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Title: Topological p{sub x}+ip{sub y} superfluid phase of fermionic polar molecules

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
;  [1];  [2]
  1. T.C.M. Group, University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory, J.J. Thomson Ave., Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom)
  2. Laboratoire de Physique Theorique et Modeles Statistiques, CNRS and Universite Paris Sud, UMR8626, 91405 Orsay (France)

We discuss the topological p{sub x}+ip{sub y} superfluid phase in a two-dimensional (2D) gas of single-component fermionic polar molecules dressed by a circularly polarized microwave field. This phase emerges because the molecules may interact with each other via a potential V{sub 0}(r) that has an attractive dipole-dipole 1/r{sup 3} tail, which provides p-wave superfluid pairing at fairly high temperatures. We calculate the amplitude of elastic p-wave scattering in the potential V{sub 0}(r) taking into account both the anomalous scattering due to the dipole-dipole tail and the short-range contribution. This amplitude is then used for the analytical and numerical solution of the renormalized BCS gap equation which includes the second-order Gor'kov-Melik-Barkhudarov corrections and the correction related to the effective mass of the quasiparticles. We find that the critical temperature T{sub c} can be varied within a few orders of magnitude by modifying the short-range part of the potential V{sub 0}(r). The decay of the system via collisional relaxation of molecules to dressed states with lower energies is rather slow due to the necessity of a large momentum transfer. The presence of a constant transverse electric field reduces the inelastic rate, and the lifetime of the system can be of the order of seconds even at 2D densities {approx}10{sup 9} cm{sup -2}. This leads to T{sub c} of up to a few tens of nanokelvins and makes it realistic to obtain the topological p{sub x}+ip{sub y} phase in experiments with ultracold polar molecules.

OSTI ID:
22051344
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 84, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English