold atomic gases are a powerful tool to experimentally study strongly correlated quantum many-body systems. In particular, ultracold Fermi gases with tunable interactions have allowed to realize the famous BEC-BCS crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of molecules to a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluid of weakly bound Cooper pairs. However, large parts of the excitation spectrum of fermionic superfluids in the BEC-BCS crossover are still unexplored. In this work, we use Bragg spectroscopy to measure the full momentum-resolved low-energy excitation spectrum of strongly interacting ultracold Fermi gases. This enables us to directly observe the smooth transformation from a bosonic to a fermionic superfluid that takes place in the BEC-BCS crossover. We also use our spectra to determine the evolution of the superfluid gap and find excellent agreement with previous experiments and self-consistent T-matrix calculations both in the BEC and crossover regime. However, toward the BCS regime a calculation that includes the effects of particle-hole correlations shows better agreement with our data.
Recent calculations with an effective isospin-dependent contact interaction show the possibility of the crossover from superfluidity of neutron Cooper pairs in the 1S0{^{1}\mathrm{S}}_{0}1S0​ pairing channel to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of di-neutron bound states in dilute nuclear matter. The density and spin correlation functions are calculated for a di-neutron condensate in asymmetric nuclear matter with the aim of finding the possible features of the BCS-BEC crossover. It is shown that the zero-momentum transfer spin correlation function satisfies the sum rule at zero temperature. In symmetric nuclear matter, the density correlation function changes sign at low momentum transfer across the BCS-BEC transition, and this feature can be considered as a signature of the crossover. At finite isospin asymmetry, this criterion gives too large a value for the critical asymmetry ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{c}^{d}~0.9$, at which the BEC state is quenched. Therefore, it can be trusted for the description of the density-driven BCS-BEC crossover of neutron pairs only at small isospin asymmetry. This result generalizes the conclusion of the study in Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 090402 (2005), where the change of sign of the density correlation function at low momentum transfer in two-component quantum fermionic atomic gas with the balanced populations of fermions of different species was considered as an unambiguous signature of the BCS-BEC transition.
The density, spin, and isospin correlation functions in nuclear matter with a neutron-proton condensate are calculated to study the possible signatures of the BEC-BCS crossover in the low-density region. It is shown that the criterion of the crossover (Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 , 090402 (2005)), consisting in the change of the sign of the density correlation function at low momentum transfer, fails to describe correctly the density-driven BEC-BCS transition at finite isospin asymmetry or finite temperature. The presence (BCS regime) or absence (BEC regime) of the singularity in the momentum distribution of the quasiparticle density of states can be used as an unambiguous signature of the BEC-BCS transition.