Theoretical Physics Colloquium

Superfluid with unequal populations up and down fermions

by Prof. Nandini Trivedi (The Ohio State University)

Asia/Kolkata
AG69 (Colaba Campus)

AG69

Colaba Campus

Description
What is the fate of a system with attractive interactions between unequal populations of up and down fermions? The competition between a fully paired superfluid and a fully polarized Fermi liquid generates a novel intermediate phase known as the FFLO phase. Rather remarkably in this state the pairing amplitude changes sign at domain walls that accommodate the excess fermions. Despite fifty years of theoretical and experimental work, there has so far been no direct observation of this phase. I will report on a proposal to detect the FFLO state using interferometric techniques. I will also discuss the effect of disorder on these modulated superfluid states.