Large amplitude spin oscillations in a collisionless trapped atomic gas
Résumé
We propose an explanation of the recently observed strong spin segregation in a trapped Fermi gas by Du et al. Numerical and analytical solutions of a spin 1/2 kinetic equation in a collisionless regime explain quantitatively the observation of an "anomalous" large time scale and amplitude of the segregation. The key difference with previous experiment on bosons rests more in the diluteness of the gas than in the quantum statistics of the atoms. When they undergo fast ballistic oscillations in the trap, they average the inhomogeneous external field in an energy dependent way, so that their transverse spin precession frequency becomes proportional to their energy. Interactions between atoms of different energies and different spin directions then involve the identical spin rotation effect (ISRE), which transfers atoms to the up or down spin state in an energy dependent way. Since low energy atoms are closer to the center of the trap than high energy atoms, which can visit its edges, the final outcome is a strong correlation between spins and positions.