Degenerate atom-molecule mixture in a cold Fermi gas

Abstract

We show that the atom-molecule mixture formed in a degenerate atomic Fermi gas with interspecies repulsion near a Feshbach resonance, constitutes a peculiar system where the atomic component is almost non-degenerate but quantum degeneracy of molecules is important. We develop a thermodynamic approach for studying this mixture, explain experimental observations and predict optimal conditions for achieving molecular BEC.