A Novel Route to Reach a $p$-wave Superfluid Fermi Gas

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new method to realize a $p$-wave superfluid in ultracold Fermi gases by first creating a $p$-wave pair amplitude in a spin-orbit coupled $s$-wave superfluid and then switching interactions, assessed via time-dependent Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel two-step approach to achieve $p$-wave superfluidity, overcoming experimental challenges associated with direct $p$-wave pairing.

Findings

Demonstrates feasibility of creating $p$-wave superfluid via interaction switching.

Provides theoretical assessment using time-dependent Bogoliubov-de Gennes framework.

Suggests potential for realizing unconventional pairing states in ultracold gases.

Abstract

We theoretically propose an idea to realize a $p$-wave superfluid Fermi gas. To overcome the experimental difficulty that a $p$-wave pairing interaction to form $p$-wave Cooper pairs damages the system before the condensation growth, we first prepare a $p$-wave pair amplitude ($\Phi_{p}$) in a spin-orbit coupled $s$-wave superfluid Fermi gas, without any $p$-wave interaction. Then, by suddenly changing the $s$-wave interaction with a $p$-wave one ($U_{p}$) by using a Feshbach resonance, we reach the $p$-wave superfluid phase with the $p$-wave order parameter being symbolically written as $\Delta_{p}\sim U_{p}\Phi_{p}$. In this letter, we assess this scenario within the framework of a time-dependent Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory. Our results would contribute to the study toward the realization of unconventional pairing states in an ultracold Fermi gas.