Path-integral mean-field description of the vortex state in the BEC-to-BCS crossover

Journal Article · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 2005 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.71.033631· OSTI ID:20650482

Tempere, J; Wouters, M; Devreese, J T ^[1]

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1. TFVS, Departement Fysica, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, B2610 Antwerpen (Belgium)

We derive a path-integral description of the vortex state of a fermionic superfluid in the crossover region between the molecular condensate (BEC) regime and the Cooper pairing (BCS) regime. This path-integral formalism, supplemented by a suitable choice for the saddle point value of the pairing field in the presence of a vortex, offers a unified description that encompasses both the BEC and BCS limits. The vortex core size is studied as a function of the tunable interaction strength between the fermionic atoms. We find that in the BEC regime, the core size is determined by the molecular healing length, whereas in the BCS regime, the core size is proportional only to the Fermi wavelength. The observation of such quantized vortices in dilute Fermi gases would provide an unambiguous proof of the realization of superfluidity in these gases.

• OSTI ID: 20650482
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 71; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
BCS THEORY
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
COOPER PAIRS
FERMI GAS
FERMIONS
LENGTH
MEAN-FIELD THEORY
PATH INTEGRALS
SUPERFLUIDITY
VORTICES