Stefano Giorgini

Bio: Stefano Giorgini is an academic researcher from University of Trento. The author has contributed to research in topics: Quantum Monte Carlo & Bose gas. The author has an hindex of 35, co-authored 77 publications receiving 9565 citations. Previous affiliations of Stefano Giorgini include Technion – Israel Institute of Technology & National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in trapped gases

Abstract: The phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute gases in traps is reviewed from a theoretical perspective. Mean-field theory provides a framework to understand the main features of the condensation and the role of interactions between particles. Various properties of these systems are discussed, including the density profiles and the energy of the ground-state configurations, the collective oscillations and the dynamics of the expansion, the condensate fraction and the thermodynamic functions. The thermodynamic limit exhibits a scaling behavior in the relevant length and energy scales. Despite the dilute nature of the gases, interactions profoundly modify the static as well as the dynamic properties of the system; the predictions of mean-field theory are in excellent agreement with available experimental results. Effects of superfluidity including the existence of quantized vortices and the reduction of the moment of inertia are discussed, as well as the consequences of coherence such as the Josephson effect and interference phenomena. The review also assesses the accuracy and limitations of the mean-field approach.

Theory of ultracold atomic Fermi gases

Abstract: The physics of quantum degenerate atomic Fermi gases in uniform as well as in harmonically trapped configurations is reviewed from a theoretical perspective. Emphasis is given to the effect of interactions that play a crucial role, bringing the gas into a superfluid phase at low temperature. In these dilute systems, interactions are characterized by a single parameter, the $s$-wave scattering length, whose value can be tuned using an external magnetic field near a broad Feshbach resonance. The BCS limit of ordinary Fermi superfluidity, the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of dimers, and the unitary limit of large scattering length are important regimes exhibited by interacting Fermi gases. In particular, the BEC and the unitary regimes are characterized by a high value of the superfluid critical temperature, on the order of the Fermi temperature. Different physical properties are discussed, including the density profiles and the energy of the ground-state configurations, the momentum distribution, the fraction of condensed pairs, collective oscillations and pair-breaking effects, the expansion of the gas, the main thermodynamic properties, the behavior in the presence of optical lattices, and the signatures of superfluidity, such as the existence of quantized vortices, the quenching of the moment of inertia, and the consequences of spin polarization. Various theoretical approaches are considered, ranging from the mean-field description of the BCS-BEC crossover to nonperturbative methods based on quantum Monte Carlo techniques. A major goal of the review is to compare theoretical predictions with available experimental results.

Condensate fraction and critical temperature of a trapped interacting Bose gas.

Abstract: By using a mean-field approach, based on the Popov approximation, we calculate the temperature dependence of the condensate fraction of an interacting Bose gas of N atoms confined in an anisotropic harmonic trap. For systems interacting with repulsive forces we find a significant decrease of the condensate fraction and of the critical temperature with respect to the predictions of the noninteracting model with the same value of N. An analytic result for the shift of the critical temperature holding to first order in the scattering length is also derived. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Normal state of a polarized fermi gas at unitarity.

Abstract: We study the Fermi gas at unitarity and at $T=0$ by assuming that, at high polarizations, it is a normal Fermi liquid composed of weakly interacting quasiparticles associated with the minority spin atoms. With a quantum Monte Carlo approach we calculate their effective mass and binding energy, as well as the full equation of state of the normal phase as a function of the concentration $x={n}_{\ensuremath{\downarrow}}/{n}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}}$ of minority atoms. We predict a first order phase transition from normal to superfluid at ${x}_{c}=0.44$ corresponding, in the presence of harmonic trapping, to a critical polarization ${P}_{c}=({N}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}}\ensuremath{-}{N}_{\ensuremath{\downarrow}})/({N}_{\ensuremath{\uparrow}}+{N}_{\ensuremath{\downarrow}})=77%$. We calculate the radii and the density profiles in the trap and predict that the frequency of the spin dipole mode will be increased by a factor of 1.23 due to interactions.

