Research

Acknowledgement:

Our research is part of the research programme of the `Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), which is financially supported by the `Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)' (see also: Funding).

Quantum gases with long-range interaction

⁶Li-⁴⁰K Fermi-Fermi mixture

We investigate novel regimes of strong interaction in quantum gases, covering both theory and experiment. We are currently studying ultracold mixtures of fermionic quantum gases with a mass imbalance. The two fermionic species we are using are the alkali atoms ⁶Li and ⁴⁰K. After finishing studies on the Feshbach resonance structure of this mixture (see the Highlights section) we are currently studying long range interactions in this system.

The usual quantum gases have short-range interactions of the Van der Waals type. We are interested in two-component mixtures in which long-range interactions can be induced. The mixture of ⁶Li and ⁴⁰K is such a system. This mixture is expected to show unusual collisional and collective effects, enables peculiar forms of Cooper-pairing and provides the possibility to create long-lived heteronuclear bosonic molecules.

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Funding