Superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases in one-dimensional optical lattices, Part II: Effects of population imbalance

In this paper, we study the effect of population imbalance and its interplay with pairing strength and lattice effect in atomic Fermi gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice. We compute various phase diagrams as the system undergoes BCS-BEC crossover, using the same pairing fluctuation theory as in Part I. We find widespread pseudogap phenomena beyond the BCS regime and intermediate temperature superfluid states for relatively low population imbalances. The Fermi surface topology plays an important role in the behavior of $T_text{c}$. For large $d$ and/or small $t$, which yield an open Fermi surface, superfluidity can be readily destroyed by a small amount of population imbalance $p$. The superfluid phase, especially in the BEC regime, can exist only for a highly restricted volume of the parameter space. Due to the continuum-lattice mixing, population imbalance gives rise to a new mechanism for pair hopping, as assisted by excessive majority fermions, which may lead to significant enhancement of $T_text{c}$ on the BEC side of the Feshbach resonance, and also render $T_text{c}$ approaching a constant asymptote in the BEC limit, when it exists. Furthermore, we find that not all minority fermions will be paired up in BEC limit, unlike the 3D continuum case. These predictions can be tested in future experiments.

Superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases in one-dimensional optical lattices, Part I: Balanced case

The superfluidity and pairing phenomena in ultracold atomic Fermi gases have been of great interest in recent years, with multiple tunable parameters. Here we study the BCS-BEC crossover behavior of balanced two-component Fermi gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice, which is distinct from the simple three-dimensional (3D) continuum and a fully 3D lattice often found in a condensed matter system. We use a pairing fluctuation theory which includes self-consistent feedback effects at finite temperatures, and find widespread pseudogap phenomena beyond the BCS regime. As a consequence of the lattice periodicity, the superfluid transition temperature $T_c$ decreases with pairing strength in the BEC regime, where it approaches asymptotically $T_c = pi an/2m$, with $a$ being the $s$-wave scattering length, and $n$ ($m$) the fermion density (mass). In addition, the quasi-two dimensionality leads to fast growing (absolute value of the) fermionic chemical potential $mu$ and pairing gap $Delta$, which depends exponentially on the ratio $d/a$. Importantly, $T_c$ at unitarity increases with the lattice constant $d$ and hopping integral $t$. The effect of the van Hove singularity on $T_c$ is identified. The superfluid density exhibits $T^{3/2}$ power laws at low $T$, away from the extreme BCS limit. These predictions can be tested in future experiments.

Unusual destruction and enhancement of superfluidity of atomic Fermi gases by population imbalance in a one-dimensional optical lattice

We study the superfluid behavior of a population imbalanced ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice, using a pairing fluctuation theory. We show that, besides widespread pseudogap phenomena and intermediate temperature superfluidity, the superfluid phase is readily destroyed except in a limited region of the parameter space. We find a new mechanism for pair hopping, assisted by the excessive majority fermions, in the presence of continuum-lattice mixing, which leads to an unusual constant BEC asymptote for $T_c$ that is independent of pairing strength. In result, on the BEC side of unitarity, superfluidity, when it exists, may be strongly enhanced by population imbalance.