Terrestrial and Astrophysical Superfluidity: Cold Atoms and Neutron Matter

Abstract

After a brief historical overview of superfluidity in connection with neutron matter and cold fermionic atoms, we discuss the commonalities between these two systems as well as their relevance to the physics of neutron star crusts. We then present the methodological tools we use to attack the many-body problem, comparing Quantum Monte Carlo to mean-field theory and to the analytic expectations at weak coupling. We review recent results on the equation of state and the pairing gap of cold atoms and neutron matter and contrast them with a variety of calculations by other groups. We conclude by giving a few directions of possible future inquiry.

20 pages, 5 figures; to appear as a chapter in "The Neutron Star Crust", edited by C. A. Bertulani and J. Piekarewicz