We study dynamic ground state properties in the crossover from weak (BCS) to strong coupling (BEC) superfluidity. Our approach is based on the attractive Hubbard model which is analyzed by the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) combined with the numerical renormalization group (NRG). We present an extension of the NRG method for effective impurity models to selfconsistent calculations with superconducting symmetry breaking. In the one particle spectra we show quantitatively how the Bogoliubov quasiparticles at weak coupling become suppressed at intermediate coupling. We also present results for the spin and charge gap. The extension of the NRG method to selfconsistent superconducting solutions opens the possibility to study a range of other important applications.
There is growing evidence that the superconducting semimetal FeSe ($T_csim8$ K) is in the crossover regime between weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and strong-coupling Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) limits. We report on longitudinal and transverse thermal conductivities, $kappa_{xx}$ and $kappa_{xy}$, respectively, in magnetic fields up to 20 T. The field dependences of $kappa_{xx}$ and $kappa_{xy}$ imply that a highly anisotropic small superconducting gap forms at the electron Fermi-surface pocket whereas a more isotropic and larger gap forms at the hole pocket. Below $sim1.0$ K, both $kappa_{xx}$ and $kappa_{xy}$ exhibit distinct anomalies (kinks) at the upper critical field $H_{c2}$ and at a field $H^*$ slightly below $H_{c2}$. The analysis of the thermal Hall angle ($kappa_{xy}/kappa_{xx}$) indicates a change of the quasiparticle scattering rate at $H^*$. These results provide strong support to the previous suggestion that above $H^*$ a distinct field-induced superconducting phase emerges with an unprecedented large spin imbalance.
The effect of particle-hole fluctuations for the BCS-BEC crossover is investigated by use of functional renormalization. We compute the critical temperature for the whole range in the scattering length $a$. On the BCS side for small negative $a$ we recover the Gorkov approximation, while on the BEC side of small positive $a$ the particle-hole fluctuations play no important role, and we find a system of interacting bosons. In the unitarity limit of infinite scattering length our quantitative estimate yields $T_c/T_F=0.264$. We also investigate the crossover from broad to narrow Feshbach resonances -- for the later we obtain $T_c/T_F=0.204$ for $a^{-1}=0$. A key ingredient for our treatment is the computation of the momentum dependent four-fermion vertex and its bosonization in terms of an effective bound-state exchange.
We present a theory of superconducting p-n junctions. We consider a 2-band model of doped bulk semiconductors with attractive interactions between the charge carriers and derive the superconducting order parameter, the quasiparticle density of states and the chemical potential as a function of semiconductor gap $Delta_0$ and the doping level $varepsilon$. We verify previous results for the quantum phase diagram (QPD) for a system with constant density of states in the conduction and valence band, which show BCS-Superconductor to Bose-Einstein-Condensation (BEC) and BEC to Insulator transitions as function of doping level and band gap. Then, we extend it to a 3D density of states and derive the QPD, finding that a BEC phase can only exist for small band gaps $Delta_0 < Delta_0^*$. For larger band gaps, there is a direct transition from an insulator to a BCS phase. Next, we apply this theory to study the properties of superconducting p-n junctions, deriving the spatial variation of the superconducting order parameter along the p-n junction. We find a spatial crossover between a BCS and BEC condensate, as the density of charge carriers changes across the p-n junction. For the 2D system, we find two regimes, when the bulk is in a BCS phase, a BCS-BEC-BCS junction with a single BEC layer, and a BCS-BEC-I-BEC-BCS junction with two layers of BEC condensates separated by an insulating layer. In 3D there can also be a conventional BCS-I-BCS junction for semiconductors with band gaps exceeding $Delta_0^*$. Thus, there can be BEC layers in the well controlled setting of doped semiconductors, where the doping level can be varied to change the thickness of BEC layers, making Bose Einstein Condensates possibly accessible to experimental transport and optical studies in solid state materials.
We report quantum Monte Carlo evidence of the existence of large gap superfluidity in electron-hole double layers over wide density ranges. The superfluid parameters evolve from normal state to BEC with decreasing density, with the BCS state restricted to a tiny range of densities due to the strong screening of Coulomb interactions, which causes the gap to rapidly become large near the onset of superfluidity. The superfluid properties exhibit similarities to ultracold fermions and iron-based superconductors, suggesting an underlying universal behavior of BCS-BEC crossovers in pairing systems.
We determine the size of the critical region of the superfluid transition in the BCS-BEC crossover of a three-dimensional fermion gas, using a renormalization-group approach to a bosonic theory of pairing fluctuations. For the unitary Fermi gas, we find a sizable critical region $[T_G^-,T_G^+]$, of order $T_c$, around the transition temperature $T_c$ with a pronounced asymmetry: $|T_G^+-T_c|/|T_G^--T_c|sim8$. The critical region is strongly suppressed on the BCS side of the crossover but remains important on the BEC side.