2005/07/31 by C. A. Regal, Markus Greiner, M. Greiner +4 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #BCS theory #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Condensed matter physics #Crossover #Distribution (mathematics) #Distribution function #Electron #Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope #Fermi gas #Kinetic energy #Mean field theory #Momentum (technical analysis) #Pairing #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Superconductivity #cond-mat.other
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.95.250404
Includes revisions to Figure 3 and references
arxiv created 2005/08/15 · openalex publication_date 2005/12/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We observe dramatic changes in the atomic momentum distribution of a Fermi gas in the crossover region between the BCS theory superconductivity and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of molecules. We study the shape of the momentum distribution and the kinetic energy as a function of interaction strength. The momentum distributions are compared to a mean-field crossover theory, and the kinetic energy is compared to theories for the two weakly interacting limits. This measurement provides a unique probe of pairing in a strongly interacting Fermi gas.