Coherence length of neutron superfluids

G. Lazzari, F. V. De Blasio, M. Hjorth-Jensen, Oe. Elgaroey, L. Engvik

Published 1997-01-14Version 1

The coherence length of superfluid neutron matter is calculated from the microscopic BCS wavefunction of a Cooper pair in momentum space making use of the Bonn meson-exchange potential. We find that the coherence length is proportional to the Fermi momentum-to pairing gap ratio, in good agreement with simple estimates used in the literature, and we establish the appropriate fitting constants using our numerical data. Our calculations can be applied to the problem of inhomogeneous superfluidity of hadronic matter in the crust of a neutron star.