Fermion pairing with spin-density imbalance in an optical lattice

T. Koponen*, J. Kinnunen, J. P. Martikainen, L. M. Jensen, P. Törmä

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We consider pairing in a two-component atomic Fermi gas, in a three-dimensional optical lattice, when the components have unequal densities, i.e. the gas is polarized. We show that a superfluid where the translational symmetry is broken by a finite Cooper pair momentum, namely a Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO)-type state, minimizes the Helmholtz free energy of the system. We demonstrate that such a state is clearly visible in the observable momentum distribution of the atoms, and analyse the dependence of the order parameter and the momentum distribution on the filling fraction and the interaction strength.

Original languageEnglish
Article number179
Pages (from-to)1-18
Number of pages18
JournalNew Journal of Physics
Volume8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Sept 2006
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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