Density, spin, and isospin correlations in low-density two-component Fermi superfluid

Abstract

Finding the distinct features of the crossover from the regime of large overlapping Cooper pairs to the limit of non-overlapping pairs of fermions (Shafroth pairs) in multi-component Fermi systems remains a topical problem in a quantum many-body theory. Here this transition is studied by calculating the two-body density, spin and isospin correlation functions in dilute two-component Fermi superfluid, taking as an example an infinite system of protons and neutrons (nuclear matter). It is shown that criterion of the crossover [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 090402 (2005)], formulated for ultracold fermionic atomic gases and consisting in the change of the sign of the density correlation function at low momentum transfer, fails to describe correctly the density-driven BEC-BCS transition at finite isospin asymmetry or finite temperature. As an unambiguous signature of the BEC-BCS transition, one can use the presence (BCS regime) or absence (BEC regime) of the singularity in the momentum distribution of the quasiparticle density of states. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.