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arXiv:cond-mat/0502534 · Physical Review A

Universality in phase transitions for ultracold fermionic atoms

Sebastian Diehl, CHRISTOF WETTERICH

Published Mar 17, 2006• 51 citations
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Abstract

We describe the gas of ultracold fermionic atoms by a functional integral for atom and molecule fields. The crossover from Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) to BCS-type superfluidity shows universal features in terms of a concentration parameter for the ratio between scattering length and average interatomic distance. We discuss the relevance of the Yukawa coupling between atoms and molecules, establish an exact narrow resonance limit, and show that renormalized quantities are independent of the Yukawa coupling for the broad resonance and BCS and BEC limits. Within our functional integral formalism we compute the atom scattering in vacuum and the molecular binding energy. This connects the universal concentration parameter to the magnetic field of a given experiment. Beyond mean-field theory we include the fluctuations of the molecule field and the renormalization effects for the atom-molecule coupling. We find excellent agreement with the observed fraction of bare molecules in $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ and qualitative agreement with the condensate fraction in $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ and $^{40}\mathrm{K}$. In addition to the phase diagram and condensate fraction we compute the correlation length for molecules, the in-medium scattering length for molecules and atoms, and the sound velocity.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.73.033615

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We describe the gas of ultracold fermionic atoms by a functional integral for atom and molecule fields. The crossover from Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) to BCS-type superfluidity shows universal features in terms of a concentration parameter for the ratio between scattering length and average interatomic distance. We discuss the relevance of the Yukawa coupling between atoms and molecules, establish an exact narrow resonance limit, and show that renormalized quantities are independent of the Yukawa coupling for the broad resonance and BCS and BEC limits. Within our functional integral formalism we compute the atom scattering in vacuum and the molecular binding energy. This connects the universal concentration parameter to the magnetic field of a given experiment. Beyond mean-field theory we include the fluctuations of the molecule field and the renormalization effects for the atom-molecule coupling. We find excellent agreement with the observed fraction of bare molecules in 6Li^{6}\mathrm{Li}6Li and qualitative agreement with the condensate fraction in 6Li^{6}\mathrm{Li}6Li and 40K^{40}\mathrm{K}40K. In addition to the phase diagram and condensate fraction we compute the correlation length for molecules, the in-medium scattering length for molecules and atoms, and the sound velocity.
A functional renormalization-group study for the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)-BCS crossover for ultracold gases of fermionic atoms is presented. We discuss the fixed point which is at the origin of universality for broad Feshbach resonances. All macroscopic quantities depend only on one relevant parameter, the concentration akFa{k}_{\mathrm{F}}akF​, besides their dependence on the temperature in units of the Fermi energy. In particular, we compute the universal ratio between molecular and atomic scattering length in vacuum. We also present an estimate to which level of accuracy universality holds for gases of Li and K atoms.
The continuous crossover between a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-type superfluid of fermion pairs and a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of tightly bound bosonic molecules can be attributed to the spontaneous breaking of global U(1)U(1)U(1) gauge symmetry which underlies both quantum condensation phenomena. Recently much attention has been paid to this problem, since Feshbach resonances allow for an experimental implementation of crossover physics in cold fermion gases. The strong interactions close to resonance call for an analysis beyond Mean Field Theory. We develop a systematic functional integral approach for the description of this phenomenon. Starting from a Yukawa-type atom-molecule model, a symmetry analysis allows to both construct the equation of state and to classify the thermodynamic phases in a unified way. The onset of superfluidity is signalled by the emergence of a massless Goldstone mode associated with the broken continuous U(1) symmetry. Beyond Mean Field, we include fluctuations of the molecule field self-consistently via the solution of suitable Schwinger-Dyson equations. The phase diagram is computed, and a variety of universal features are established. A new form of crossover from an exactly solvable narrow resonance limit to broad resonances or pointlike interactions is found. At low temperature our results agree well with quantum Monte Carlo simulations and recent experiments. Our approach is further developed in the frame of functional renormalization group equations. While the effective bosonic theory in the BEC regime shows the characteristics of a Bogoliubov theory for small temperatures, the phase transition is of second order.
Abstract The phase transition to superfluidity and the BCS‐BEC crossover for an ultracold gas of fermionic atoms is discussed within a functional renormalization group approach. Non‐perturbative flow equations, based on an exact renormalization group equation, describe the scale dependence of the flowing or average action. They interpolate continuously from the microphysics at atomic or molecular distance scales to the macroscopic physics at much larger length scales, as given by the interparticle distance, the correlation length, or the size of the experimental probe. We discuss the phase diagram as a function of the scattering length and the temperature and compute the gap, the correlation length and the scattering length for molecules. Close to the critical temperature, we find the expected universal behavior. Our approach allows for a description of the few‐body physics (scattering and molecular binding) and the many‐body physics within the same formalism.
We review the functional renormalization group (RG) approach to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer to Bose-Einstein condensation (BCS-BEC) crossover for an ultracold gas of fermionic atoms. Formulated in terms of a scale-dependent effective action, the functional RG interpolates continuously between the atomic or molecular microphysics and the macroscopic physics on large length scales. We concentrate on the discussion of the phase diagram as a function of the scattering length and the temperature, which is a paradigm example for the non-perturbative power of the functional RG. A systematic derivative expansion provides for both a description of the many-body physics and its expected universal features as well as an accurate account of the few-body physics and the associated BEC and BCS limits.
We address the finite temperature phase diagram of ultracold fermionic atoms across a Feshbach resonance based on a functional integral for an atom-molecule model. This allows to fully exploit the presence of the global symmetry of phase rotations, U(1). Both the equation of state and the classification of the thermodynamic phases are obtained from a symmetry consideration. We focus on the universal aspects associated to narrow and broad resonances, in turn connected by an additional form of crossover. The narrow resonance limit can be solved exactly above the critical temperature. We also assess deviations from the broad resonance universality which have recently been probed experimentally.
We review the functional renormalization group (RG) approach to the BCS-BEC crossover for an ultracold gas of fermionic atoms. Formulated in terms of a scale-dependent effective action, the functional RG interpolates continuously between the atomic or molecular microphysics and the macroscopic physics on large length scales. We concentrate on the discussion of the phase diagram as a function of the scattering length and the temperature which is a paradigm example for the non-perturbative power of the functional RG. A systematic derivative expansion provides for both a description of the many-body physics and its expected universal features as well as an accurate account of the few-body physics and the associated BEC and BCS limits.