Pseudogap phenomenon and effects of population imbalance in the normal state of a unitary Fermi gas

Abstract

We investigate strong-coupling corrections to single-particle excitations in the normal state of a spin-polarized unitary Fermi gas. Within the framework of an extended T-matrix approximation, we calculate the single-particle density of states, as well as the single-particle spectral weight, to show that the so-called pseudogap phenomenon gradually disappears with increasing the magnitude of an effective magnetic field. In the highly spin-polarized regime, the calculated spin-polarization rate as a function of the effective magnetic field agrees well with the recent experiment on a 6Li Fermi gas. Although this experiment has been considered to be incompatible with the existence of the pseudogap in an unpolarized Fermi gas, our result clarifies that the observed spin-polarization rate in the highly spin-polarized regime and the pseudogap in the unpolarized limit can be explained in a consistent manner, when one correctly includes effects of population imbalance on single-particle excitations. Since it is a crucial issue to clarify whether the pseudogap exists or not in the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer)-BEC (Bose-Einstein condensation) crossover regime of an ultracold Fermi gas, our results would be useful for the understanding of this strongly interacting fermion system.