Gauge-invariant microscopic kinetic theory of superconductivity in response to electromagnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper develops a gauge-invariant microscopic kinetic theory for superconductors' electromagnetic response, revealing a three-fluid model involving normal, non-viscous, and viscous superfluids, and predicts new phenomena like an exotic phase with finite resistivity and gap.

Contribution

It introduces a novel three-fluid model for superconductivity response, incorporating viscous superfluid effects and modifying the Ginzburg-Landau theory based on microscopic kinetic analysis.

Findings

Normal fluid appears only when superfluid velocity exceeds a threshold.

Friction between fluids induces viscosity in part of the superfluid.

Predicted an exotic phase with both finite resistivity and superconducting gap.

Abstract

Within a gauge-invariant microscopic kinetic theory, we study the electromagnetic response in the superconducting states. Both superfluid and normal-fluid dynamics are involved. We predict that the normal fluid is present only when the excited superconducting velocity $v_s$ is larger than a threshold $v_L=|\Delta|/k_F$. Interestingly, with the normal fluid, we find that there exists friction between the normal-fluid and superfluid currents. Due to this friction, part of the superfluid becomes viscous. Therefore, a three-fluid model: normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids, is proposed. For the stationary magnetic response, at $v_s<v_L$ with only the non-viscous superfluid, the Meissner supercurrent is excited and the gap equation can reduce to Ginzburg-Landau equation. At $v_s{\ge}v_L$, with the normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids, in addition to the directly excited Meissner supercurrent in the superfluid, normal-fluid current is also induced through the friction drag with the viscous superfluid current. Due to the normal-fluid and viscous superfluid currents, the penetration depth is influenced by the scattering effect. In addition, a modified Ginzburg-Landau equation is proposed. We predict an exotic phase in which both the resistivity and superconducting gap are {\em finite}. As for the optical response, the excited ${v_s}$ oscillates with time. When $v_s<v_L$, only the non-viscous superfluid is present whereas at $v_s{\ge}v_L$, normal fluid, non-viscous and viscous superfluids are present. We show that the excited normal-fluid current exhibits the Drude-model behavior while the superfluid current consists of the Meissner supercurrent and Bogoliubov quasiparticle current. Due to the friction between the superfluid and normal-fluid currents, the optical conductivity is captured by the three-fluid model. ......