Cooper pair

E8656

A Cooper pair is a bound state of two electrons (or other fermions) that move together in a correlated way, enabling superconductivity by forming a collective quantum state with zero electrical resistance.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf bound state
composite boson
physical concept
quasiparticle
canHavePairingSymmetry d-wave
p-wave
s-wave
contributesTo energy gap in superconductor
emergesFromInteraction attractive electron–electron interaction
electron–phonon interaction
enablesPhenomenon superconductivity
superfluidity of fermions
existsBelow critical temperature of superconductor
existsIn conventional superconductors
superfluid helium-3 analogs
type-I superconductors
type-II superconductors
formsCollectiveState macroscopic quantum state
superconducting condensate
hasCenterOfMassMomentum approximately zero in ground state
hasConstituent electron
fermion
hasElectricCharge -2e
hasLengthScale coherence length
hasMomentumState paired states near Fermi surface
hasProperty Bose–Einstein statistics as composite
correlated motion of electrons
extended spatial size
finite binding energy
long-range phase coherence
hasRelativeAngularMomentum s-wave in conventional superconductors
hasSpin integer spin
hasTotalSpin 0
hasTypicalSpinState spin singlet
hasWavefunction pair wavefunction extending over many lattice sites
isBrokenBy sufficiently strong electric current
sufficiently strong magnetic field
thermal excitations above critical temperature
isDescribedIn many-body quantum theory
isModeledAs pairing of time-reversed states
namedAfter Leon Cooper
obeys BCS gap equation
occursInTheory BCS theory
resultsIn Meissner effect
zero DC electrical resistance
suppresses electron scattering
wasIntroducedInContextOf BCS theory of superconductivity
wasProposedBy Leon Cooper
yearProposed 1956

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Leon Cooper
notableConcept
BCS theory of superconductivity
usesConcept

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