Collective mode contributions to the Meissner effect: Fulde-Ferrell and pair-density wave superfluids

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate the necessity of including the generally omitted collective-mode contributions in calculations of the Meissner effect for nonuniform superconductors. We consider superconducting pairing with nonzero center-of-mass momentum, as is possibly relevant to high transition temperature cuprates, cold atoms, and color superconductors in quantum chromodynamics. For the concrete example of the Fulde-Ferrell phase we present a quantitative calculation of the superfluid density, showing not only that the collective-mode contributions are appreciable but also that they derive from the amplitude mode of the order parameter. This latter mode is generally viewed as being invisible in conventional superconductors. However, our analysis shows that it is extremely important in pair-density-wave-type superconductors, where it destroys stable superfluidity well before the mean-field order parameter vanishes.