Detecting a preformed pair phase: The response to a pairing forcing field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the response of preformed pairs in strongly coupled superconductors to an external pairing field, providing a theoretical framework to identify preformed pairs and distinguish them from normal metallic states.

Contribution

It offers a theoretical characterization of preformed pairs using dynamical mean-field theory, identifying features that differentiate them from normal metals.

Findings

Response to pairing field reveals preformed pairs characteristics

Second derivative of order parameter indicates preformed pairs

Analytic calculations support numerical results

Abstract

The normal state of strongly coupled superconductors is characterized by the presence of "preformed" Cooper pairs well above the superconducting critical temperature. In this regime, the electrons are paired, but they lack the phase coherence necessary for superconductivity. The existence of preformed pairs implies the existence of a characteristic energy scale associated to a pseudogap. Preformed pairs are often invoked to interpret systems where some signatures of pairing are present without actual superconductivity, but an unambiguous theoretical characterization of a preformed-pair system is still lacking. To fill this gap, we consider the response to an external pairing field of an attractive Hubbard model, which hosts one of the cleanest realizations of a preformed pair phase, and a repulsive model where s-wave superconductivity can not be realized. Using dynamical mean-field theory to study this response, we identify the characteristic features which distinguish the reaction of a preformed pair state from a normal metal without any precursor of pairing. The theoretical detection of preformed pairs is associated with the behavior of the second derivative of the order parameter with respect to the external field, as confirmed by analytic calculations in limiting cases. Our findings provide a solid testbed for the interpretation of state-of-the-art calculations for the normal state of the doped Hubbard model in terms of d-wave preformed pairs and, in perspective, of non-equilibrium experiments in high-temperature superconductors.