The pairing gap plays a fundamental role in the nuclear many-body problem and many large scale and accurate mass formula fits suggest the smooth nuclear mass dependence $Δ\sim 6(1)~ A^{-1/3}~{\rm MeV}$ in the liquid drop model which lacks a theoretical motivation. Within the BCS theory we analyze the impact of phase equivalent interactions on the pairing gap for a translational invariant many-fermion system such as nuclear and neutron matter. To that end we use explicitly the Similarity Renormalization Group (SRG) transformations. We show that in the on-shell and continuum limits the pairing gap vanishes. For finite size systems the pairing gap can be computed directly from the scattering phase-shifts by the formula $$ Δ_{nn} (p_F) = Δε_F ~ δ^{^1S_0}_{nn}(p_F) /π~ , $$ where $p_F$ is the Fermi momentum and $Δε_F$ the level spacing at the Fermi energy which for the harmonic oscillator shell model becomes $Δε_F= \hbar ω\sim 41 ~ A^{-1/3}~{\rm MeV}$, so that $$ Δ_{nn} (p_F) \sim 4 ~ A^{-1/3}~{\rm MeV} ~ . $$ The comparison with double differences from binding energies of stable nuclei is satisfactory and the discrepancy with the large scale analysis may be attributed to the lack of three-body forces. Nevertheless, the on-shell two-body interaction provides a basis for the $c~A^{-1/3}$ dependency and accounts for 75\% of the coefficient $c$.
The nature of pairing correlations in neutron matter is re-examined. Working within the conventional approximation in which the $nn$ pairing interaction is provided by a realistic bare $nn$ potential fitted to scattering data, it is demonstrated that the standard BCS theory fails in regions of neutron number density where the pairing constant $λ$, depending crucially on density, has a non-BCS negative sign. We are led to propose a non-BCS scenario for pairing phenomena in neutron matter that involves the formation of a hidden dineutron state. In low-density neutron matter where the pairing con…
Low-lying nuclear states of Sm isotopes are studied in the framework of a collective Hamiltonian based on covariant energy density functional theory. Pairing correlation are treated by both BCS and Bogoliubov methods. It is found that the pairing correlations deduced from relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) calculations are generally stronger than those by relativistic mean-field plus BCS (RMF+BCS) with same pairing force. By simply renormalizing the pairing strength, the diagonal part of the pairing field is changed in such a way that the essential effects of the off-diagonal parts of the p…
We calculate the binding energy and deformation parameter for light nuclei with and without pairing using a deformed relativistic mean field model. The role of BCS-type pairing effect is analyzed for Ne and F isotopes. The calculated odd-even staggering and the deformation parameters argue strongly against the role of pairing in the light nuclei.
We analyze the accuracy of BCS-based approximations for calculating correlation energies and odd-even energy differences in 2-component fermionic systems with a small number of pairs. The analysis is focused on comparing BCS and projected BCS treatments with the exact solution of the pairing Hamiltonian, considering parameter ranges appropriate for nuclear pairing energies. We find that the projected BCS is quite accurate over the entire range of coupling strengths in spaces of up to about 20 doubly degenerate orbitals. It is also quite accurate for two cases we considered with a more realisti…
We examine isovector and isoscalar proton-neutron pairing correlations for the ground state of even-even Ge isotopes with mass number A=64-76 within the deformed BCS approach. For N=Z 64Ge the BCS solution with only T=0 proton-neutron pairs is found. For other nuclear systems (N>Z) a coexistence of a T=0 and T=1 pairs in the BCS wave function is observed. A problem of fixing of strengths of isoscalar and isovector pairing interactions is addressed. A dependence of number of like and unlike pairs in the BCS ground state on the difference between number of neutrons and protons is discussed. We f…
