Metastability in spin-polarized Fermi gases

Phys Rev Lett. 2011 Sep 30;107(14):145305. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.145305. Epub 2011 Sep 28.

Abstract

We study the role of particle transport and evaporation on the phase separation of an ultracold, spin-polarized atomic Fermi gas. We show that the previously observed deformation of the superfluid paired core is a result of evaporative depolarization of the superfluid due to a combination of enhanced evaporation at the center of the trap and the inhibition of spin transport at the normal-superfluid phase boundary. These factors contribute to a nonequilibrium jump in the chemical potentials at the phase boundary. Once formed, the deformed state is highly metastable, persisting for times of up to 2 s.