Possible Relevance of Odd Frequency Pairing to Heavy Fermion Superconductivity

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential role of odd-frequency pairing in heavy fermion superconductors, proposing a two-component quasiparticle model that accounts for gapless excitations and coexistence of paired and unpaired electrons.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interpretation of heavy fermion superconductivity based on odd-frequency pairing, expanding understanding of quasiparticle behavior.

Findings

Proposes a two-component model for quasiparticles in HFSC

Suggests coexistence of gapless unpaired and paired electrons

Highlights vanishing coherence factors in the model

Abstract

What is the character of the gapless quasiparticles in heavy fermion superconductors (HFSC)? We discuss an odd-frequency pairing interpretation of HFSC which leads to a two component model for the quasiparticle excitations. In this picture, line zeroes of unpaired electrons may coexist with gapless surfaces of paired electrons, with vanishing spin and charge coherence factors.