The complete set of diagrams for conventional fluctuation corrections to the normal state of an ultraclean superconductor is derived using the functional-integral approach. The standard diagrams which characterize the fluctuation phase of a superconductor, namely, Aslamazov-Larkin, Maki-Thompson, and Density of States, are obtained and proved to be insufficient to produce a gauge-invariant electromagnetic response. An additional diagram is derived, and it is found to be essential for resolving a problematic and underappreciated aspect of the conventional fluctuation formalism. It is only with the inclusion of this additional diagram that the theory is now rendered gauge invariant and does not display a normal-state Meissner effect. It is shown that not only the Aslamazov-Larkin term but all of the microscopic diagrams are encapsulated within a Gaussian-level treatment of the effective action.
Multi-phase physics is a new physics of multi-gap superconductors. Multi-band superconductors exhibit many interesting and novel properties. We investigate the dynamics of the phase-difference mode and show that this mode yields a new excitation mode. The phase-difference mode is represented as an abelian vector field. There are massless modes when the number of gaps is greater than three and the Josephson term is frustrated. The fluctuation of phase-difference modes with non-trivial topology leads to the existence of a fractional-quantum flux vortex in a magnetic field. A superconductor with …
A topological argument is presented for nodal structures of superconducting states with time-reversal invariance. A generic Hamiltonian which describes a quasiparticle in superconducting states with time-reversal invariance is derived, and it is shown that only line nodes are topologically stable in single-band descriptions of superconductivity. Using the time-reversal symmetry, we introduce a real structure and define topological numbers of line nodes. Stability of line nodes is ensured by conservation of the topological numbers. Line nodes in high-Tc materials, the polar state in p-wave pari…
The excitation spectrum of a two-dimensional $p_x+ip_y$ fermionic superfluid, such as a thin film of $^3$He-A, includes a gapless Majorana-Weyl fermion which is confined to the boundary by Andreev reflection. There is also a persistent ground-state boundary current which provides a droplet containing $N$ particles with angular momentum $\hbar N/2$. Both of these boundary effects are associated with bulk Chern-Simons effective actions. We show that the gapless edge-mode is required for the gauge invariance of the total effective action, but the same is not true of the boundary current.
Multi-gap superconductors exhibit interesting properties. In an $N$-gap superconductor, we have in general $U(1)^N$ phase invariance. This multiple-phase invariance is partially or totally spontaneously broken in a superconductor. The Nambu-Goldstone modes, as well as Higgs modes, are important and will play an important role in multi-condensate superconductors. The additional phase invariance leads to a new quantum phase, with help of frustrated Josephson effects, such as the time-reversal symmetry breaking, the emergence of massless modes and fractionally quantized-flux vortices. There is a …
The gauge symmetry of the Ginzburg-Landau theory for two-gap superconductors is analyzed in this letter. We argue that the existence of two different phases, associated with the two independent scalar Higgs fields, explicitly breaks the gauge symmetry of the Ginzburg-Landau hamiltonian, unless a new additional vector field is included. Furthermore, the interference term, or Josephson coupling, holding a direct dependence with the phase difference, also explicitly breaks down the gauge symmetry. We show that a solution for the problem is achieved by adding an additional kinetic coupling term be…
This paper presents a careful derivation of the quasiclassical equations of superconductivity so that a manifest gauge invariance is retained with respect to the space-time arguments of the quasiclassical Green's function $\hat{g}$. The terms responsible for the Hall effect naturally appear from the derivation. The equations are applicable to clean as well as dirty superconductors for an arbitrary external frequency much smaller than the Fermi energy. Thus, they will form a basis toward a complete microscopic understanding of the Hall effect in type-II superconductors.
This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. Our basic argument on the gauge invariance presented in this paper cannot withstand the criticism which has been drawn to our attention by several colleagues.
