title: Crossover from 2D to 3D in a weakly interacting Fermi gas.
abstract: We have studied the transition from two to three dimensions in a low temperature weakly interacting 6Li Fermi gas. Below a critical atom number N(2D) only the lowest transverse vibrational state of a highly anisotropic oblate trapping potential is occupied and the gas is two dimensional. Above N(2D) the Fermi gas enters the quasi-2D regime where shell structure associated with the filling of individual transverse oscillator states is apparent. This dimensional crossover is demonstrated through measurements of the cloud size and aspect ratio versus atom number.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics, Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 3122, Australia.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dyke
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Kuhnle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Whitlock
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoinka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lingham
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hannaford
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Vale