Observation of phase separation in a strongly interacting imbalanced fermi gas.
We have observed phase separation between the superfluid and the normal component in a strongly interacting Fermi gas with imbalanced spin populations. The in situ distribution of the density difference between two trapped spin components is obtained using phase-contrast imaging and 3D image reconstruction. A shell structure is clearly identified where the superfluid region of equal densities is surrounded by a normal gas of unequal densities. The phase transition induces a dramatic change in the density profiles as excess fermions are expelled from the superfluid.
Shin
Y
Y
Department of Physics, MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA. yishin@mit.edu
Zwierlein
M W
MW
Schunck
C H
CH
Schirotzek
A
A
Ketterle
W
W