  We theoretically study the dynamics of an adiabatic sweep through a Feshbach
resonance, thereby converting a degenerate quantum gas of fermionic atoms into
a degenerate quantum gas of bosonic dimers. Our analysis relies on a zero
temperature mean-field theory which accurately accounts for initial molecular
quantum fluctuations, triggering the association process. The structure of the
resulting semiclassical phase space is investigated, highlighting the dynamical
instability of the system towards association, for sufficiently small detuning
from resonance. It is shown that this instability significantly modifies the
finite-rate efficiency of the sweep, transforming the single-pair exponential
Landau-Zener behavior of the remnant fraction of atoms Gamma on sweep rate
alpha, into a power-law dependence as the number of atoms increases. The
obtained nonadiabaticity is determined from the interplay of characteristic
time scales for the motion of adiabatic eigenstates and for fast periodic
motion around them. Critical slowing-down of these precessions near the
instability leads to the power-law dependence. A linear power law $Gamma\propto
alpha$ is obtained when the initial molecular fraction is smaller than the 1/N
quantum fluctuations, and a cubic-root power law $Gamma\propto alpha^{1/3}$ is
attained when it is larger. Our mean-field analysis is confirmed by exact
calculations, using Fock-space expansions. Finally, we fit experimental low
temperature Feshbach sweep data with a power-law dependence. While the
agreement with the experimental data is well within experimental error bars,
similar accuracy can be obtained with an exponential fit, making additional
data highly desirable.
