Effect of disorder in BCS–BEC crossover

Abstract

In this paper, we have investigated the effect of weak random disorder in the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer to Bose–Einstein condensation (BCS–BEC) crossover region. The disorder is included in the mean field formalism through Nozières–Smith-Rink (NSR) theory of superconducting fluctuations. A self-consistent numerical solution of the coupled equations involving the superfluid gap parameter and density as a function of the disorder strength, albeit unaffected in the BCS phase, yields a depleted order parameter in the BEC regime and an interesting nonmonotonic behaviour of the condensate fraction in the vicinity of the unitary region, and a gradual depletion thereafter, as the pairing interaction is continuously tuned across the BCS–BEC crossover. The unitary regime thus demonstrates a robust paradigm of superfluidity even when the disorder is introduced. To support the above feature and shed light on a lingering controversial issue, we have computed the behaviour of the sound mode across the crossover that distinctly reveals a suppression of the sound velocity. We also find the Landau critical velocity that shows similar nonmonotonicity as that of the condensate fraction data, thereby supporting a stable superfluid scenario in the unitary limit.