Exploring Quantum Degenerate Bose-Fermi Mixtures Toward Cooper Pairing of Fermionic Atoms. Final Report

We have been exploring interaction dynamics in an ultracold, trapped gas of bosonic and fermionic atoms. Investigation of this new class of quantum degenerate gases concentrates on interaction dominated phenomena such as sympathetic cooling, phase separation, excitations, Feshbach resonances, and the effects of quantum degeneracy. In addition to exploring these new phenomena, we seek to understand and ultimately control the interactions in the gas. In particular, effective interactions between the fermionic atoms will be explored in the context of the longer term goal of realizing Cooper pairing of atoms.