Pairing plays a central role in nuclear systems. The simplest model for the pairing is the constant-pairing Hamiltonian. The aim of the present paper is to include the continuum single particle level density in the constant pairing Hamiltonian and to make a comparison between the approximate BCS and the exact Richardson solutions. The continuum is introduced by using the continuum single particle level density. It is shown that the continuum makes an important contribution to the pairing parameter even in those case when the continuum is weakly populated. It is shown that while the approximate…
We investigate the BCS treatment of neutron-proton pairing involving time-reversed orbits. We conclude that an isospin-symmetric hamiltonian, treated with the help of the generalized Bogolyubov transformation, fails to describe the ground state pairing properties correctly. In order for the np isovector pairs to coexist with the like-particle pairs, one has to break the isospin symmetry of the hamiltonian by artificially increasing the strength of np pairing interaction above its isospin symmetric value. We conjecture that the np isovector pairing represents part (or most) of the congruence en…
Effective interactions have been used to compute the pairing gap for nuclear and neutron matter in several schemes. In this work we analyze the impact of phase-shift equivalent interactions within the BCS theory on the $^1S_0$-channel pairing gap for a translational invariant many-fermion system such as nuclear and neutron matter. We solve the BCS pairing gap equation on a finite momentum grid for a toy model separable Gaussian potential in the $^1S_0$-channel explicitly evolved through the Similarity Renormalization Group (SRG) transformation and show that in the on-shell and continuum limits…
On the basis of time-dependent mean-field picture, we discuss the nature of the low-frequency quadrupole vibrations from small-amplitude to large-amplitude regimes as representatives of surface shape vibrations of a superfluid droplet (nucleus). We consider full five-dimensional quadrupole dynamics including three-dimensional rotations restoring the broken symmetries as well as axially symmetric and asymmetric shape fluctuations. We show that the intimate connections between the BCS pairing and collective vibrations reveal through the inertial masses governing their collective kinetic energies…
The particle number projected BCS (PBCS) approximation is tested against the exact solution of the SO(5) Richardson-Gaudin model for isovector pairing in a system of non-degenerate single particle orbits. Two isovector PBCS wave functions are considered. One is constructed as a single proton-neutron pair condensate, while the other corresponds to a product of a neutron pair condensate and a proton pair condensate. The PBCS equations are solved using a recurrence method and the analysis is performed for systems with an equal number of neutrons and protons distributed in a sequence of equally sp…
We propose a description of pairing properties in finite systems within the canonical and microcanonical ensembles. The approach is derived by solving the BCS and self-consistent quasiparticle random-phase approximation with the Lipkin-Nogami particle-number projection at zero temperature. The obtained eigenvalues are embedded into the canonical and microcanonical ensembles. The results obtained are found in quite good agreement with the exact solutions of the doubly-folded equidistant multilevel pairing model as well as the experimental data for $^{56}$Fe nucleus. The merit of the present app…
A microscopic theory for nuclear pairing is proposed through the generalized density matrix formalism. The analytical equations are as simple as that of the BCS theory, and could be solved within a similar computer time. The current theory conserves the exact particle number, and is valid at arbitrary pairing strength (including those below the BCS critical strength). These are the two main advantages over the conventional BCS theory. The theory is also of interests to other mesoscopic systems.
Cold, asymptotically dense three-flavor quark matter is in the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase, in which all quarks pair in a particularly symmetric fashion. At smaller densities, taking into account a nonzero strange quark mass and electric and color neutrality, the CFL phase requires pairing of quarks with mismatched Fermi momenta. We present a classification of all other possible, less symmetric, pairing patterns and prove that none of them can avoid this mismatch. This result suggests unconventional, e.g., spatially inhomogeneous, superconducting phases for moderate densities.
