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In this paper, tunneling effect of Cooper pairs in weak-link superconductor structure with multi-junctions under the condition for overstepping the Josephson approximation is discussed. The equations describing the electric current based on the tunneling effect of Cooper pairs in several kinds of weak-link superconductor structures with multi-junctions are obtained under the condition to overstep the Josephson approximation. For both SISISIS and a four junctions ring, when all junctions are in the zero voltage state, the exact solution of the equations is obtained. It is found that, because of the tunneling effect of the Cooper pairs, an alternating current exists which can be expressed by an elliptic function. For a four junctions ring, the relation between the period of the alternating current and flux is pointed out. At last, the condition for overstepping the Josephson approximation is discussed. The result shows that overstepping the Josephson approximation may be possible when the volumes of superconductors are small enough.

Coulomb repulsion between two moving electrons loses its spherical symmetry due to relativistic effects. In presence of a uniform positive ion background, this asymmetry uncovers an angular dependent attraction potential in the direction of motion. The quantum mechanical response to such an attraction potential is obtained through perturbation. It is shown that the transition amplitude between states with the symmetry of the attraction potential becomes negative and if the density of states is anisotropic, occurrence of a superconducting state becomes possible.

Although BCS pairs of fermions are known to obey neither Bose–Einstein (BE) commutation relations nor BE statistics, we show how Cooper pairs (CPs), whether the simple original ones or the CPs recently generalized in a many-body Bethe–Salpeter approach, being clearly distinct from BCS pairs at least obey BE statistics. Hence, contrary to widespread popular belief, CPs can undergo BE condensation to account for superconductivity if charged, as well as for neutral-atom fermion superfluidity where CPs, but uncharged, are also expected to form.

The exact Richardson solution of the reduced BCS Hamiltonian is used to study the BCS-to-BEC crossover, as well as the nature of Cooper pairs, in superconducting and Fermi superfluid media. Based on the exact eigenstate we will discuss the Cooper-pair concept proposing a scenario for the BCS-to-BEC crossover in which a mixture of quasifree fermions and pair resonances (BCS) evolves to a system of weakly bound molecules (BEC). In this single unified scenario the Cooper-pair wavefunction has a unique functional form. We propose a new definition of the condensate fraction which, within the limits of the BCS model, gives a qualitative description of recent experiments in ultracold atomic Fermi gases. Finally, we will introduce a new integrable model for asymmetric superfluid systems able to describe different homogeneous and inhomogeneous competing phases such as, breached superconductivity, deformed Fermi superfluidity, and the elusive Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Flde-Ferrell (LOFF) state.

Employing the Bethe–Salpeter equation (BSE) and the Matsubara recipe, and invoking both the electron–electron and the hole–hole scattering channels, we establish that the binding energy (W) of a Cooper pair (CP) is real, and equals the BCS energy gap (Δ) for all T ≤ T_c for a one-component superconductor. Given that the BCS theory is a generalization of the Hartree–Fock theory (generalized to allow for particle number fluctuations), the cognescenti would expect this result as a direct consequence of Koopman's theorem, proved for and well-known in the latter theory. However, this theorem is seldom mentioned in the literature on superconductivity; on the contrary, there is the statement in well-known texts that the binding energy of a CP becomes imaginary when the above-stated scattering channels are invoked for their formation. The importance of |W| = |Δ| for high-T_c superconductors is brought out by replacing the one-particle propagator in the BSE by a superpropagator — a field-theoretic construct apt for dealing with composite superconductors (CSs). A set of generalized BCS equations is thus obtained which, with the input of the multiple gaps of a CS, enables one to calculate its T_c uniquely. Applications of these equations will be taken up in a subsequent paper.

Based on the concepts of a superpropagator, multiple Debye temperatures, and equivalence of the binding energy of a Cooper pair and the BCS energy gap, the set of generalized BCS equations obtained recently via a temperature-generalized Bethe–Salpeter equation is employed for a unified study of the following composite superconductors: MgB₂, Nb₃Sn, and YBCO. In addition, we study the Nb–Al system in which Cooper pairs as resonances have recently been reported to have been observed. Our approach seems to suggest that a simple extension of the BCS theory that accommodates the concept of Cooper pairs bound via a more than one phonon exchange mechanism may be an interesting candidate for dealing with high-temperature superconductors.

We propose a charge crystal model that captures all the essential physics of the high temperature superconductivity (HTS) in the long wavelength limit. Based on the recent transport and the far-infrared (far-IR) experiments, we argue that the three-dimensional (3D) ordering of the pinned two-dimensional (2D) square electronic lattice (EL) in each CuO₂ plane is the building block of HTS. Incorporating the physical picture derived from the neutron scattering experiments, we demonstrate that our model presents a coherent picture of the HTS. We suggest that the charge crystal model serves as a model for the microscopic theory and, hence, offers the key to the mechanism for the HTS.

