Fermionic Superfluids in a Ring Trap

Multiply-connected geometries provide a natural setting for studying transport properties of quantum phases of matter. We will report on an all optical approach to create ultracold fermionic superfluids in a ring-shaped trap. The conditions for creating and observing persistent currents in fermionic superfluids are somewhat different than experiments previously conducted with bosonic superfluids. We will report on initial efforts to create and observe persistent flow in a molecular BEC of of ⁶Li atoms. With this new platform for studying transport in dilute fermionic superfluids, we plan to study critical velocities and dissipation mechanisms across the BEC-BCS crossover, and in rings with different dimensionality.