The BCS-BEC crossover and phase diagram for asymmetric nuclear superfluid with pairings in isospin I = 0 and I = 1 channels are investigated at mean field level, by using a density dependent nucleon-nucleon potential. Induced by the in-medium nucleon mass and density dependent coupling constants, neutron-proton Cooper pairs could be in BEC state at sufficiently low density, but there is no chance for the BEC formation of neutron-neutron and proton-proton pairs at any density and asymmetry. We calculate the phase diagram in asymmetry-temperature plane for weakly interacting nuclear superfluid, …
Understanding the properties of drip line nuclei requires to take into account the correlations with the continuum spectrum of energy of the system. This paper has the purpose to show that the continuum single particle level density is a convenient way to consider the pairing correlation in the continuum. Isospin mean-field and isospin pairing strength are used to find the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and Lipkin-Nogami (LN) approximate solutions of the pairing Hamiltonian. Several physical properties of the whole chain of the Tin isotope, as gap parameter, Fermi level, binding energy, and o…
The relation between two approaches to the su(2)-algebraic many-fermion model is discussed: (1) the BCS-Bogoliubov approach in terms of the use of the quasiparticles representing all the degrees of freedom except those related to the Cooper-pairs and (2) the conventional algebraic approach in terms of the use of the minimum weight states, from which the Cooper-pairs are excluded. In order to arrive at the goal, the idea of the quasiparticles is brought up in the conservation of the fermion number. Under the c-number replacement for the three su(2)-generators, the quasiparticles suggested in th…
Pairing transition at finite temperature was investigated by the shell model and BCS calculations. The definitive signature of pairing transition is identified by a "transition temperature" $T_t$ estimated from a "thermal" odd-even mass difference, while there is no sharp phase transition because of the finiteness of nucleus. It is found that $T_t$ is in good agreement with predictions of critical temperature $T_c$ in the BCS approximation, and the pairing correlations almost vanish at two points of the transition temperature $T\approx 2T_{t}$. The BCS calculations show that the critical tempe…
We propose new types of density dependent contact pairing interaction which reproduce the pairing gaps in symmetric and neutron matter obtained by a microscopic treatment based on the nucleon-nucleon interaction. These interactions are able to simulate the pairing gaps of either the bare interaction or the interaction screened by the medium polarization effects. It is shown that the medium polarization effects cannot be cast into the density power law function usually introduced together with the contact interaction and require the introduction of another isoscalar term. The BCS-BEC crossover …
An exact boson mapping of the reduced BCS (equal strength) pairing Hamiltonian is considered. In the mapping, fermion pair operators are mapped exactly to the corresponding bosons. The image of the mapping results in a Bose-Hubbard model with level dependent hopping. Though the resultant Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian, all eigenvalues are real when Uk/t< 1, where k is the total number of bosons. When U/t=1, a part of spectrum of the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian corresponds exactly to the whole spectrum of the reduced BCS pairing Hamiltonian.
In the present contribution, the effect of pairing on nuclear transfer and fusion reactions close to the Coulomb barrier is discussed. A Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock + BCS (TDHF+BCS) microscopic theory has been developed to incorporate pairing. One- and two-particle transfer probabilities can be obtained showing the importance of pairing. The calculated transfer probabilities are compared to the recent experimental results obtained for the $^{96}$Zr+$^{40}$Ca. Reactions involving the $^{18}$O with lead isotopes are also presented, that are also of current experimental interest. Finally, a study…
We introduce a BCS-like theory for the quartet correlations induced by the isovector pairing interaction. It is based on a coherent state of BCS type and, unlike usual mean field approaches, it displays a vanishing pair anomalous density $\langle c^\dagger c^\dagger\rangle =0$. We find good agreement between our theory and the exact results. We discuss how the pairing and quarteting correlations share some similar qualitative features within the BCS approach. However, there is no sharp quarteting phase transition. We also present various ways in which our theory may be further developed.
We construct a BCS-like model that combines nucleonic pairing correlations and possible quartic correlations of alpha-type in a single variational wave function and derive corresponding gap equations. In the approximation of large logarithms typical for the BCS approach, we show that the system reveals two possible types of a condensate which cannot coexist. If the alpha-type condensate prevails at N=Z, the growth of the neutron excess will naturally lead to the first order phase transition to the nucleon condensates.
The propagator of two nucleons in infinite nuclear matter is evaluated by a diagonalization of the $pphh$ RPA Hamiltonian. This effective Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian and, for specific density domains and partial waves, yields pairs of complex conjugated eigenvalues representing in-medium bound states of two nucleons. The occurrence of these complex poles in the two-particle Greens function is tightly related to the well known BCS pairing approach. It is demonstrated that these complex eigenvalues and the corresponding bound state wavefunctions contain all information about the BCS gap functio…
We discuss the Overhauser effect (particle-hole pairing) versus the BCS effect (particle-particle or hole-hole pairing) in QCD at large quark density. In weak coupling and to leading logarithm accuracy, the pairing energies can be estimated exactly. For a small number of colors, the BCS effect overtakes the Overhauser effect, while for a large number of colors the opposite takes place, in agreement with a recent renormalization group argument. In strong coupling with large pairing energies, the Overhauser effect may be dominant for any number of colors, suggesting that QCD may crystallize into…
A method for incorporating the effect of the resonant continuum into Hartree-Fock+BCS equations is proposed. The method is applied for the case of a neutron-rich nucleus calculated with a Skyrme-type force plus a zero-range pairing interaction and the results are compared with Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations. It is shown that the widths of resonant states have an important effect on the pairing properties of nuclei close to the drip line.
