Observation of a quenched moment of inertia in a rotating strongly interacting Fermi gas

TL;DR

This study measures the moment of inertia in a rotating strongly-interacting Fermi gas, revealing quenching across superfluid transition energies and indicating irrotational flow in both superfluid and normal regimes.

Contribution

It provides a model-independent measurement showing quenching of the moment of inertia in a strongly-interacting Fermi gas across different energy regimes.

Findings

Quenching of the moment of inertia observed both below and above superfluid transition.

Supports irrotational flow in superfluid and normal fluid regimes.

Demonstrates angular momentum support in strongly interacting Fermi gases.

Abstract

We make a model-independent measurement of the moment of inertia of a rotating, expanding strongly-interacting Fermi gas. Quenching of the moment of inertia is observed for energies both below and above the superfluid transition. This shows that a strongly interacting Fermi gas with angular momentum can support irrotational flow in both the superfluid and collisional normal fluid regimes.