Probing the critical exponent of superfluid fraction in a strongly interacting Fermi gas

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the critical behavior of second sound mode in a harmonically trapped ultracold atomic Fermi gas with resonant interactions. Near the superfluid phase transition with critical temperature $T_{c}$, the frequency or the sound velocity of second sound mode depends crucially on the critical exponent $β$ of superfluid fraction. In an isotropic harmonic trap, we predict that the mode frequency diverges like $(1-T/T_{c})^{β-1/2}$ when $β<1/2$. In a highly elongated trap, the speed of second sound reduces by a factor $1/\sqrt{2β+1}$ from that in a homogeneous three-dimensional superfluid. Our prediction could be readily tested by measurements of second sound wave propagation in a setup such as that exploited by Sidorenkov \textit{et al.} {[}Nature \textbf{498}, 78 (2013){]} for resonantly interacting lithium-6 atoms, once the experimental precision is improved.

5 pages,5 figures