We develop a relativistic mean field (RMF) description of deformed nuclei with the pairing correlations in the BCS approximation. The treatment of the pairing correlations for nuclei with the Fermi surface being close to the threshold of unbound states needs a special attention. To this end, we take the delta function interaction for the pairing interaction with the hope to pick up those states with the wave function being concentrated in the nuclear region and perform the standard BCS approximation for the single particle states generated by the RMF theory with deformation. We apply the RMF +…
The Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) equations in coordinate representation are solved exactly, i.e., with correct asymptotic boundary conditions for the continuous spectrum. The calculations are preformed with effective Skyrme interactions. The exact HFB solutions are compared with HFB calculations based on box boundary conditions and with resonant continuum Hartree-Fock-BCS (HF-BCS) results. The comparison is done for the neutron-rich Ni isotopes. It is shown that close to the drip line the amount of pairing correlations depends on how the continuum coupling is treated. On the other hand, the r…
We discuss the HFB equations in coordinate representation,a suitable method for handling the full effects of the continuous quasiparticle spectrum. We show how the continuum HFB equations can be solved with the correct asymptotic conditions instead of the discretization conditions which are commonly used in the literature. The continuum HFB method is illustrated with a model where the mean field and pairing field have simple forms. The relationship with the continuum Hartree-Fock-BCS (HF-BCS) approximation is also discussed. Realistic HFB and HF-BCS calculations based on Skyrme interactions ar…
The mean values of a many-body Hamiltonian including a proton-neutron pairing term and matrix elements of one-, two- and four-body operators within a basis of particle number projected BCS states, are analytically expressed in terms of a single function Q(N) depending on the number of particles, $N$. The function Q(N) is calculated using a recursion in $N$ in which the shells and the BCS angles are kept the same for any step of iteration. An illustrative example is numerically considered in a restricted single particle space. Some specific features for the standard BCS, the projection after va…
The influence of short-range correlations on the spectral distribution of neutrons is incorporated in the solution of the gap equation for the ${}^3P_2-{}^3F_2$ coupled channel in pure neutron matter. This effect is studied for different realistic interactions including one based on chiral perturbation theory. The gap in this channel vanishes at all relevant densities due to the treatment of these correlations. We also consider the effect of long-range correlations by including polarization terms in addition to the bare interaction which allow the neutrons to exchange density and spin fluctuat…
Recently it has been demonstrated, considering Ni and Ca isotopes as prototypes, that the relativistic mean-field plus BCS (RMF+BCS) approach wherein the single particle continuum corresponding to the RMF is replaced by a set of discrete positive energy states for the calculation of pairing energy provides a good approximation to the full relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) description of the ground state properties of the drip-line neutron rich nuclei. The applicability of RMF+BCS is essentially due to the fact that the main contribution to the pairing correlations is provided by the low-ly…
S-wave pairing in neutron matter is studied within an extension of correlated basis function (CBF) theory to include the strong, short range spatial correlations due to realistic nuclear forces and the pairing correlations of the Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) approach. The correlation operator contains central as well as tensor components. The correlated BCS scheme of Ref. [Nucl. Phys. A363 (1981) 383], developed for simple scalar correlations, is generalized to this more realistic case. The energy of the correlated pair condensed phase of neutron matter is evaluated at the two--body or…
