Nodes of the Gap Function and Anomalies in Thermodynamic Properties of Superfluid ${}^3$He

Abstract

Departures of thermodynamic properties of three-dimensional superfluid ${}^3$He from the predictions of BCS theory are analyzed. Attention is focused on deviations of the ratios $\Delta (T=0)/T_c$ and $[C_s(T_c)-C_n(T_c)]/C_n(T_c)$ from their BCS values, where $\Delta (T=0)$ is the pairing gap at zero temperature, $T_c$ is the critical temperature, and $C_s$ and $C_n$ are the superfluid and normal specific heats. We attribute these deviations to the momentum dependence of the gap function $\Delta (p)$, which becomes well pronounced when this function has a pair of nodes lying on either side of the Fermi surface. We demonstrate that such a situation arises if the P-wave pairing interaction $V(p_1,p_2)$, evaluated at the Fermi surface, has a sign opposite to that anticipated in BCS theory. Taking account of the momentum structure of the gap function, we derive a closed relation between the two ratios that contains no adjustable parameters and agrees with the experimental data. Some important features of the effective pairing interaction are inferred from the analysis.

arXiv comment17 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Anomalous Behavior of Thermodynamic Properties of Strongly Correlated Fermi Systems