We aim to give a pedagogical introduction to those elementary aspects of superconductivity which are not treated in the classic textbooks. In particular, we emphasize that global U(1) phase rotation symmetry, and not gauge symmetry, is spontaneously violated, and show that the BCS wave function is, contrary to claims in the literature, fully gauge invariant. We discuss the nature of the order parameter, the physical origin of the many degenerate states, and the relation between formulations of superconductivity with fixed particle numbers vs. well defined phases. We motivate and to some extend…
We introduce a strong-disorder renormalization group (RG) approach suitable for investigating the quasiparticle excitations of disordered superconductors in which the quasiparticle spin is not conserved. We analyze one-dimensional models with this RG and with elementary transfer matrix methods. We find that such models with broken spin rotation invariance {\it generically} lie in one of two topologically distinct localized phases. Close enough to the critical point separating the two phases, the system has a power-law divergent low-energy density of states (with a non-universal continuously va…
We report intimate relations between topological properties of full gapped spin-triplet superconductors with time-reversal invariance and the Fermi surface topology in the normal states. An efficient method to calculate the Z2 invariants and the winding number for the spin-triplet superconductors is developed, and connections between these topological invariants and the Fermi surface structures in the normal states are pointed out. We also obtain a correspondence between the Fermi surface topology and gapless surface states in the superconducting states. The correspondence is inherent to spin-…
Quasiclassical equations with manifest gauge invariance are discussed in the context of unconventional singlet superconducting states in the static limit. Deviations of the quasiclassical propagator from its equilibrium solutions in the presence of magnetic fields and Hall terms are analysed in terms of a small parameter and a formulation developed to first order in small. A modified quasiclassical propagator is defined to this order that is a solution of a new gauge-invariant Eilenberger-like equation with a normalisation condition. A Ricatti parametrisation with manifest gauge invariance is …
We set up the effective field theories which describe the SO(5)-invariant picture of the high-Tc cuprates in various regimes. We use these to get quantitative conclusions concerning the size of SO(5)-breaking effects. We consider two applications in detail: (i) the thermodynamic free energy, which describe the phase diagram and critical behaviour, and (ii) the Lagrangian governing the interactions of the pseudo-Goldstone bosons with each other and with the electron quasiparticles deep within the ordered phases. We use these effective theories to obtain predictions for the critical behaviour ne…
We revisit the importance of collective-mode fluctuations and gauge invariance in the electromagnetic response of superconducting systems. In particular, we show that order-parameter fluctuations, gapless or not, have no contribution to the Meissner effect in both $s$- and $p$-wave superconductors. More generally, we extend this result to uniform and nonuniform superfluids with no external wavevector scale. To facilitate this analysis, we formulate a path-integral-based matrix methodology for computing the electromagnetic response of fermionic fluids in the presence of concomitantly fluctuatin…
In $N$-band superconductors, the $U(1)^N$ phase invariance is spontaneously broken. We propose a model for $N$-band superconductors where the phase differences between gaps are represented by abelian gauge fields. This model corresponds to an $SU(N)$ gauge theory with the abelian projection. We show that there are massless modes as well as massive modes when the number of gaps $N$ is greater than 3. There are $N-3$ massless modes and two massive modes near a minimum of the Josephson potential when $N$ bands are equivalent and Josephson couplings are frustrated. The global symmetry $U(1)^{N-1}$…
In this paper, a delocalization-localization transition within the superconducting state is explored. The symmetries of the Bogoliubov deGennes Hamiltonian endow the two associated superconducting phases - the thermal metal and the thermal insulator-, and the critical point between them with properties that are in stark contrast with analogous phases in normal systems. Here, for systems preserving spin rotational invariance and time reversal symmetry in three dimensions, the transition is shown to be of a different universality class from its normal partner by extracting and comparing the loca…
We report on results of our theoretical study of the c-axis infrared conductivity of bilayer high-Tc cuprate superconductors using a microscopic model involving the bilayer-split (bonding and antibonding) bands. An emphasis is on the gauge-invariance of the theory, which turns out to be essential for the physical understanding of the electrodynamics of these compounds. The description of the optical response involves local (intra-bilayer and inter-bilayer) current densities and local conductivities. The local conductivities are obtained using a microscopic theory, where the quasiparticles of t…
We study superconductors with $n$-fold rotational invariance both in the presence and in the absence of spin-orbit interactions. More specifically, we classify the non-interacting Hamiltonians by defining a series of $Z$-numbers for the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) symmetry classes of the Altland-Zimbauer classification of random matrices in $1$D, $2$D, and $3$D in the presence of discrete rotational invariance. Our analysis emphasizes the important role played by the angular momentum of the Cooper pairs in the system: for pairings of nonzero angular momentum, the rotation symmetry may be repres…
We study the lattice effects on the simple holographic toy model; massive U(1) gauge theory for the bulk action. The mass term is for the U(1) gauge symmetry breaking in the bulk. Without the lattice, the AC conductivity of this model shows similar results to the holographic superconductor with the energy gap. On this model, we introduce the lattice effects, which induce the periodic potential and break the translational invariance of the boundary field theory. Without the lattice, due to the translational invariance and the mass term, there is a delta function peak at zero frequency on the AC…
We present a general diagrammatic theory for determining consistent electromagnetic response functions in strongly correlated fermionic superfluids. The general treatment of correlations beyond BCS theory requires a new theoretical formalism not contained in the current literature. Among concrete examples are a rather extensive class of theoretical models which incorporate BCS-BEC crossover as applied to the ultra cold Fermi gases, along with theories specifically associated with the high-$T_c$ cuprates. The challenge is to maintain gauge invariance, while simultaneously incorporating addition…
We propose a new mechanism for formation of topological defects in a U(1) model with a local gauge symmetry. This mechanism leads to definite predictions, which are qualitatively different from those of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism of global theories. We confirm these predictions in numerical simulations, and they can also be tested in superconductor experiments. We believe that the mechanism generalizes to more complicated theories.