The antisymmetrized quasi-cluster model (AQCM) was proposed to describe α-cluster and $jj$-coupling shell models on the same footing. In this model, the cluster-shell transition is characterized by two parameters; $R$ representing the distance between α clusters and α describing the breaking of α clusters, and the contribution of the spin-orbit interaction, very important in the $jj$-coupling shell model, can be taken into account starting with the α cluster model wave function. Not only the closure configurations of the major shells, but also the subclosure configurations of the $jj$-coupling…
We calculate the ground-state properties of well deformed, even-even N=Z nuclei in the region between Ni-56 and Sn-100 within two different approaches, focusing on the binding energy and deformation and pairing properties. First, we employ the Hartree-Fock-BCS (HFBCS) approximation with the Skyrme effective nucleon-nucleon interaction and discuss how the results depend on the parameterization of the interaction and on the pairing force parameters adjusted in various schemes to reproduce the experimental odd-even mass differences. Then, within the Higher Tamm-Dancoff Approximation (HTDA), which…
A model with nucleons in a charge-independent potential well interacting by an isovector pairing force is considered. For a 24-dimensional valence space, the Hartree-Bogolyubov (HB) plus random phase approximation (RPA) to the lowest eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian is shown to be accurate except near values of the pairing force coupling constant G where the HB solution shifts from a zero to a non-zero pair gap. In the limit G -> infinity the HB + RPA is asymptotically exact. The inaccuracy of the HB + RPA in the critical regions of G can be remedied by interpolation. The resulting algoritm is us…
A semi-microscopic model for nucleon pairing in nuclei is presented starting from the ab intio BCS gap equation with Argonne v18 force and the self-consistent Energy Density Functional Method basis characterized with the bare nucleon mass. The BCS theory is formulated in terms of the model space S0 with the effective pairing interaction calculated from the first principles in the subsidiary space S0. This effective interaction is supplemented with a small phenomenological addendum containing one phenomenological parameter universal for all medium and heavy atomic nuclei. We consider the latter…
A brief review of recent progress in the ab intio theory of nuclear pairing is given. Nowdays several successful solutions of the ab intio BCS theory gap equation were published which show that it is a promising first step in the problem. However, the role of many-body correlations that go beyond the BCS scheme remains uncertain and requires further investigations. As an alternative, the semi-microscopic model is discussed in which the effective pairing interaction calculated from the first principles is supplemented with a small phenomenological addendum containing one phenomenological parame…
We study in detail the dependence of the 1S0 superfluid pairing gap on nuclear interactions and on charge-independence breaking at the BCS level. Starting from chiral effective-field theory and conventional nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions, we use the renormalization group to generate low-momentum interactions V_{low k} with sharp and smooth regulators. The resulting BCS gaps are well constrained by the NN scattering phase shifts, and the cutoff dependence is very weak for sharp or sufficiently narrow smooth regulators with cutoffs Lambda > 1.6 fm^{-1}. It is therefore likely that the effect …
We study the isospin-singlet neutron-proton pairing in bulk nuclear matter as a function of density and isospin asymmetry within the BCS formalism. In the high-density, weak-coupling regime the neutron-proton paired state is strongly suppressed by a minor neutron excess. As the system is diluted, the BCS state with large, overlapping Cooper pairs evolves smoothly into a Bose-Einstein condensate of tightly bound neutron-proton pairs (deuterons). In the resulting low-density system a neutron excess is ineffective in quenching the pair correlations because of the large spatial separation of the d…
As a model for a deformed nucleus the many level pairing model (picket fence model with ~100 levels) is considered in four approximations and compared to the exact solution given by Richardson long time ago. It is found that, as usual, the number projected BCS method improves over standard BCS but that it is much less accurate than the more sophisticated many-body-approaches which are Coupled Cluster Theory (CCT) in its SUB2 version or Self-Consistent Random Phase Approximation (SCRPA).
