English

Mass-imbalanced SU(N) Fermi gases

Quantum Gases 2026-07-06 v1

Abstract

We report a fully analytical description of zero-temperature itinerant ferromagnetism in repulsive SU(N) Fermi gases with arbitrary mass imbalance among components. Using perturbation theory in the gas parameter x = kFa0, with kF the Fermi momentum and a0 the s-wave scattering length, we derive the second-order energy for arbitrary spin polarization and arbitrary mass ratio. Our main result is a closed analytic expression for the beyond-mean-field correction in mixtures with unequal masses. This analytical result extends the theory of dilute Fermi gases beyond the mass-balanced case and provides a compact equation of state for multicomponent mixtures. We show that mass imbalance breaks the paramagnetic symmetry already in the non-interacting limit, favors the occu pation of heavier components, and lowers the interaction strength required to reach a fully polarized state. For S = 1/2, the system evolves continuously from a mass-induced partially polarized state to full ferromagnetism. For larger spins, distinct mass distributions generate qualitatively differ ent polarization paths, including smooth and discontinuous sequences. Our results identify mass imbalance as a powerful control tool for magnetic ordering in ultracold Fermi mixtures.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.05328,
  title  = {Mass-imbalanced SU(N) Fermi gases},
  author = {Jordi Pera and Joaquim Casulleras and Jordi Boronat},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.05328},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-22T20:26:34.530Z