Acoustic Attenuation Probe for Fermion Superfluidity in Ultracold-Atom Gases

Journal Article · Fri Mar 16 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.98.110407· OSTI ID:20957739

Gaudio, Sergio ^[1]; Mihaila, Bogdan; Blagoev, Krastan B; Timmermans, Eddy ^[2]; Bedell, Kevin S ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02167 (United States)
2. Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

Dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC's), currently used to cool fermionic atoms in atom traps, can also probe the superfluidity of these fermions. The damping rate of BEC-acoustic excitations (phonon modes), measured in the middle of the trap as a function of the phonon momentum, yields an unambiguous signature of BCS-like superfluidity, provides a measurement of the superfluid gap parameter, and gives an estimate of the size of the Cooper pairs in the BEC-BCS crossover regime. We also predict kinks in the momentum dependence of the damping rate which can reveal detailed information about the fermion quasiparticle dispersion relation.

• OSTI ID: 20957739
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 98; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATOMS
ATTENUATION
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
COOPER PAIRS
DAMPING
DISPERSION RELATIONS
EXCITATION
FERMIONS
GASES
PHONONS
SUPERFLUIDITY
TRAPS