We report on results of our theoretical study of the in-plane infrared conductivity of the high-Tc cuprate superconductors using the model where charged planar quasiparticles are coupled to spin fluctuations. The computations include both the renormalization of the quasiparticles and the corresponding modification of the current-current vertex function (vertex correction), which ensures gauge invariance of the theory and local charge conservation in the system. The incorporation of the vertex corrections leads to an increase of the total intraband optical spectral weight (SW) at finite frequen…
The association of broken symmetries with phase transitions is ubiquitous in condensed matter physics: crystals break translational symmetry, magnets break rotational symmetry, and superconductors break gauge symmetry. However, despite the frequency with which it is made, this last statement is a paradox. A gauge symmetry, in this case the U(1) gauge symmetry of electromagnetism, is a redundancy in our description of nature, so the notion of breaking such a "symmetry" is unphysical. Here, we will discuss how gauge symmetry breaks, and doesn't, inside a superconductor, and explore the fundament…
We present a theory of the pinning of dynamic spin density wave (SDW) fluctuations in a d-wave superconductor by local imperfections which preserve spin-rotation invariance, such as impurities or vortex cores. The pinning leads to static spatial modulations in spin-singlet observables, while the SDW correlations remain dynamic: these are the `Friedel oscillations' of a spin-gap antiferromagnet. We connect the spectrum of these modulations as observed by scanning tunnelling microscopy to the dynamic spin structure factor measured by inelastic neutron scattering.
The derivation of the effective theory for the phase degrees of freedom in a superconductor is still, to some extent, an open issue. It is commonly assumed that the classical XY model and its quantum generalizations can be exploited as effective phase-only models. In the quantum regime, however, this assumption leads to spurious results, such as the violation of the Galilean invariance in the continuum model. Starting from a general microscopic model, in this paper we explicitly derive the effective low-energy theory for the phase, up to fourth-order terms. This expansion allows us to properly…
The pseudogap regime of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors is characterized by a variety of competing orders, the nature of which are still widely debated. Recent experiments have provided evidence for electron nematic order, in which the electron fluid breaks rotational symmetry while preserving translational invariance. Raman spectroscopy, with its ability to symmetry resolve low energy excitations, is a unique tool that can be used to assess nematic fluctuations and nematic ordering tendencies. Here, we compare results from determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the Hubbar…
Three-dimensional quantum Griffiths singularity in bulk iron-pnictide superconductors
Peking University（北京大学）；Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences（北京量子信息科学研究院）；Dalian University of Technology（大连理工大学）；Southern University of Science and Technology（南方科技大学）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
We study the induced odd-frequency pairing states in ballistic normal metal/superconductor (N/S) junctions where a superconductor has even-frequency symmetry in the bulk and a normal metal layer has an arbitrary length. Using the quasiclassical Green's function formalism, we demonstrate that, quite generally, the pair amplitude in the junction has an admixture of an odd-frequency component due to the breakdown of translational invariance near the N/S interface where the pair potential acquires spatial dependence. If a superconductor has even-parity pair potential (spin-singlet s-wave state), t…
We study the elasticity, fluctuations and pinning of a putative spontaneous vortex solid in ferromagnetic superconductors. Using a rigorous thermodynamic argument, we show that in the idealized case of vanishing crystalline pinning anisotropy the long-wavelength tilt modulus of such a vortex solid vanishes identically, as guaranteed by the underlying rotational invariance. The vanishing of the tilt modulus means that, to lowest order, the associated tension elasticity is replaced by the softer, curvature elasticity. The effect of this is to make the spontaneous vortex solid qualitatively more …
