Paul Dyke

Universal Behavior of Pair Correlations in a Strongly Interacting Fermi Gas

We show that short-range pair correlations in a strongly interacting Fermi gas follow a simple universal law described by Tans relations. This is achieved through measurements of the static structure factor which displays a universal scaling proportional to the ratio of Tans contact to the momentum C/q. Bragg spectroscopy of ultracold 6Li atoms from a periodic optical potential is used to measure the structure factor for a wide range of momenta and interaction strengths, providing broad confirmation of this universal law. We calibrate our Bragg spectra using the f-sum rule, which is found to improve the accuracy of the structure factor measurement.

Bragg spectroscopy of a strongly interacting Fermi gas.

We present a comprehensive study of the Bose-Einstein condensate to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BEC-BCS) crossover in fermionic 6Li using Bragg spectroscopy. A smooth transition from molecular to atomic spectra is observed with a clear signature of pairing at and above unitarity. These spectra probe the dynamic and static structure factors of the gas and provide a direct link to two-body correlations. We have characterized these correlations and measured their density dependence across the broad Feshbach resonance at 834 G.

Crossover From 2D to 3D in a Weakly Interacting Fermi Gas

We have studied the transition from two to three dimensions in a low temperature weakly interacting 6Li Fermi gas. Below a critical atom number N(2D) only the lowest transverse vibrational state of a highly anisotropic oblate trapping potential is occupied and the gas is two dimensional. Above N(2D) the Fermi gas enters the quasi-2D regime where shell structure associated with the filling of individual transverse oscillator states is apparent. This dimensional crossover is demonstrated through measurements of the cloud size and aspect ratio versus atom number.

Temperature dependence of the universal contact parameter in a unitary Fermi gas.

The contact I, introduced by Tan, has emerged as a key parameter characterizing universal properties of strongly interacting Fermi gases. For ultracold Fermi gases near a Feshbach resonance, the contact depends upon two quantities: the interaction parameter 1/(k(F)a), where k(F) is the Fermi wave vector and a is the s-wave scattering length, and the temperature T/T(F), where T(F) is the Fermi temperature. We present the first measurements of the temperature dependence of the contact in a unitary Fermi gas using Bragg spectroscopy. The contact is seen to follow the predicted decay with temperature and shows how pair-correlations at high momentum persist well above the superfluid transition temperature.

Thermodynamics of an Attractive 2D Fermi Gas

Thermodynamic properties of matter are conveniently expressed as functional relations between variables known as equations of state. Here we experimentally determine the compressibility, density, and pressure equations of state for an attractive 2D Fermi gas in the normal phase as a function of temperature and interaction strength. In 2D, interacting gases exhibit qualitatively different features to those found in 3D. This is evident in the normalized density equation of state, which peaks at intermediate densities corresponding to the crossover from classical to quantum behavior.

Goldstone mode and pair-breaking excitations in atomic Fermi superfluids

Bragg spectroscopy shows the evolution of gapless Goldstone modes and single-particle-like excitations in an atomic Fermi superfluid as it crosses from a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superfluid to the Bose–Einstein condensate regime.

Molecular Bose–Einstein condensation in a versatile low power crossed dipole trap

We produce Bose–Einstein condensates of 6Li2 molecules in a low power (22 W) crossed optical dipole trap. Fermionic 6Li atoms are collected in a magneto-optical trap from a Zeeman slowed atomic beam and then loaded into the optical dipole trap where they are evaporatively cooled to quantum degeneracy. Our simplified system offers a high degree of flexibility in trapping geometry for studying ultracold Fermi and Bose gases.

Comparison of strong-coupling theories for a two-dimensional Fermi gas

Understanding the formation of Cooper pairs and the resulting thermodynamic properties of a low-dimensional Fermi gas is an important area of research, elucidating our understanding of high temperature superconductors. In lower dimensions quantum fluctuations are expected to play an increasingly important role and the reliability of strong-coupling theories becomes questionable. Here, we present a comparison of recent thermodynamic measurements and theoretical predictions from different many-body

Binding energies of 6Li p-wave Feshbach molecules

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Criteria for two-dimensional kinematics in an interacting Fermi gas

-matrix theories for a two-dimensional strongly interacting Fermi gas in the normal state. We find that the fully self-consistent