A recent Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) model of several cuprate superconductors is based on bosonic Cooper pairs (CPs) moving in 3D with a quadratic energy-momentum (dispersion) relation. The 3D BEC condensate-fraction versus temperature formula poorly fits penetration-depth data for two cuprates in the range 1/2<T/T_c≤1 where T_c is the BEC transition temperature. We show how these fits are dramatically improved, assuming cuprates to be quasi-2D, and how equally good fits are obtained for conventional 3D and quasi-1D nanotube superconducting data, provided the correct linear CP dispersion is assumed in BEC at their assumed corresponding dimensionalities. This is offered as additional concrete empirical evidence for linearly-dispersive pairs in another recent BEC scenario of superconductors within which a BCS condensate turns out to be a very special case.

Following the success of the original BCS theory as applied to superconductivity in metals, it was suggested that the phenomenon of Cooper pairing might also occur in liquid 3-He, though unlike the metallic case the pairs would most likely form in an anisotropic state, and would then lead in this neutral system to superfluidity. However, what had not been anticipated was the richness of the phenomena which would be revealed by the experiments of 1972. In the first place, even in a zero magnetic field there is not one but two superfluid phases, and the explanation of this involves ideas concerning "spin fluctuation feedback" which have no obvious analog in metals. Secondly, the anisotropic nature of the pair wave function, which in the case of the B phase is quite subtle, and the fact that the orientation must be the same for all the pairs, leads to a number of qualitatively new effects, in particular to a spectacular amplification of ultra-weak interactions seen most dramatically in the NMR behavior. In this chapter I review the application of BCS theory to superfluid 3-He with emphasis on these novel features.

We studied the influences of the inclusion of different geometrical defects (circle, triangle, and square) with different Ginzburg–Landau parameters $\kappa$ on the vortex state of a mesoscopic superconducting square immersed in an external applied magnetic field. We calculated the magnetization, vorticity, and density of Cooper pairs for this system, solving the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations. We found a novel and interesting behavior of the vorticity $(N<0)$ at low magnetic fields: a spontaneous generation of anti-vortices due to the breaking inversion symmetry.

We analyzed the role of the inclusion of anti-dots on the vortex state and some calorimetric properties of a mesoscopic superconducting square immersed in an external applied magnetic field. We calculated the magnetization, entropy, Gibbs free energy, density of Cooper pairs and specific heat for this system in a zero field cooling process, solving the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations. We found that the critical temperature is non-dependent on the number of anti-dots and dependent slightly on the size of the defects. Oscillations in the entropy and specific heat are found due the temperature dependence of the superconducting characteristics length.

Dissipative-free electric current flow is one of the most fascinating and practically important properties of superconductors. Theoretical consideration of the charge carriers flow in infinitely long rectangular slab of superconductor in the absence of external magnetic field (so called, self-field) is based on an assumption that the charge carriers have rectilinear trajectories in the direction of the current flow whereas the current density and magnetic flux density are decaying towards superconducting slab with London penetration depth as characteristic length. Here, we calculate charge particle trajectories (as single electron/hole, as Cooper pair) at self-field conditions and find that charge carriers do not follow intuitive rectilinear trajectories along the slab surface, but instead ones have meander shape trajectories cross the whole thickness of the slab. Moreover, if the particle velocity is below some value, the charge moves in opposite direction to nominal current flow. This disturbance of the canonical magnetic flux density distribution and backward movement of Cooper pairs can be entire mechanism for power dissipation in superconductors.

The exact Richardson solution of the reduced BCS Hamiltonian is used to study the BCS-to-BEC crossover, as well as the nature of Cooper pairs, in superconducting and Fermi superfluid media. Based on the exact eigenstate we will discuss the Cooper-pair concept proposing a scenario for the BCS-to-BEC crossover in which a mixture of quasifree fermions and pair resonances (BCS) evolves to a system of weakly bound molecules (BEC). In this single unified scenario the Cooper-pair wavefunction has a unique functional form. We propose a new definition of the condensate fraction which, within the limits of the BCS model, gives a qualitative description of recent experiments in ultracold atomic Fermi gases. Finally, we will introduce a new integrable model for asymmetric superfluid systems able to describe different homogeneous and inhomogeneous competing phases such as, breached superconductivity, deformed Fermi superfluidity, and the elusive Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) state.

A microscopic interpretation is proposed for the behaviour of the superconducting transition temperature T_c as a function of hole concentration p in La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ when oxygen vacancies are suppressed. At high p ∼ 0.32 a BCS-type formula for T_c is assumed, whereas at low p ∼ 0.06 it is proposed that the holes undergo Wigner crystallization. Near the Wigner transition, one has a strongly correlated hole liquid, and Cooper pair binding will become increasingly difficult as p → 0.06 from above, because the Fermi distribution is strongly changed from the unit step function, appropriate near p ∼ 0.32. Some experiments are proposed to test the microscopic model put forward here.