Aug 9 – 20, 2010
NORDITA
Europe/Stockholm timezone

Prof. Radzihovsky, Leo (University of Colorado): Fluctuations, stability, and phase transitions of Larkin-Ovchinnikov states: quantum liquid crystals

Aug 16, 2010, 11:00 AM
1h
NORDITA

NORDITA

Roslagstullsbacken 23, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

Description

Motivated by polarized Feshbach-resonant atomic gases, I will discuss the nature of low-energy fluctuations in the putative Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) state. Because the underlying rotational and translational symmetries are broken spontaneously, this gapless superfluid is a quantum smectic liquid crystal, that exhibits fluctuations that are qualitatively stronger than in a conventional superfluid, thus requiring a fully nonlinear description of its Goldstone modes. Consequently, at nonzero temperature the LO superfluid is an algebraic phase even in 3d. It exhibits half-integer vortex-dislocation defects, whose unbinding leads to transitions to a superfluid nematic and other phases. In 2d at nonzero temperature, the LO state is always unstable to a charge-4 (paired Cooper-pairs) nematic superfluid. I expect this superfluid liquid-crystal phenomenology to be realizable in imbalanced resonant Fermi gases trapped isotropically.

Primary author

Prof. Leo Radzihovsky (University of Colorado)

Presentation materials