Third Quantization for Order Parameter (I): BCS-BEC crossover with macroscopically coherent state

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new interpretation of the BCS-BEC crossover using third quantization, showing how macroscopic coherent states unify BEC and BCS states through phase coherence and collective behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the phase operator commutation relation naturally emerges from second quantization and models the BCS-BEC crossover as a transition between macroscopic coherent states.

Findings

The phase relation arises from second quantization in the thermodynamic limit.

BCS and BEC states can both be described as bosonic coherent states.

The BCS-BEC crossover is modeled as a transition from local to global phase coherence.

Abstract

We revisit the quantization of the order parameter, which we refer to as third quantization, from the perspective of the commutation relation between the phase operator of the order parameter and the particle-number operator. We show that this macroscopic commutation relation does not constitute an independent fundamental postulate added to quantum mechanics, but instead emerges naturally from second quantization in the thermodynamic limit for both bosonic and fermionic many-body systems. In this sense, both Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) states can be understood as macroscopic quantum states described by bosonic coherent states: in BEC, bosons condense into a single coherent mode with a well-defined phase, while in BCS systems, collective excitations of Cooper pairs can also acquire an effectively bosonic coherent description. On this basis, we propose a new macroscopic interpretation of the BCS-BEC crossover. To characterize this crossover, we model a conventional superconductor as an assembly of macroscopically separated superconducting segments. As the intra-segment coupling increases, the system evolves from a BCS-like regime toward a BEC-like regime, in which the segments collectively behave as macroscopic coherent states. Inter-segment tunneling then locks their phases, establishes global phase coherence, and gives rise to a bulk Bose-Einstein condensate. The phase diagram of the BCS-BEC crossover can thus be understood as a manifestation of a macroscopic quantum process governed by the coherent-state dynamics of the order parameter. Our results provide a unified perspective on BEC, BCS superconductivity, and the BCS-BEC crossover within the framework of third quantization.