Tunneling of polarized fermions in 3D double wells

TL;DR

This paper investigates the tunneling dynamics of polarized fermions in a 3D double well, revealing how transverse degrees of freedom induce collective oscillations despite different tunneling frequencies.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of fermion tunneling in 3D double wells, highlighting the role of transverse states in collective oscillations, with experimental estimates.

Findings

Incoherent oscillations emerge from transverse degrees of freedom.

Different doublets tunnel at distinct frequencies.

Experimental parameters for observing these effects are provided.

Abstract

We study the tunneling of a spin polarized Fermi gas in a three-dimensional double well potential, focusing on the time dynamics starting from an initial state in which there is an imbalance in the number of particles in the two wells. Although fermions in different doublets of the double well tunnel with different frequencies, we point out that (incoherent) oscillations of a large number of particles can arise, as a consequence of the presence of transverse degrees of freedom. Estimates of the doublet structure and of the occupation of transverse eigenstates for a realistic experimental setup are provided.