From cold atomic Fermi systems to magnetic superconductors and beyond*

We use computational techniques to study the subtle interplay between Fermi statistics, attractive interactions, spin polarization and spin-orbit coupling in cold atomic systems in optical lattices.

Such ultracold systems provide a unique highly tunable and essentially disorder-free laboratory to observe quantum many-body physics at work.

We report clear evidence of the stability of the elusive Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superfluid phase in the high density and small spin polarization regime. Such magnetic superfluid phase is characterized by the formation of Cooper pairs with finite center-of-mass momentum, resulting in a modulated order parameter. Our studies also point to the existence of more complex intertwined orders including a non-trivial density modulation.

We also explore the effects of introducing spin-orbit coupling, which opens the possibility to observe topological superfluids, with intriguing connection with Majorana fermions.