Cooper pair

plural Cooper pairs

1. natural sciencesA pair of electrons (or other fermions), of opposite spin, whose theorised behaviour is the basis of the BCS theory of superconductivity.

   The fundamental requirement for superconductivity is the existence of Cooper pairs.

   1991, Werner Buckel, Superconductivity: Fundamentals and Applications, Wiley, page 42

   2 more examples

   This is because a superconducting state is composed of extended Cooper pairs. A coherence length, #92;xi, describes the extension length of a Cooper pair over which the two quasiparticles remain bound as a pair.

   2000, Lynne Marie Merchant, Variation of the Superconductor Order Parameter in Quench-condensed Granular Films, University of California, page 8

   This is a direct macroscopic manifestation of the presence of a condensate of Cooper pairs in a superconductor.

   2004, Ludovic Pricoupenko, Hélène Perrin, Maxim Olshanii, Quantum Gases in Low Dimensions, EDP Sciences, page 173

   Synonyms: BCS pair, Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer pair