Phase separation of a repulsive two-component Fermi gas at the two- to three-dimensional crossover

Abstract

We present a theoretical analysis of phase separations between two repulsively interacting components in an ultracold fermionic gas, occurring at the dimensional crossover in a harmonic trap with varying aspect ratios. A tailored kinetic energy functional is derived and combined with a density-potential functional approach to develop a framework that is benchmarked with the orbital-based method. We investigate the changes in the density profile of the phase-separated gas under different interaction strengths and geometries. The analysis reveals the existence of small, partially polarized domains in certain parameter regimes, which is similar to the purely two-dimensional limit. However, the density profile is further enriched by a shell structure found in anisotropic traps. We also track the transitions that can be driven by either a change in interaction strength or trap geometry. The developed framework is noted to have applications for other systems with repulsive interactions that combine continuous and discrete degrees of freedom.