This article reviews theoretical and experimental developments for one-dimensional Fermi gases. Specifically, the experimentally realized two-component delta-function interacting Fermi gas-the Gaudin-Yang model-and its generalizations to multicomponent Fermi systems with larger spin symmetries is discussed. The exact results obtained for Bethe ansatz integrable models of this kind enable the study of the nature and microscopic origin of a wide range of quantum many-body phenomena driven by spin population imbalance, dynamical interactions, and magnetic fields. This physics includes Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-like pairing, Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids, spin-charge separation, Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov-like pair correlations, quantum criticality and scaling, polarons, and the few-body physics of the trimer state (trions). The fascinating interplay between exactly solved models and experimental developments in one dimension promises to yield further insight into the exciting and fundamental physics of interacting Fermi systems.

Fermi gases in one dimension: From Bethe ansatz to experiments

One of the elementary processes in quantum magnetism is the propagation of spin excitations. Here we study the quantum dynamics of a deterministically created spin-impurity atom, as it propagates in a one-dimensional lattice system. We probe the spatial probability distribution of the impurity at different times using single-site-resolved imaging of bosonic atoms in an optical lattice. In the Mott-insulating regime, the quantum-coherent propagation of a magnetic excitation in the Heisenberg model can be observed using a post-selection technique. Extending the study to the superfluid regime of the bath, we quantitatively determine how the bath affects the motion of the impurity, showing evidence of polaronic behaviour. The experimental data agree with theoretical predictions, allowing us to determine the effect of temperature on the impurity motion. Our results provide a new approach to studying quantum magnetism, mobile impurities in quantum fluids and polarons in lattice systems.

/pdf/quantum-dynamics-of-a-mobile-spin-impurity-3d2ha5gk6t.pdf

Quantum dynamics of a mobile spin impurity

For many years, the Luttinger liquid theory has served as a useful paradigm for the description of one-dimensional (1D) quantum fluids in the limit of low energies. This theory is based on a linearization of the dispersion relation of the particles constituting the fluid. Recent progress in understanding 1D quantum fluids beyond the low-energy limit is reviewed, where the nonlinearity of the dispersion relation becomes essential. The novel methods which have been developed to tackle such systems combine phenomenology built on the ideas of the Fermi-edge singularity and the Fermi-liquid theory, perturbation theory in the interaction strength, and new ways of treating finite-size properties of integrable models. These methods can be applied to a wide variety of 1D fluids, from 1D spin liquids to electrons in quantum wires to cold atoms confined by 1D traps. Existing results for various dynamic correlation functions are reviewed, in particular, the dynamic structure factor and the spectral function. Moreover, it is shown how a dispersion nonlinearity leads to finite particle lifetimes and its impact on the transport properties of 1D systems at finite temperatures is discussed. The conventional Luttinger liquid theory is a special limit of the new theory, and the relation between the two is explained.

/pdf/one-dimensional-quantum-liquids-beyond-the-luttinger-liquid-1rajcc605o.pdf

One-dimensional quantum liquids: Beyond the Luttinger liquid paradigm

In this review, we discuss the properties of a few impurity atoms immersed in a gas of ultracold fermions--the so-called Fermi polaron problem. On one hand, this many-body system is appealing because it can be described almost exactly with simple diagrammatic and/or variational theoretical approaches. On the other, it provides a quantitatively reliable insight into the phase diagram of strongly interacting population-imbalanced quantum mixtures. In particular, we show that the polaron problem can be applied to the study of itinerant ferromagnetism, a long-standing problem in quantum mechanics.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/77/3/034401/pdf

Polarons, Dressed Molecules, and Itinerant Ferromagnetism in ultracold Fermi gases

In this review, we discuss the properties of a few impurity atoms immersed in a gas of ultracold fermions, the so-called Fermi polaron problem. On one side, this many-body system is appealing because it can be described almost exactly with simple diagrammatic and/or variational theoretical approaches. On the other, it provides quantitatively reliable insight into the phase diagram of strongly interacting population imbalanced quantum mixtures. In particular, we show that the polaron problem can be applied to study itinerant ferromagnetism, a long standing problem in quantum mechanics.

Using a species-selective dipole potential, we create initially localized impurities and investigate their interactions with a majority species of bosonic atoms in a one-dimensional configuration during expansion. We find an interaction-dependent amplitude reduction of the oscillation of the impurities' size with no measurable frequency shift, and study it as a function of the interaction strength. We discuss possible theoretical interpretations of the data. We compare, in particular, with a polaronic mass shift model derived following Feynman variational approach.

/pdf/quantum-dynamics-of-impurities-in-a-one-dimensional-bose-gas-14a9u6d58a.pdf

M. Gring

Papers

Quantum dynamics of impurities in a one-dimensional Bose gas