Altermagnetism across the BCS-BEC crossover

Abstract

We study a two-dimensional paired Fermi system in which altermagnetism produces a spin splitting that depends on momentum. The interaction strength is described through the two-body binding energy, so that the chemical potential and pairing gap evolve self-consistently from the weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) regime to the strong-coupling Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) regime at fixed density. The stability of the uniform paired state is examined by giving the pairs a small center-of-mass momentum and following the resulting change in free energy. We show that at zero temperature, the phase stiffness follows a universal quadratic suppression, $J/J_0 = 1 - (α/α_0)^2$, across the entire fully gapped crossover regime. Deviations from this relation emerge only on the BCS side upon the opening of gapless Bogoliubov pockets, which rapidly reduce the stiffness and can trigger an instability toward finite-momentum pairing. In the BEC regime, this universal quadratic correction corresponds to the altered effective mass of the tightly bound composite bosons. The model therefore provides a simple setting in which to compare altermagnetic pair breaking on the BCS and BEC sides of the crossover.