Published July 2007 | Version v1
Journal article

Matter-wave interference in s-wave and p-wave Fermi condensates

  • 1. School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States)

Description

We discuss the time evolution and matter-wave interference of Fermi condensates on the Bose-Einstein condensate side of Feshbach resonances for s- and p-wave superfluids, upon release from harmonic traps. In s-wave systems, where the order parameter is a complex scalar, we find that the interference patterns depend on the relative phase of the order parameters of the condensates. In p-wave systems involving the mixture of two hyperfine states, we show that the interference pattern exhibits a polarization effect depending on the relative orientation of the two vector order parameters. Lastly, we also point out that p-wave Fermi condensates exhibit an anisotropic expansion, reflecting the spatial anisotropy of the underlying interaction between fermions and the orbital nature of the vector order parameter. Potential applications of our results include systems of ultracold atoms that exhibit p-wave Feshbach resonances, such as 6Li or 40K

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. A
Journal Volume
76
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
p. 013627-013627.8
ISSN
1050-2947
CODEN
PLRAAN

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2007 The American Physical Society