We explore the systematics of odd-even mass staggering with a view to identifying the physical mechanisms responsible. The BCS pairing and mean field contributions have A- and number parity dependencies which can help disentangle the different contributions. This motivates the two-term parametrization c_1 + c_2/A as a theoretically based alternative to the inverse power form traditionally used to fit odd-even mass differences. Assuming that the A-dependence of the BCS pairing is weak, we find that mean-field contributions are dominant below mass number A~40 while BCS pairing dominates in heavi…
By adopting a $T$-matrix based method within $G_0G$ approximation for the pair susceptibility, we studied the effects of pairing fluctuation on the BCS-BEC crossover in symmetric nuclear matter. The pairing fluctuation induces a pseudogap in the excitation spectrum of nucleon in both superfluid and normal phases. The critical temperature of superfluid transition was calculated. It differs from the BCS result remarkably when density is low. We also computed the specific heat which shows a nearly ideal BEC type temperature dependence at low density but a BCS type behavior at high density. This q…
Pairing correlations and their influence on nuclear properties has been studied within BCS model. Using this theoretical model with inclusion of pairing interaction between nucleons, nuclear level density and entropy of Pd(105,106,107) have been extracted. The results well coincide with the empirical values of the nuclear level densities obtained by Oslo group. Then the entropy excess of Pd107 and Pd105 compared to Pd106 as a function of the temperature has been studied. Also the role of neutron and proton system in entropy excess have been investigated by the using of the entropy excess ratio…
This contribution will survey recent progress toward an understanding of diverse pairing phenomena in dilute nuclear matter at small and moderate isospin asymmetry, with results of potential relevance to supernova envelopes and proto-neutron stars. Application of {\it ab initio} many-body techniques has revealed a rich array of temperature-density phase diagrams, indexed by isospin asymmetry, which feature both conventional and unconventional superfluid phases. At low density there exist a homogeneous translationally invariant BCS phase, a homogeneous LOFF phase violating translational invaria…
The properties of the pairing interaction in the shell model framework are considered with the aid of the exact numerical solution utilizing the quasispin symmetry. We emphasize the features which are out of reach for the usual approximate techniques based on the BCS approach supplemented by the random phase approximation treatment of pair vibrations, especially in the region of weak pairing where the BCS+RPA theory fails. For the first time chaotic aspects of the mixing generated by the pairing interaction are studied. The level repulsion and large information entropy of the eigenstates coexi…
It is generally believed that the BCS-BEC evolution in fermionic systems with s-wave pairing is a smooth crossover. However, for nonzero orbital-angular-momentum pairing such as p- or d-wave pairing, the system undergoes a quantum phase transition at the point where the chemical potential $μ$ vanishes. In this paper, we study the BCS-BEC quantum phase transition and the collective excitations associated with the order-parameter fluctuations in two-dimensional fermionic systems with p- and d-wave pairings. We show that the quantum phase transition in such systems can be generically traced back …
Studies of trapped quantum gases of bosons and of fermions have opened up a new range of many-body problems, having a strong overlap with nuclear and neutron star physics. Topics discussed here include: the Bose yrast problem -- how many-particle Bose systems carry extreme amounts of angular momentum; the infrared divergent structure of the transition to Bose condensation in a weakly interacting system; and the physics of extremely strongly interacting Bose and Fermi systems, in the scale-free regime where the two body s-wave scattering lengths are large compared with the interparticle spacing…
We report on a comprehensive study of the phase structure of cold, dilute nuclear matter featuring a SD condensate at non-zero isospin asymmetry, within wide ranges of temperatures and densities. We find a rich phase diagram comprising three superfluid phases, namely a Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase, the ordinary BCS phase, and a heterogeneous, phase-separated BCS phase, with associated crossovers from the latter two phases to a homogeneous or phase-separated Bose-Einstein condensate of deuterons. The phase diagram contains two tricritical points (one a Lifshitz point), which may degen…
The pairing of fermionic atoms in a mixture of atomic fermion and boson gases at zero temperature is investigated. The attractive interaction between fermions, that can be induced by density fluctuations of the bosonic background, can give rise to a superfluid phase in the Fermi component of the mixture. The atoms of both species are assumed to be in only one internal state, so that the pairing of fermions is effective only in odd-l channels. No assumption about the value of the ratio between the Fermi velocity and the sound velocity in the Bose gas is made in the derivation of the energy gap …
The dineutron correlations and the crossover from superfluidity of neutron Cooper pairs in the $^1S_0$ pairing channel to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of dineutron pairs in both symmetric and neutron matter are studied within the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory, with the effective interaction PK1 of the relativistic mean-field approach in the particle-hole channel and the finite-range Gogny force in the particle-particle channel. The influence of the pairing strength on the behaviors of dineutron correlations is investigated. It is found that the neutron pairing gaps at the Fermi su…
The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) mean-field theory of the pairing interaction breaks down for nuclei and ultra-small metallic grains (nanoparticles). Finite-temperature pairing correlations in such finite-size systems can be calculated beyond the BCS theory in an auxiliary-field Monte Carlo approach. We identify thermal signatures of pairing correlations in both nuclei and nanoparticles that depend on the particle-number parity.
