Some properties of the eigenstates in the many-electron problem

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the properties of eigenstates in a many-electron system with two-body interactions, classifying solutions and examining their relation to off-diagonal long-range order and superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces a classification of eigenstates in many-electron Hamiltonians, linking off-diagonal long-range order to specific eigenstate classes and clarifying their relation to superconductivity.

Findings

Eigenstates divide into two classes with distinct properties.

Class 1 eigenstates exhibit off-diagonal long-range order.

Off-diagonal long-range order alone does not imply superconductivity.

Abstract

A general hamiltonian $H$ of electrons in finite concentration, interacting via any two-body coupling inside a crystal of arbitrary dimension, is considered. For simplicity and without loss of generality, a one-band model is used to account for the electron-crystal interaction. The electron motion is described in the Hilbert space $S_\phi$, spanned by a basis of Slater determinants of one-electron Bloch wave-functions. Electron pairs of total momentum $K$ and projected spin $\zeta=0,\pm1$ are considered in this work. The hamiltonian then reads $H=H_D+\sum_{K,\zeta}H_{K,\zeta}$, where $H_D$ consists of the diagonal part of $H$ in the Slater determinant basis. $H_{K,\zeta}$ describes the off-diagonal part of the two-electron scattering process which conserves $K$ and $\zeta$. This hamiltonian operates in a subspace of $S_\phi$, where the Slater determinants consist of pairs characterised by the same $K$ and $\zeta$. It is shown that the whole set of eigensolutions $\psi, \epsilon$ of the time-independent Schr\"{o}dinger equation $(H-\epsilon)\psi=0$ divides in two classes, $\psi_1,\epsilon_1$ and $\psi_2,\epsilon_2$. The eigensolutions of class 1 are characterised by the property that for each solution $\psi_1,\epsilon_1$ there is a single $K$ and $\zeta$ such that $(H_D+H_{K,\zeta}-\epsilon_1)\psi_{K,\zeta}=0$ where in general $\psi_1 \ne \psi_{K,\zeta}$, whereas each solution $\psi_2,\epsilon_2$ of class 2 fulfils $(H_D-\epsilon_2)\psi_2=0$. We prove also that the eigenvectors of class 1 have off-diagonal long-range order whereas those of class 2 do not. Finally our result shows that off-diagonal long-range order is not a sufficient condition for superconductivity.