Conventional BCS, Unconventional BCS, and Non-BCS Hidden Dineutron Phases in Neutron Matter

Abstract

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 $\lambda$, 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 constant has the standard BCS sign, two phases organized by pairing correlations are possible and compete energetically: a conventional BCS phase and a dineutron phase. In dense neutron matter, where $\lambda$ changes sign, only the dineutron phase survives and exists until the critical density for termination of pairing correlations is reached at approximately twice the neutron density in heavy atomic nuclei.

The paper is dedicated to S.T.Belyaev on the occasion of his 90th birthday

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• ${}^1{S}_0$ pairing for neutrons in dense neutron matter induced by a soft pion
• Strongly interacting matter in extreme magnetic fields