Algebraic Bethe ansatz for a discrete-state BCS pairing model

Abstract

We show in detail how Richardson's exact solution of a discrete-state BCS (DBCS) model can be recovered as a special case of an algebraic Bethe Ansatz solution of the inhomogeneous XXX vertex model with twisted boundary conditions: by implementing the twist using Sklyanin's K-matrix construction and taking the quasiclassical limit, one obtains a complete set of conserved quantities, H_i, from which the DBCS Hamiltonian can be constructed as a second order polynomial. The eigenvalues and eigenstates of the H_i (which reduce to the Gaudin Hamiltonians in the limit of infinitely strong coupling) are exactly known in terms of a set of parameters determined by a set of on-shell Bethe Ansatz equations, which reproduce Richardson's equations for these parameters. We thus clarify that the integrability of the DBCS model is a special case of the integrability of the twisted inhomogeneous XXX vertex model. Furthermore, by considering the twisted inhomogeneous XXZ model and/or choosing a generic polynomial of the H_i as Hamiltonian, more general exactly solvable models can be constructed. -- To make the paper accessible to readers that are not Bethe Ansatz experts, the introductory sections include a self-contained review of those of its feature which are needed here.