A Brief Course On Superconductivity

Assignment-2/SBasu

1. What is the value of quantum of flux? Explain flux quantization in a multiply con-
nected superconductor.

2. (a) Write down the BCS Hamiltonian. Write down BCS ground state and explain
all your notations in terms of creation and annihilation operators in presence of
a mean field potential, 4. Compute the expectations values of the kinetic and
potential energies for problem (2) in terms of the coherence factors, uk and vk .
(b) Since |uk |2 + |vk |2 = 1, one can use a single variable, namely, θk , such that
(uk , vk )=(sin θk , cos θk ). Now minimize the free energy with respect to θk and
obtain the BCS gap equation.

3. Find an expression for the energy gap 4 with reference to the Fermi energy in a
superconductor for an attractive potential between the electrons of the form,

V (k, k 0 ) = −V0 for all K, K0 lying within h̄ωD from F (1)

by solving the two-particle Schrödinger equation for a singlet state wave function to
arrive at the result and assume that the elctronic density of states is predominantly
from the contribution at the Fermi surface.

4. Consider pairing of electrons mediated via phonons.

(a) Draw Feynman diagrams of two processes in which an electron with momentum
+k releases a phonon with momentum q which is later reabsorbed by another
electron with momentum −k, and in the other, electron with −k releases phonon
which is later reabsorbed by the electron with +k.
(b) Clearly identify the initial, intermediate and finel state energies. Show that
these processes under certain conditions, yield attractive interaction between
the electrons.

5. The electronic specific heat of a superconducting state is given by,

2 X dfk 1 d42 (T )
Ces = − ( )(Ek2 + β ) (2)
T k dEk 2 dβ

where
1 T 1/2
q
Ek = 42 + ξk2 , fk = , 4(T ) = 1.7440 [1 − ( ) ] (3)
eβEk + 1 Tc
(a) (a) Calculate the jump in specific heat at T = Tc , 4C = (Ces − Cen )|T =Tc .
Express your answer in terms of N (F ), kB and Tc . Symbols have usual
meaning.
4C
(b) Also compute the numerical value of the normalized discontinuity, Cen(T )
, where
2π 2 2
Cen (T ) = 3
N (F )kB T.