Revisiting electromagnetic response of superconductors in mean-field approximation

Abstract

In the standard mean-field treatment of superconductors, the electron-electron interactions are assumed to be written in terms of local density operators. However, more general interactions, such as pair-hopping interactions, may exist or may be generated in a low-energy effective Hamiltonian. In this work, we study the effect of correlated hopping interactions toward the electromagnetic response of superconductors. When only the Hamiltonian after the mean-field approximation is provided, one cannot unambiguously determine its electromagnetic response whenever such interactions are allowed. This work demonstrates that such interactions induce additional terms in the current operator, leading to modifications in the Meissner weight and optical conductivities that deviate from conventional expectations. These results underscore the need for caution when incorporating gauge fields into the BdG Hamiltonian.