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We theoretically investigate the shear viscosity $$\eta $$ , as well as the entropy density s, in the normal state of an ultracold Fermi gas. Including pairing fluctuations within the framework of a T-matrix approximation, we calculate these quantities in the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) crossover region. We also evaluate $$\eta / s$$ , to compare it with the lower bound of this ratio, conjectured by Kovtun, Son, and Starinets (KSS bound). In the weak-coupling BCS side, we show that the shear viscosity $$\eta $$ is remarkably suppressed near the superfluid phase transition temperature $$T_{\mathrm{c}}$$ , due to the so-called pseudogap phenomenon. In the strong-coupling BEC side, we find that, within the neglect of the vertex corrections, one cannot correctly describe $$\eta $$ . We also show that $$\eta / s$$ decreases with increasing the interaction strength, to become very close to the KSS bound, $$\hbar /4\pi k_{\mathrm{B}}$$ , on the BEC side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate strong-coupling properties of a two-dimensional ultracold Fermi gas in the normal state. Including pairing fluctuations within the framework of a T-matrix approximation, we calculate the distribution function $$n({\varvec{Q}})$$ of Cooper pairs in terms of the center of mass momentum $${\varvec{Q}}$$ . In the strong-coupling regime, $$n({\varvec{Q}}=0)$$ is shown to exhibit a remarkable increase with decreasing the temperature in the low temperature region, which agrees well with the recent experiment on a two-dimensional $$^6$$ Li Fermi gas (Ries et al. in Phys Rev Lett 114:230401, ). Our result indicates that the observed remarkable increase of the number of Cooper pairs with zero center of mass momentum can be explained without assuming the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, when one properly includes pairing fluctuations that are enhanced by the low-dimensionality of the system. Since the BKT transition is a crucial topic in two-dimensional Fermi systems, our results would be useful for the study toward the realization of this quasi-long-range order in an ultracold Fermi gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate magnetic properties of an ultracold Fermi gas with population imbalance. In the presence of population imbalance, the strong-coupling theory developed by Nozières and Schmitt-Rink (which is frequently referred to as the NSR theory, or Gaussian fluctuation theory) is known to give unphysical results in the BCS-BEC crossover region. We point out that this problem comes from how to treat pseudogap effects originating from pairing fluctuations and many-body corrections to the spin susceptibility. We also clarify how to overcome this problem by including higher order fluctuations beyond the ordinary T-matrix approximation. Calculated spin susceptibility based on our extended T-matrix approximation agrees well with the recent experiment on a Li Fermi gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the superfluid phase transition and effects of mass imbalance in the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer)-BEC (Bose-Einstein condensation) crossover regime of an cold Fermi gas. We point out that the Gaussian fluctuation theory developed by Nozières and Schmitt-Rink and the T-matrix theory, that are now widely used to study strong-coupling physics of cold Fermi gases, give unphysical results in the presence of mass imbalance. To overcome this problem, we extend the T-matrix theory to include higher-order pairing fluctuations. Using this, we examine how the mass imbalance affects the superfluid phase transition. Since the mass imbalance is an important key in various Fermi superfluids, such as K-Li Fermi gas mixture, exciton condensate, and color superconductivity in a dense quark matter, our results would be useful for the study of these recently developing superfluid systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate pseudogap phenomena originating from pairing fluctuations in the BCS-BEC crossover regime of a two-dimensional Fermi gas in a harmonic trap. Including pairing fluctuations within a T-matrix theory and effects of a trap within the local density approximation, we calculate the local density of states (LDOS) at the superfluid phase transition temperature T. In the weak-coupling regime, we show that the pseudogap already appears in LDOS around the trap center. The spatial region where the pseudogap can be seen in LDOS becomes wider for a strong pairing interaction. We also discuss how the pseudogap affects the spectrum of the photoemission-type experiment developed by JILA group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study cold fermions in 2D that are interacting through the s-wave contact potential, using the path-integral formalism. The phase transitions are investigated using the joint solution of the gap and number equations. In the latter ones, the amplitude and phase fluctuations are taken into account within the t-matrix NSR-type formalism. It is shown that convergent solutions for the fermion density in 2D can be obtained even in the lowest-order (quadratic) approximation for fluctuations with a proper determination of the spectral functions. This approach leads, in particular, to a non-coherent quasicondensate which exists between the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition temperature below which the system is superfluid and a transition temperature T above which the quasicondensate is destroyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  We study pseudogap behaviors of ultracold Fermi gases in the BCS-BEC crossover region. We calculate the density of states (DOS), as well as the single-particle spectral weight, above the superfluid transition temperature T c including pairing fluctuations within a T-matrix approximation. We find that DOS exhibits a pseudogap structure in the BCS-BEC crossover region, which is most remarkable near the unitarity limit. We determine the pseudogap temperature T * at which the pseudogap structure in DOS disappears. We also introduce another temperature T ** at which the BCS-like double-peak structure disappears in the spectral weight. While one finds T *>T ** in the BCS regime, T ** becomes higher than T * in the crossover and BEC regime. We also determine the pseudogap region in the phase diagram in terms of temperature and pairing interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]