Is electromagnetic gauge invariance spontaneously violated in superconductors?

DOI10.1016/J.AOP.2005.03.008MaRDI QIDQ2565559zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Publication date 27 September 2005

Published in Annals of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0503400

effective field theory gauge invariance Higgs mechanism order parameter superconductivity superfluidity

Yang-Mills and other gauge theories in quantum field theory (81T13) Statistical mechanics of magnetic materials (82D40) Statistical mechanics of superfluids (82D50) Statistical mechanics of superconductors (82D55)

Abstract: We aim to give a pedagogical introduction to those elementary aspects of superconductivity which are not treated in the classic textbooks. In particular, we emphasize that global U(1) phase rotation symmetry, and not gauge symmetry, is spontaneously violated, and show that the BCS wave function is, contrary to claims in the literature, fully gauge invariant. We discuss the nature of the order parameter, the physical origin of the many degenerate states, and the relation between formulations of superconductivity with fixed particle numbers vs. well defined phases. We motivate and to some extend derive the effective field theory at low temperatures, explore symmetries and conservation laws, and justify the classical nature of the theory. Most importantly, we show that the entire phenomenology of superconductivity essentially follows from the single assumption of a charged order parameter field. This phenomenology includes Anderson's characteristic equations of superfluidity, electric and magnetic screening, the Bernoulli Hall effect, the balance of the Lorentz force, as well as the quantum effects, in which Planck's constant manifests itself through the compactness of the U(1) phase field. The latter effects include flux quantization, phase slippage, and the Josephson effect.

Review text

This review paper is devoted to discussion of the possibility of spontaneous breaking down gauge invariance in a superconductor. The author answers this question negatively. First, it is discussed the danger of statement about spontaneous violation of the gauge invariance in a superconductor for correct description of superconductivity in terms of an effective field theory, but also microscopic model Hamiltonians and trial wave functions. In particular, it is shown that the BCS ground state is fully gauge invariant. Then, the nature of the order parameter in superconductors is discussed to being finite systems, which always possess a unique ground state. This consideration is based on analogy to quantum antiferromagnets, also possessing a unique and rotationally invariant ground state for finite systems. Further, the effective field theory of a superconductor at low temperature is motivated and elaborated. One contains the theory of a neutral superfluid as the special case, where the charge is set to zero. The particle density and current as well as the energy and momentum density are obtained from the physical symmetries of the theory, invariance under global U(1) phase rotations of the order parameter and invariance under translations in time and space. Then, it is obtained a gauge invariant generalization of Anderson's characteristic equations of superfluidity to the case of superconductors. Next, it is discussed the phenomenology of superconductors as compared to neutral superfluids or the Higgs mechanism. For simply connected superconductors, the author solves the motion equations, obtains electric and magnetic screening, London's equation, the Bernoulli-Hall effect and the balance of the Lorentz force. It is demonstrated, that the Higgs mechanism never corresponds to a spontaneous violation of a gauge symmetry. Finally, there are reviewed quantum effects, namely: the quantization of magnetic flux in superconductors, phase slippage, and the Josephson effect in both neutral superfluids and superconductors. In these effects Planck's constant manifests itself in the phenomenology through the compactness of the order parameter phase field. These effects require either a non-trivial topology or more than one superfluid. In total, this review is very well motivated and valided in pedagogical sense and may be useful students studying superconductivity and superfluidity.

Recommendations

Cites work

Cited in

(9)

This page was built for publication: Is electromagnetic gauge invariance spontaneously violated in superconductors?

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2565559)