Optomechanics of a Quantum-Degenerate Fermi Gas

We explore theoretically the optomechanical interaction between a light field and a mechanical mode of ultracold fermionic atoms inside a Fabry-Perot cavity. The low-lying phonon mode of the fermionic ensemble is a collective density oscillation associated with particle-hole excitations, and is mathematically analogous to the momentum side-mode excitations of a bosonic condensate. The mechanical motion of the fermionic particle-hole system behaves hence as a 'moving mirror'. We derive an effective system Hamiltonian that has the form of generic optomechanical systems. We also discuss the experimental consequences the optomechanical coupling in optical bistability and in the noise spectrum of the system.