Imaging and Interactions of Lithium Fermions in an Ultrastable CO2 Laser Trap
Abstract
This program explores fundamental interactions in multi-component Fermi gases. Since single component Fermi gases do not interact at low temperatures as a consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle, it is necessary to trap and cool more than one fermionic species in order to study interactions. In current experiments, 40K and 6Li are considered particularly promising for observation of superfluidity in a Fermi gases, because these atoms exhibit magnetically tunable Feshbach resonances in their scattering interactions. The predicted superfluidity is an atomic gas analog of a superconducting transition. For systems with resonant interactions, transition temperatures of up to half the Fermi temperature are predicted. This would make these atomic systems the highest temperature superconductors ever studied, in units of the Fermi temperature. However, the most interesting mixtures of these Fermi gases must be confined in an all-optical trap, because the states of interest are repelled from magnetic traps.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA414137
Entities
People
- J. E. Thomas
Organizations
- Duke University