Two-point momentum correlations of few ultracold quasi-one-dimensional trapped fermions: Diffraction patterns

Abstract

Spatial and momentum correlations are important in the analysis of the quantum states and different phases of trapped ultracold atom systems as a function of the strength of interatomic interactions. Identification and understanding of spin-resolved patterns exhibited in two-point correlations, accessible directly by experiments, are key for uncovering the symmetry and structure of the many-body wave functions of the trapped system. Using the configuration interaction method for exact diagonalization of the many-body Hamiltonian of $N=2-4$ fermionic atoms trapped in single, double, triple, and quadruple wells, we analyze both two-point momentum and space correlations, as well as associated noise distributions, for a broad range of interparticle contact repulsion strengths and interwell separations, unveiling characteristics allowing insights into the transition, via an intermediate phase, from the non-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate to the weakly interacting quasi-Bose-Einstein regime, and from the latter to the strong-repulsion Tonks-Girardeau (TG) one. The ab-initio numerical predictions are shown to agree well with the results of a constructed analytical model employing localized displaced Gaussian functions to represent the $N$ fermions. The two-point momentum correlations are found to exhibit damped oscillatory diffraction behavior. This diffraction behavior develops fully for atoms trapped in a single well with strong interatomic repulsion in the TG regime, or for atoms in well-separated multi-well traps. Additionally, the two-body momentum correlation and noise distributions are found to exhibit "shortsightedness", with the main contribution coming from nearest-neighboring particles.