Fermi-to-Bose crossover in a trapped quasi-2D gas of fermionic atoms

Abstract

Physics of many-body systems where particles are restricted to move in two spatial dimensions is challenging and even controversial: On one hand, neither long-range order nor Bose condensation may appear in infinite uniform 2D systems at finite temperature, on the other hand this does not prohibit superfluidity or superconductivity. Moreover, 2D superconductors, such as cuprates, are among the systems with highest critical temperatures. Ultracold atoms are a platform for studying 2D physics. Uniquely to other physical systems, quantum statistics may be completely changed in an ultracold gas: an atomic Fermi gas may be smoothly crossed over into a gas of Bose molecules (or dimers) by tuning interatomic interactions. We review recent experiments where such crossover has been demonstrated as well as critical phenomena in the Fermi-to-Bose crossover. We also present simple theoretical models describing the gas at different points of the crossover and compare the data to these and more advanced models.