Energies of dilute Fermi gases and universalities in BCS theory

Thesis

Abstract

Acknowledgements

About the Author

List of Publications

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Preface

I Energies of Dilute Fermi Gases

1 Introduction to the theory of dilute quantum gases

2 Pair of particles in an

3 Ground state energy of the dilute spin-polarized Fermi gas: Upper bound via cluster expansion

4 Ground state energy of the dilute spin-polarized Fermi gas: Lower bound

5 Almost optimal upper bound for the ground state energy of a dilute Fermi gas via cluster expansion

6 Pressure of a dilute spin-polarized Fermi gas: Lower bound

7 Pressure of a dilute spin-polarized Fermi gas: Upper bound

II Universalities in BCS Theory

8 Brief introduction to the BCS theory of superconductivity

9 Universality in low-dimensional BCS theory

10 The BCS energy gap at high density

11 Universal behaviour of the BCS energy gap

Bibliography

This thesis consists of two separate parts. In the first part we consider a dilute Fermi gas interacting through a repulsive interaction in dimensions $d=1,2,3$. Our focus is mostly on the physically most relevant dimension $d=3$ and the setting of a spin-polarized (equivalently spinless) gas, where the Pauli exclusion principle plays a key role. We show that, at zero temperature, the ground state energy density of the interacting spin-polarized gas differs (to leading order) from that of the free (i.e. non-interacting) gas by a term of order $a_p^d\rho^{2+2/d}$ with $a_p$ the $p$-wave scattering length of the repulsive interaction and $\rho$ the density. Further, we extend this to positive temperature and show that the pressure of an interacting spin-polarized gas differs from that of the free gas by a now temperature dependent term, again of order $a_p^d\rho^{2+2/d}$. Lastly, we consider the setting of a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Fermi gas in $d=3$ dimensions and show that here, as an upper bound, the ground state energy density differs from that of the free system by a term of order $a_s \rho^2$ with an error smaller than $a_s \rho^2 (a_s\rho^{1/3})^{1-\eps}$ for any $\eps > 0$, where $a_s$ is the $s$-wave scattering length of the repulsive interaction. These asymptotic formulas complement the similar formulas in the literature for the dilute Bose and spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Fermi gas, where the ground state energies or pressures differ from that of the corresponding free systems by a term of order $a_s \rho^2$ in dimension $d=3$. In the spin-polarized setting, the corrections, of order $a_p^3\rho^{8/3}$ in dimension $d=3$, are thus much smaller and requires a more delicate analysis. In the second part of the thesis we consider the Bardeen--Cooper--Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity and in particular its associated critical temperature and energy gap. We prove that the ratio of the zero-temperature energy gap and critical temperature $\Xi(T=0)/T_c$ approaches a universal constant $\pi e^{-\gamma}\approx 1.76$ in both the limit of high density in dimension $d=3$ and in the limit of weak coupling in dimensions $d=1,2$. This complements the proofs in the literature of this universal behaviour in the limit of weak coupling or low density in dimension $d=3$. Secondly, we prove that the ratio of the energy gap at positive temperature and critical temperature $\Xi(T)/T_c$ approaches a universal function of the relative temperature $T/T_c$ in the limit of weak coupling in dimensions $d=1,2,3$.