## The critical coupling constant <em>G<sub>c</sub></em> (in units of ω<sub><em>y</em></sub>) as a function of the chemical potential μ for the spherical γ = 1 case (upper panel) and deformed cases with the frequency ratios γ = 2 (middle panel) and γ = 1.57 (lower panel)

2013-06-24T00:00:00Z (GMT) by
<p><strong>Figure 6.</strong> The critical coupling constant <em>G<sub>c</sub></em> (in units of ω<sub><em>y</em></sub>) as a function of the chemical potential μ for the spherical γ = 1 case (upper panel) and deformed cases with the frequency ratios γ = 2 (middle panel) and γ = 1.57 (lower panel). The smearing parameter δ and the dimensionless Rashba coupling parameter β are given in the panels. The notation in the legend indicates that G_\Sigma is obtained by doing summation over levels, while <em>G</em><sub>0.5</sub> and <em>G</em><sub>1</sub> indicate that we have used smeared distribution with δ = 0.5 and δ = 1 respectively. Here we set ω = ω<sub><em>y</em></sub>.</p> <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>We consider a spin–orbit coupled system of particles in an external trap that is represented by a deformed harmonic oscillator potential. The spin–orbit interaction is a Rashba interaction that does not commute with the trapping potential and requires a full numerical treatment in order to obtain the spectrum. The effect of a Zeeman term is also considered. Our results demonstrate that variable spectral gaps occur as a function of strength of the Rashba interaction and deformation of the harmonic trapping potential. The single-particle density of states and the critical strength for superfluidity vary tremendously with the interaction parameter. The strong variations with Rashba coupling and deformation imply that the few- and many-body physics of spin–orbit coupled systems can be manipulated by variation of these parameters.</p>