Current reversals in rapidly rotating ultra-cold Fermi gases

Abstract

We study the equilibrium current density profiles of harmonically trapped ultra-cold Fermi gases in quantum Hall-like states that appear when the quasi-two-dimensional trap is set in fast rotation. The density profile of the gas (in the rotating reference frame) consists of incompressible strips of constant quantized density separated by compressible regions in which the density varies. Remarkably, we find that the atomic currents flow in opposite directions in the compressible and incompressible regions -- a prediction that should be amenable to experimental verification.