A new stochastic number projection method is proposed. The component of the BCS wave function corresponding to the right number of particles is obtained by means of a Metropolis algorithm in which the weight functions are constructed from the single-particle occupation probability. Either standard BCS or Lipkin-Nogami probability distributions can be used, thus the method is applicable for any pairing strength. The accuracy of the method is tested in the computation of pairing energies of model and real systems.
We consider inter- and intra-species pairing interactions in an asymmetrical Fermi system. Using equation of motion method, we obtain coupled mean-field equations for superfluid gap functions and population densities. We construct a phase diagram across BCS-BEC regimes. Due to intra-species correlations, the BCS singlet superfluid state can sustain finite polarizations, $P$. For larger $P$, we find phase separations in BCS and BEC regimes. A superfluid phase exists for all $P$ deep in BEC regime. Our results may apply to pairing in ultracold fermions, nuclear and quark matter physics.
We study the relativistic BCS-BEC crossover within a class of Nambu-Jona-Lasinio type models, including arbitrary Lorentz-scalar pairing channels. Using the mean-field approximation we investigate spectral properties of the collective bosonic excitations in the superfluid phase, with particular attention to the Nambu--Goldstone bosons of the broken symmetry. This is a first step towards a systematic improvement of the mean-field approximation by including the fluctuation effects. The general results are illustrated on pairing in dense two-flavor quark matter - the two-flavor color superconduct…
Fermion systems with more than two components can exhibit pairing condensates of much more complex structure than the well-known single BCS condensate of spin-up and spin-down fermions. In the framework of the exactly solvable SO(8) Richardson-Gaudin model with SU(4)-symmetric Hamiltonians, we show that the BCS approximation remains valid in the thermodynamic limit of large systems for describing the ground state energy and the canonical and quasiparticle excitation gaps. Correlations beyond BCS pairing give rise to a spectrum of collective excitations, but these do not affect the bulk energy …
We study pure neutron matter in the BEC-BCS crossover regime using renormalization group based low-momentum interactions within the Nozières-Schmitt-Rink framework. This is an attempt to go beyond the mean field description for low-density matter. We work in the basis of so-called Weinberg eigenvectors where the operator $G_0V$ is diagonal, which proves to be an excellent choice that allows one to use non-local interactions in a very convenient way. We study the importance of correlations as a function of density. We notice that there is a significant reduction of the BCS critical temperature …
We study the character change of the pionic condensation at finite isospin chemical potential μ_\mathrm{I} by adopting the linear sigma model as a non-local interaction between quarks. At low |μ_\mathrm{I}| the condensation is purely bosonic, then the Cooper pairing around the Fermi surface grows gradually as |μ_\mathrm{I}| increases. This q-\bar q pairing is weakly coupled in comparison with the case of the q-q pairing that leads to color superconductivity.
Strongly correlated Fermi systems with pairing interactions become superfluid below a critical temperature $T_c$. The extent to which such pairing correlations alter the behavior of the liquid at temperatures $T > T_c$ is a subtle issue that remains an area of debate, in particular regarding the appearance of the so-called pseudogap in the BCS-BEC crossover of unpolarized spin-$1/2$ nonrelativistic matter. To shed light on this, we extract several quantities of crucial importance at and around the unitary limit, namely: the odd-even staggering of the total energy, the spin susceptibility, the …
In this work, a new functional is introduced to treat pairing correlations in finite many-body systems. Guided by the projected BCS framework, the energy is written as a functional of occupation numbers. It is shown to generalize the BCS approach and to provide an alternative to Variation After Projection framework. Illustrations of the new approach are given for the pairing Hamiltonian for various particle numbers and coupling strengths. In all case, a very good agreement with the exact solution is found.
We present a theoretical study of the finite-temperature Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) and vortex-antivortex lattice (VAL) melting transitions in two-dimensional Fermi gases with $p$- or $d$-wave pairing. For both pairings, when the interaction is tuned from weak to strong attractions, we observe a quantum phase transition from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluidity to the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of difermions. The KT and VAL transition temperatures increase during this BCS-BEC transition and approach constant values in the deep BEC region. The BCS-BEC transition is characterize…