Pair density wave instability and Cooper pair insulators in gapped fermion systems

Abstract: By analyzing simple models of fermions in lattice potentials we argue that the zero-temperature pairing instability of any ideal band-insulator occurs at a finite momentum. The resulting supersolid state is known as "pair density wave". The pairing momentum at the onset of instability is generally incommensurate as a result of phase-space restrictions and relative strengths of interband and intraband pairing. However, commensurate pairing occurs in the strong-coupling limit and becomes a Cooper-channel analogue of the Halperin-Rice exciton condensation instability in indirect bandgap semiconductors. The exceptional sensitivity of incommensurate pairing to quantum fluctuations can lead to a strongly-correlated insulating regime and a non-BCS transition, even in the case of weak coupling as shown by an exact renormalization group analysis.