Low-density neutron matter and the unitary limit

TL;DR

This paper reviews low-density neutron matter, analyzing its properties and behavior near the unitary limit, comparing theoretical models with quantum Monte Carlo results and cold atom experiments.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of neutron matter properties at low densities, highlighting its near-unitary behavior and comparing multiple theoretical approaches.

Findings

Neutron matter exhibits behavior close to the unitary Fermi gas.

The energy and pairing gap are calculated using various potentials and approaches.

Results align reasonably with quantum Monte Carlo and cold atom data.

Abstract

We review the properties of neutron matter in the low-density regime. In particular, we revise its ground state energy and the superfluid neutron pairing gap, and analyze their evolution from the weak to the strong coupling regime. The calculations of the energy and the pairing gap are performed, respectively, within the Brueckner--Hartree--Fock approach of nuclear matter and the BCS theory using the chiral nucleon-nucleon interaction of Entem and Machleidt at N$^3$LO and the Argonne V18 phenomenological potential. Results for the energy are also shown for a simple Gaussian potential with a strength and range adjusted to reproduce the $^1S_0$ neutron-neutron scattering length and effective range. Our results are compared with those of quantum Monte Carlo calculations for neutron matter and cold atoms. The Tan contact parameter in neutron matter is also calculated finding a reasonable agreement with experimental data with ultra-cold atoms only at very low densities. We find that low-density neutron matter exhibits a behavior close to that of a Fermi gas at the unitary limit, although, this limit is actually never reached. We also review the properties (energy, effective mass and quasiparticle residue) of a spin-down neutron impurity immersed in a low-density free Fermi gas of spin-up neutrons already studied by the author in a recent work where it was shown that these properties are very close to those of an attractive Fermi polaron in the unitary limit.