Generalized Coulomb pairing in the condensed state

Abstract

Starting with a view of condensed matter as a neutral assembly of electrons and nuclei, with mutual Coulomb interactions, a coherent-state functional-integral approach gives a first-principles theory of pairing phases that requires no adiabatic separation of time scales. For electrons and protons, both fermions, we show that an interdependent pairing of electrons and of protons can arise at low temperature with effective pairing interactions. A critical point for this system is identified, which is discussed in the light of recent experiments on dense hydrogen.