{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/150695"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/150695","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Quantum transport in strongly interacting, ultracold fermi gases in box potentials","abstract":"Transport of strongly interacting fermions is crucial for systems as varied as high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, twisted bi-layer graphene, nuclear fission, and neutron stars. In this thesis, I will describe the experiments we performed to measure the transport properties of a strongly-interacting atomic Fermi gas. This system features interactions as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics and features one of the highest pairing strength, with a superfluid transition temperature on the order of the Fermi temperature. Moreover, it is also scale-invariant, making its properties directly relevant for systems with many order of magnitude higher densities. We trap these atoms in a uniform box potential made from repulsive laser light, the key experimental advancement that makes the transport experiment presented here possible. Here, we observe a very low, universal, Heisenberg-uncertainty limited diffusion of both sound and heat by studying the propagation of sound waves and conduction of heat in a uniform gas. Similar to a growing number of high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, we observe anomalous transport properties, like the viscosity and thermal conductivity, that cannot be explained by a Fermi-liquid theory. We show the temperature dependence of all non-zero transport properties, which constitutes a complete characterization of transport phenomena in the spin-balanced, strongly-interacting Fermi gas. Our findings inform theories of fermion transport, with relevance for hydrodynamic flow of electrons, neutrons, and quarks.","abstract_html":"Transport of strongly interacting fermions is crucial for systems as varied as high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, twisted bi-layer graphene, nuclear fission, and neutron stars. In this thesis, I will describe the experiments we performed to measure the transport properties of a strongly-interacting atomic Fermi gas. This system features interactions as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics and features one of the highest pairing strength, with a superfluid transition temperature on the order of the Fermi temperature. Moreover, it is also scale-invariant, making its properties directly relevant for systems with many order of magnitude higher densities. We trap these atoms in a uniform box potential made from repulsive laser light, the key experimental advancement that makes the transport experiment presented here possible. Here, we observe a very low, universal, Heisenberg-uncertainty limited diffusion of both sound and heat by studying the propagation of sound waves and conduction of heat in a uniform gas. Similar to a growing number of high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, we observe anomalous transport properties, like the viscosity and thermal conductivity, that cannot be explained by a Fermi-liquid theory. We show the temperature dependence of all non-zero transport properties, which constitutes a complete characterization of transport phenomena in the spin-balanced, strongly-interacting Fermi gas. Our findings inform theories of fermion transport, with relevance for hydrodynamic flow of electrons, neutrons, and quarks.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Patel, Parth"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Doctoral","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Zwierlein, Martin W."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-05","date_published":"2022-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:11Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150695","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Zwierlein, Martin W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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In this thesis, I will describe the experiments we performed to measure the transport properties of a strongly-interacting atomic Fermi gas. This system features interactions as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics and features one of the highest pairing strength, with a superfluid transition temperature on the order of the Fermi temperature. Moreover, it is also scale-invariant, making its properties directly relevant for systems with many order of magnitude higher densities. We trap these atoms in a uniform box potential made from repulsive laser light, the key experimental advancement that makes the transport experiment presented here possible. Here, we observe a very low, universal, Heisenberg-uncertainty limited diffusion of both sound and heat by studying the propagation of sound waves and conduction of heat in a uniform gas. Similar to a growing number of high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, we observe anomalous transport properties, like the viscosity and thermal conductivity, that cannot be explained by a Fermi-liquid theory. We show the temperature dependence of all non-zero transport properties, which constitutes a complete characterization of transport phenomena in the spin-balanced, strongly-interacting Fermi gas. Our findings inform theories of fermion transport, with relevance for hydrodynamic flow of electrons, neutrons, and quarks."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Quantum transport in strongly interacting, ultracold fermi gases in box potentials"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Zwierlein, Martin W."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics"],"dc:creator":["Patel, Parth"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2023-05-15T19:33:05Z"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-15T19:33:05Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Transport of strongly interacting fermions is crucial for systems as varied as high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, twisted bi-layer graphene, nuclear fission, and neutron stars. In this thesis, I will describe the experiments we performed to measure the transport properties of a strongly-interacting atomic Fermi gas. This system features interactions as strong as allowed by quantum mechanics and features one of the highest pairing strength, with a superfluid transition temperature on the order of the Fermi temperature. Moreover, it is also scale-invariant, making its properties directly relevant for systems with many order of magnitude higher densities. We trap these atoms in a uniform box potential made from repulsive laser light, the key experimental advancement that makes the transport experiment presented here possible. Here, we observe a very low, universal, Heisenberg-uncertainty limited diffusion of both sound and heat by studying the propagation of sound waves and conduction of heat in a uniform gas. Similar to a growing number of high-𝑇 subscript 𝑐 superconductors, we observe anomalous transport properties, like the viscosity and thermal conductivity, that cannot be explained by a Fermi-liquid theory. We show the temperature dependence of all non-zero transport properties, which constitutes a complete characterization of transport phenomena in the spin-balanced, strongly-interacting Fermi gas. Our findings inform theories of fermion transport, with relevance for hydrodynamic flow of electrons, neutrons, and quarks."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150695"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Quantum transport in strongly interacting, ultracold fermi gases in box potentials"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctoral","Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:11Z"}