Andre Schirotzek

Vortices and superfluidity in a strongly interacting Fermi gas

Quantum degenerate Fermi gases provide a remarkable opportunity to study strongly interacting fermions. In contrast to other Fermi systems, such as superconductors, neutron stars or the quark-gluon plasma of the early Universe, these gases have low densities and their interactions can be precisely controlled over an enormous range. Previous experiments with Fermi gases have revealed condensation of fermion pairs. Although these and other studies were consistent with predictions assuming superfluidity, proof of superfluid behaviour has been elusive. Here we report observations of vortex lattices in a strongly interacting, rotating Fermi gas that provide definitive evidence for superfluidity. The interaction and therefore the pairing strength between two 6Li fermions near a Feshbach resonance can be controlled by an external magnetic field. This allows us to explore the crossover from a Bose–Einstein condensate of molecules to a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superfluid of loosely bound pairs. The crossover is associated with a new form of superfluidity that may provide insights into high-transition-temperature superconductors.

Fermionic Superfluidity with Imbalanced Spin Populations

We established superfluidity in a two-state mixture of ultracold fermionic atoms with imbalanced state populations. This study relates to the long-standing debate about the nature of the superfluid state in Fermi systems. Indicators for superfluidity were condensates of fermion pairs and vortices in rotating clouds. For strong interactions, near a Feshbach resonance, superfluidity was observed for a broad range of population imbalances. We mapped out the superfluid regime as a function of interaction strength and population imbalance and characterized the quantum phase transition to the normal state, known as the Pauli limit of superfluidity.

Observation of Phase Separation in a Strongly-Interacting Imbalanced Fermi Gas

We have observed phase separation between the superfluid and the normal component in a strongly interacting Fermi gas with imbalanced spin populations. The in situ distribution of the density difference between two trapped spin components is obtained using phase-contrast imaging and 3D image reconstruction. A shell structure is clearly identified where the superfluid region of equal densities is surrounded by a normal gas of unequal densities. The phase transition induces a dramatic change in the density profiles as excess fermions are expelled from the superfluid.

Phase diagram of a two-component Fermi gas with resonant interactions.

The pairing of fermions lies at the heart of superconductivity and superfluidity. The stability of these pairs determines the robustness of the superfluid state, and the quest for superconductors with high critical temperature equates to a search for systems with strong pairing mechanisms. Ultracold atomic Fermi gases present a highly controllable model system for studying strongly interacting fermions. Tunable interactions (through Feshbach collisional resonances) and the control of population or mass imbalance among the spin components provide unique opportunities to investigate the stability of pairing—and possibly to search for exotic forms of superfluidity. A major controversy has surrounded the stability of superfluidity against an imbalance between the two spin components when the fermions interact resonantly (that is, at unitarity). Here we present the phase diagram of a spin-polarized Fermi gas of 6Li atoms at unitarity, experimentally mapping out the superfluid phases versus temperature and density imbalance. Using tomographic techniques, we reveal spatial discontinuities in the spin polarization; this is the signature of a first-order superfluid-to-normal phase transition, and disappears at a tricritical point where the nature of the phase transition changes from first-order to second-order. At zero temperature, there is a quantum phase transition from a fully paired superfluid to a partially polarized normal gas. These observations and the implementation of an in situ ideal gas thermometer provide quantitative tests of theoretical calculations on the stability of resonant superfluidity.

Direct observation of the superfluid phase transition in ultracold Fermi gases.

Phase transitions are dramatic phenomena: water freezes into ice, atomic spins spontaneously align in a magnet, and liquid helium becomes superfluid. Sometimes, such a drastic change in behaviour is accompanied by a visible change in appearance. The hallmark of Bose–Einstein condensation and superfluidity in trapped, weakly interacting Bose gases is the sudden formation of a dense central core inside a thermal cloud. However, in strongly interacting gases—such as the recently observed fermionic superfluids—there is no longer a clear separation between the superfluid and the normal parts of the cloud. The detection of fermion pair condensates has required magnetic field sweeps into the weakly interacting regime, and the quantitative description of these sweeps presents a major theoretical challenge. Here we report the direct observation of the superfluid phase transition in a strongly interacting gas of 6Li fermions, through sudden changes in the shape of the clouds—in complete analogy to the case of weakly interacting Bose gases. By preparing unequal mixtures of the two spin components involved in the pairing, we greatly enhance the contrast between the superfluid core and the normal component. Furthermore, the distribution of non-interacting excess atoms serves as a direct and reliable thermometer. Even in the normal state, strong interactions significantly deform the density profile of the majority spin component. We show that it is these interactions that drive the normal-to-superfluid transition at the critical population imbalance of 70 ± 5 per cent (ref. 12).

Quantum reflection from a solid surface at normal incidence

We observed quantum reflection of ultracold atoms from the attractive potential of a solid surface. Extremely dilute Bose-Einstein condensates of 23Na, with peak density 10(11)-10(12) atoms/cm(3), confined in a weak gravitomagnetic trap were normally incident on a silicon surface. Reflection probabilities of up to 20% were observed for incident velocities of 1-8 mm/s. The velocity dependence agrees qualitatively with the prediction for quantum reflection from the attractive Casimir-Polder potential. Atoms confined in a harmonic trap divided in half by a solid surface exhibited extended lifetime due to quantum reflection from the surface, implying a reflection probability above 50%.

Determination of the Superfluid Gap in Atomic Fermi Gases by Quasiparticle Spectroscopy

We present majority and minority radio frequency spectra of strongly interacting imbalanced Fermi gases of 6Li. We observed a smooth evolution in the nature of pairing correlations from pairing in the superfluid region to polaron binding in the highly polarized normal region. The imbalance induces quasiparticles in the superfluid region even at very low temperature. This leads to a local bimodal spectral response, which allowed us to determine the superfluid gap Delta and the Hartree energy U.

Pairing Without Superfluidity: The Ground State of an Imbalanced Fermi Mixture

We used radio-frequency spectroscopy to study pairing in the normal and superfluid phases of a strongly interacting Fermi gas with imbalanced spin populations. At high spin imbalances, the system does not become superfluid even at zero temperature. In this normal phase, full pairing of the minority atoms was observed. Hence, mismatched Fermi surfaces do not prevent pairing but can quench the superfluid state, thus realizing a system of fermion pairs that do not condense even at the lowest temperature.

Tomographic rf spectroscopy of a trapped Fermi gas at unitarity.

We present spatially resolved radio-frequency spectroscopy of a trapped Fermi gas with resonant interactions and observe a spectral gap at low temperatures. The spatial distribution of the spectral response of the trapped gas is obtained using in situ phase-contrast imaging and 3D image reconstruction. At the lowest temperature, the homogeneous rf spectrum shows an asymmetric excitation line shape with a peak at 0.48(4)epsilonF with respect to the free atomic line, where epsilonF is the local Fermi energy.

Distillation of Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Double-Well Potential

Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium atoms, prepared in an optical dipole trap, were distilled into a second empty dipole trap adjacent to the first one. The distillation was driven by thermal atoms spilling over the potential barrier separating the two wells and then forming a new condensate. This process serves as a model system for metastability in condensates, provides a test for quantum kinetic theories of condensate formation, and also represents a novel technique for creating or replenishing condensates in new locations.