Universal thermodynamics of strongly interacting Fermi gases

Abstract

Strongly interacting Fermi gases are of great current interest. Not only are fermions the most common particles in the universe, but they are also thought to have a universal thermodynamic behavior for strong interactions \cite{heiselberg,carlson,ho}. Recent experiments on ultra-cold Fermi gases provide an unprecedented opportunity to test universality in the laboratory \cite{hara,thomas,partridge,stewart,luo}. In principle this allows - for example - the interior properties of hot, dense neutron stars to be investigated on earth. Here we carry out a detailed test of this prediction. We analyze results from three ultra-cold fermion experiments involving two completely distinct atomic species in different kinds of atomic trap environments \cite{partridge,stewart,luo}. The data is compared with the predictions of a recent strong interaction theory \cite{hldepl,hldpra}. Excellent agreement is obtained, with no adjustable parameters. By extrapolating to zero temperature, we show that the experimental measurements yield a many-body parameter} $\mathbf{\beta\simeq-0.59\pm.07}$, \textbf{describing the universal energy of strongly interacting Fermi gases.