Spin polarons and molecules in strongly-interacting atomic Fermi gases

Abstract

We examine pairing and molecule formation in strongly-interacting Fermi gases, and we discuss how radio-frequency (RF) spectroscopy can reveal these features. For the balanced case, the emergence of stable molecules in the BEC regime results in a two-peak structure in the RF spectrum with clearly visible medium effects on the low-energy part of the molecular wavefunction. For the highly-imbalanced case, we show the existence of a well-defined quasiparticle (a spin polaron) on both sides of the Feshbach resonance, we evaluate its lifetime, and we illustrate how its energy may be measured by RF spectroscopy.

4 pages, 5 figures. Revised version accepted for publication: minor changes to Fig. 2 (added inset with the chemical potential at unitarity), to Fig. 3 (experimental data updated), and to the notation