title: Efimov-driven phase transitions of the unitary Bose gas.
abstract: Initially predicted in nuclear physics, Efimov trimers are bound configurations of three quantum particles that fall apart when any one of them is removed. They open a window into a rich quantum world that has become the focus of intense experimental and theoretical research, as the region of 'unitary' interactions, where Efimov trimers form, is now accessible in cold-atom experiments. Here we use a path-integral Monte Carlo algorithm backed up by theoretical arguments to show that unitary bosons undergo a first-order phase transition from a normal gas to a superfluid Efimov liquid, bound by the same effects as Efimov trimers. A triple point separates these two phases and another superfluid phase, the conventional Bose-Einstein condensate, whose coexistence line with the Efimov liquid ends in a critical point. We discuss the prospects of observing the proposed phase transitions in cold-atom systems.
authors.affiliation: 1] Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, École Normale Supérieure, UPMC, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France [2].
authors.forename: Swann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piatecki
authors.affiliation: 1] Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, École Normale Supérieure, UPMC, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France [2].
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Krauth
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D016014:Linear Models; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D044367:Phase Transition; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D005740:Gases