Opposite sign correlations in fermion or boson gases

Abstract

We investigate pair correlations in trapped fermion and boson gases as a means to probe the quantum states producing the density fluctuations. We point out that "opposite sign correlations" (meaning pair correlations that are positive for fermions and negative for bosons) unambiguously indicate that the quantum many-particle state cannot be "free." In particular, a system of fermions that exhibits positive pair correlations cannot be described by any Slater determinant wavefunction. This insight may help one to interpret results of current experiments on ultracold atomic gases.