Connecting strongly correlated superfluids by a quantum point contact

Abstract

Simulating electronic transport with atoms Two superconductors connected by a bridge made out of nonsuperconducting material form a so-called Josephson junction (see the Perspective by Belzig). Valtolina et al. replaced the superconductors with two reservoirs of a superfluid Fermi gas and connected them by a weak link to allow atoms to move from one side to the other. Then they made one reservoir more populated than the other and studied the ensuing dynamics as a function of interaction strength between the atoms. In a related experiment, Husmann et al. kept the interaction strength at its maximum, but varied the temperature and the properties of the link. As temperature increased, the superfluid disappeared and thermal transport took over. Science , this issue p. 1498 , p. 1505 ; see also p. 1470