Pairing, Crossover and Inhomogeneous Superconductivity in the Attractive Hubbard Model

Abstract

One- and two-dimensional attractive Hubbard models in the presence of magnetic field h are studied in a wide range of on-site interaction strength U, temperature T and electron concentration n by means of the generalized self-consistent field (GSCF) approach with renormalized chemical potential. Pairing, the smooth crossover from the BCS regime into the Bose condensation state and the inhomogeneous superconductivity with the non-uniform order parameter are investigated. The excitation spectrum, the momentum distribution function and thermodynamic properties, including the concentration of double occupied sites, the kinetic energy, and the chemical potential, are calculated. The numerical calculations are found in a good agreement with the Bethe-ansatz results and quantum Monte-Carlo calculations in a wide range of system parameters U, n and h. The GSCF theory correctly displays the separation of the energy gap from the order parameter (crossover) as n or |U| decrease. The concentration of double occupied sites and the bound electron pairs n pair are calculated and we found a simple relationship between the order parameter and n pair , valid for the arbitrary U and all n in any dimension. The developed GSCF approach in magnetic field suggests a smooth transition into the inhomogeneous superconducting state.