Dynamics of optically generated vortices in a one-component ultracold fermionic gases

Abstract

We show that the phase imprinting method is capable of generating vortices in a one-component gas of neutral fermionic atoms at zero and finite temperatures. We find qualitative differences in dynamics of vortices in comparision with the case of Bose-Einstein condensate. The results of the imprinting strongly depend on the geometry of the trap, e.g., in asymmetric traps no single vortex state exists. The observations could be considered as a signature of Cooper-pair based superfluidity in a Fermi gas.