SciPost Submission Page
Energetic and Structural Properties of Two-Dimensional Trapped Mesoscopic Fermi Gases
by Emma K. Laird, Brendan C. Mulkerin, Jia Wang, and Matthew J. Davis
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Matthew J. Davis · Emma Laird |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | scipost_202506_00049v2 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | Dec. 25, 2025, 5:47 a.m. |
| Submitted by: | Emma Laird |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics Core |
| Ontological classification | |
|---|---|
| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approaches: | Theoretical, Computational |
Abstract
We theoretically investigate equal-mass spin-balanced two-component Fermi gases in which pairs of atoms with opposite spins interact via a short-range isotropic model potential. We probe the distinction between two-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional harmonic confinement by tuning the effective range parameter within two-dimensional scattering theory. Our approach, which yields numerically exact energetic and structural properties, combines a correlated Gaussian basis-set expansion with the stochastic variational method. For systems containing up to six particles, we: 1) Present the ground- and excited-state energy spectra; 2) Study non-local correlations by analysing the one- and two-body density matrices, extracting from these the occupation numbers of natural orbitals, the momentum distributions of atoms and pairs, and the molecular 'condensate fraction'; 3) Study local correlations by computing the radial and pair distribution functions. This paper extends current theoretical knowledge on the properties of trapped few-fermion systems as realised in state-of-the-art cold-atom experiments.
Author comments upon resubmission
Please find our revised manuscript attached. Responses to the referees are provided below each report, with all corresponding revisions highlighted in orange in the manuscript. Below, we list the line numbers where changes have been made; expanded explanations are given in our replies to the referees.
Thank you for your consideration.
Kind regards,
Emma
List of changes
- motivated the choice of interaction potential, lines 148–159
- clarified the logarithmic asymptotic behaviour of the wave function, lines 105–107
- resolved ambiguity in figure captions 1 and 6 on pages 6 and 19 (relative energy)
- specified the optimisation criterion in the stochastic variational method, lines 235–239
- expanded the contextual discussion of the natural-orbital decomposition, lines 247–255 and 259–261
- clarified the reference to finite occupation numbers, lines 289–291
- substantially revised the discussion of the molecular condensate fraction, lines 332–398
- clarified the definition of local observables, lines 442–450
- expanded the explanation of the Gaussian one-body radial density profiles, lines 461–469
- expanded the physical interpretation of the finite effective-range effects, lines 499–564
- substantially revised the conclusion, lines 565–610