6533b833fe1ef96bd129b809

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Pairing in a three-component Fermi gas

Jani-petri MartikainenTomi PaananenTomi PaananenPäivi Törmä

subject

Condensed Matter::Quantum GasesQuantum phase transitionPhysicsPhase transitionCondensed matter physicsCondensed Matter - SuperconductivityDegenerate energy levelsFOS: Physical sciencesFermion01 natural sciencesAtomic and Molecular Physics and Optics010305 fluids & plasmasSuperconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)SuperfluidityMean field theoryPairingQuantum mechanics0103 physical sciences010306 general physicsFermi gas

description

We consider pairing in a three-component gas of degenerate fermions. In particular, we solve the finite temperature mean-field theory of an interacting gas for a system where both interaction strengths and fermion masses can be unequal. At zero temperature we find a a possibility of a quantum phase transition between states associated with pairing between different pairs of fermions. On the other hand, finite temperature behavior of the three-component system reveals some qualitative differences from the two-component gas: for a range of parameters it is possible to have two different critical temperatures. The lower one corresponds to a transition between different pairing channels, while the higher one corresponds to the usual superfluid-normal transition. We discuss how these phase transitions could be observed in ultracold gases of fermionic atoms.

https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.73.053606