2017/08/31 by Ananya Ghatak, Tanmoy Das · 75 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Condensed matter physics #Cooper pair #Hamiltonian (control theory) #Hermitian matrix #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Pairing #Parity (physics) #Physics #Quantum Mechanics and Non-Hermitian Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics #Quasiparticle #Superconductivity #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.supr-con #math-ph #math.MP #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.97.014512
published in Physical review. B./Physical review. B 97(1) (American Physical Society) · 15 pages including appendices (2 columns), (v2): Hermitian pairing solution of the DM interaction is added; and conditions for obtaining non-Hermitian pairings are further delineated
arxiv created 2017/09/12 · openalex publication_date 2018/01/17 · arxiv updated 2018/01/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Recently developed parity (P) and time-reversal (T) symmetric non-Hermitian systems govern a rich variety of new and characteristically distinct physical properties, which may or may not have a direct analog in their Hermitian counterparts. We study here a non-Hermitian, PT-symmetric superconducting Hamiltonian that possesses a real quasiparticle spectrum in the PT-unbroken region of the Brillouin zone. Within a single-band mean-field theory, we find that real quasiparticle energies are possible when the superconducting order parameter itself is either Hermitian or anti-Hermitian. Within the corresponding Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory, we find that several properties are characteristically distinct and novel in the non-Hermitian pairing case than its Hermitian counterpart. One of our significant findings is that while a Hermitian superconductor gives a second-order phase transition, the non-Hermitian one produces a robust first-order phase transition. The corresponding thermodynamic properties and the Meissner effect are also modified accordingly. Finally, we discuss how such a PT-symmetric pairing can emerge from an antisymmetric potential, such as the Dzyloshinskii-Moriya interaction, but with an external bath, or complex potential, among others.