Constant-shell BCS gap equation 2026-10-06
An attractive interaction within gives a constant gap inside that energy shell and zero outside. With approximately constant single-spin density of states per volume,The weak coupling limit is . A density counting both spin species is twice and must be divided by two. The shell cutoff is a relative-energy condition, even when every Cooper pair has zero total momentum.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 81 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
In each factor of the BCS ground state, the BCS anomalous average is . Self-consistency therefore gives the zero-temperature BCS gap equationPut . The specified constant attractive interaction makes independent of inside the energy shell and zero outside it:The printed is incompatible with this interaction: labels relative pair momentum, not the total momentum of a Cooper pair. Every pair here has zero total momentum, while many relative momenta contribute.
For the nonzero solution, the constant-shell BCS gap equation becomes . Let denote the approximately constant single-spin density of states per unit volume at the Fermi level. ThenIn weak coupling, . The displayed answer in the question uses . If “total electronic density of states” includes both spin species, , the argument instead reads . If the density counts the whole box rather than unit volume, divide it by before using this formula.
Weak coupling 2026-10-06
Weak coupling means a suitably dimensionless interaction strength is small. In BCS theory, gives a gap exponentially small compared with the pairing-shell energy cutoff; the expansion parameter is not the dimensional quantity alone.