Impurity in a Bose-Einstein condensate: Study of the attractive and repulsive branch using quantum Monte Carlo methods

Abstract: We investigate the properties of an impurity immersed in a dilute Bose gas at zero temperature using quantum Monte Carlo methods. The interactions between bosons are modeled by a hard-sphere potential with scattering length $a$, whereas the interactions between the impurity and the bosons are modeled by a short-range, square-well potential where both the sign and the strength of the scattering length $b$ can be varied by adjusting the well depth. We characterize the attractive and the repulsive polaron branch by calculating the binding energy and the effective mass of the impurity. Furthermore, we investigate the structural properties of the bath, such as the impurity-boson contact parameter and the change of the density profile around the impurity. At the unitary limit of the impurity-boson interaction, we find that the effective mass of the impurity remains smaller than twice its bare mass, while the binding energy scales with ${\ensuremath{\hbar}}^{2}{n}^{2/3}/m$, where $n$ is the density of the bath and $m$ is the common mass of the impurity and the bosons in the bath. The implications for the phase diagram of binary Bose-Bose mixtures at low concentrations are also discussed.

Many-Body Physics with Ultracold Gases

Abstract: This paper reviews recent experimental and theoretical progress concerning many-body phenomena in dilute, ultracold gases. It focuses on effects beyond standard weak-coupling descriptions, such as the Mott-Hubbard transition in optical lattices, strongly interacting gases in one and two dimensions, or lowest-Landau-level physics in quasi-two-dimensional gases in fast rotation. Strong correlations in fermionic gases are discussed in optical lattices or near-Feshbach resonances in the BCS-BEC crossover.

Theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in trapped gases

Abstract: The phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute gases in traps is reviewed from a theoretical perspective. Mean-field theory provides a framework to understand the main features of the condensation and the role of interactions between particles. Various properties of these systems are discussed, including the density profiles and the energy of the ground-state configurations, the collective oscillations and the dynamics of the expansion, the condensate fraction and the thermodynamic functions. The thermodynamic limit exhibits a scaling behavior in the relevant length and energy scales. Despite the dilute nature of the gases, interactions profoundly modify the static as well as the dynamic properties of the system; the predictions of mean-field theory are in excellent agreement with available experimental results. Effects of superfluidity including the existence of quantized vortices and the reduction of the moment of inertia are discussed, as well as the consequences of coherence such as the Josephson effect and interference phenomena. The review also assesses the accuracy and limitations of the mean-field approach.

Quantum Phase Transition From a Superfluid to a Mott Insulator in a Gas of Ultracold Atoms

Abstract: For a system at a temperature of absolute zero, all thermal fluctuations are frozen out, while quantum fluctuations prevail. These microscopic quantum fluctuations can induce a macroscopic phase transition in the ground state of a many-body system when the relative strength of two competing energy terms is varied across a critical value. Here we observe such a quantum phase transition in a Bose-Einstein condensate with repulsive interactions, held in a three-dimensional optical lattice potential. As the potential depth of the lattice is increased, a transition is observed from a superfluid to a Mott insulator phase. In the superfluid phase, each atom is spread out over the entire lattice, with long-range phase coherence. But in the insulating phase, exact numbers of atoms are localized at individual lattice sites, with no phase coherence across the lattice; this phase is characterized by a gap in the excitation spectrum. We can induce reversible changes between the two ground states of the system.

Bose-Einstein condensation in a gas of sodium atoms

Abstract: Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has been observed in a dilute gas of sodium atoms. A Bose-Einstein condensate consists of a macroscopic population of the ground state of the system, and is a coherent state of matter. In an ideal gas, this phase transition is purely quantum-statistical. The study of BEC in weakly interacting systems which can be controlled and observed with precision holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles.

Feshbach resonances in ultracold gases

Abstract: Feshbach resonances are the essential tool to control the interaction between atoms in ultracold quantum gases. They have found numerous experimental applications, opening up the way to important breakthroughs. This review broadly covers the phenomenon of Feshbach resonances in ultracold gases and their main applications. This includes the theoretical background and models for the description of Feshbach resonances, the experimental methods to find and characterize the resonances, a discussion of the main properties of resonances in various atomic species and mixed atomic species systems, and an overview of key experiments with atomic Bose-Einstein condensates, degenerate Fermi gases, and ultracold molecules.