Connecting strongly correlated superfluids by a quantum point contact

Dominik Husmann, Shun Uchino, Sebastian Krinner, Martin Lebrat, Thierry Giamarchi, Tilman Esslinger*, Jean Philippe Brantut

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Point contacts provide simple connections between macroscopic particle reservoirs. In electric circuits, strong links between metals, semiconductors, or superconductors have applications for fundamental condensed-matter physics as well as quantum information processing. However, for complex, strongly correlated materials, links have been largely restricted to weak tunnel junctions. We studied resonantly interacting Fermi gases connected by a tunable, ballistic quantum point contact, finding a nonlinear current-bias relation. At low temperature, our observations agree quantitatively with a theoretical model in which the current originates from multiple Andreev reflections. In a wide contact geometry, the competition between superfluidity and thermally activated transport leads to a conductance minimum. Our system offers a controllable platform for the study of mesoscopic devices based on strongly interacting matter.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1498-1501
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume350
Issue number6267
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Dec 18
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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