Tunable pairing with local spin-dependent Rydberg molecule potentials in an atomic Fermi superfluid
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We explore the energy spectrum and eigenstates of two-component atomic Fermi superfluids with tunable pairing interactions in the presence of spin-dependent ultralong-range Rydberg molecule (ULRM) potentials, within the Bogoliubov--de Gennes formalism. The attractive ULRM potentials lead to local-density accumulation, while their difference results in a local polarization potential and induces the in-gap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states whose energies lie below the bulk energy gap. A transition from equal population to population imbalance occurs as the pairing strength falls below a critical value, accompanied by the emergence of local Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO)--like states characterized by out-of-phase wave functions and lower energies compared to the YSR states. The negative contribution emanating from the FFLO-like states also causes a sign change in the gap function within the ULRM potentials. Depending on the Rydberg excitation, the transition towards population imbalance can be on either the BCS or the Bose-Einstein condensation side of the Fermi superfluid. Additionally, spin-polarized bound states arise along with oscillatory ``clumpy states'' to compensate for the local-density difference. We discuss possible experimental realizations of the composite Rydberg-atom--Fermi-superfluid system.
Source: Physical Review A
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4409645739