Terrestrial and Astrophysical Superfluidity: Cold Atoms and Neutron Matter

TL;DR

This paper reviews superfluidity in neutron matter and cold atoms, highlighting their similarities, discussing methodological approaches, and summarizing recent findings on their equations of state and pairing gaps, with future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of superfluidity in cold atoms and neutron matter, emphasizing methodological tools and recent results, advancing understanding of their common physics.

Findings

Recent results on the equation of state of cold atoms and neutron matter

Measurements of the pairing gap in both systems

Comparison of Quantum Monte Carlo and mean-field approaches

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.