Simple mean-field theory for a zero-temperature fermionic gas at a Feshbach resonance

Juha Javanainen1, Marijan Kostrun, Matt Mackie

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3046, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|October 4, 2005
PubMed

Related Concept Videos

Fermi Level01:18

Fermi Level

The Fermi-Dirac function is represented by an S-shaped curve indicating the probability of an energy state being occupied by an electron at a given temperature. The Fermi level is the energy level at which there is a fifty percent chance of finding an electron, and it is positioned between the lower-energy valence band and the higher-energy conduction band.
At absolute zero temperature, electrons fill all energy states up to the Fermi level, leaving upper states empty. As the temperature rises,...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution01:14

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution

Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution: Problem Solving01:20

Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution: Problem Solving

Individual molecules in a gas move in random directions, but a gas containing numerous molecules has a predictable distribution of molecular speeds, which is known as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, f(v).
This distribution function f(v) is defined by saying that the expected number N (v1,v2) of particles with speeds between v1 and v2 is given by
Mean free path and Mean free time01:22

Mean free path and Mean free time

Consider the gas molecules in a cylinder. They move in a random motion as they collide with each other and change speed and direction. The average of all the path lengths between collisions is known as the "mean free path."