Virial theorem and universality in a unitary fermi gas.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Unitary Fermi gases, where the scattering length is large compared to the interparticle spacing, can have universal properties, which are independent of the details of the interparticle interactions when the range of the scattering potential is negligible. We prepare an optically trapped, unitary Fermi gas of 6Li, tuned just above the center of a broad Feshbach resonance. In agreement with the universal hypothesis, we observe that this strongly interacting many-body system obeys the virial theorem for an ideal gas over a wide range of temperatures. Based on this result, we suggest a simple volume thermometry method for unitary gases. We also show that the observed breathing mode frequency, which is close to the unitary hydrodynamic value over a wide range of temperature, is consistent with a universal hydrodynamic gas with nearly isentropic dynamics.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Thomas, JE; Kinast, J; Turlapov, A

Published Date

  • September 2005

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 95 / 12

Start / End Page

  • 120402 -

PubMed ID

  • 16197054

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1079-7114

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0031-9007

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1103/physrevlett.95.120402

Language

  • eng