BCS-BEC Crossover in a Trapped Gas of Fermi Atoms with a Feshbach Resonance

Abstract We present a theoretical study of the BCS–BEC (Bose–Einstein condensation) crossover in a trapped gas of Fermi atoms including the effect of a Feshbach resonance. Going past the simple mean field approximation, we include the effect of fluctuations in the strong coupling limit involving two kinds of Bose molecules, i.e., Feshbach molecules associated with the resonance and preformed Cooper-pairs in which the pairing interaction is mediated by Feshbach quasi-molecules. The superfluid phase transition is shown to change continuously from the BCS-type to a BEC of these two kinds of Bosons, as the threshold energy of the Feshbach resonance is lowered.