Two-dimensional delta potential wells and condensed-matter physics

Abstract

It is well-known that a delta potential well in 1D has only one bound state but that in 3D it supports an {\it infinite} number of bound states with {\it infinite} binding energy for the lowest level. We show how this also holds for the less familiar 2D case, and then discuss why this makes 3D delta potential wells unphysical as models of interparticle interactions for condensed-matter many-body systems. However, both 2D and 3D delta wells can be ``regularized'' to support a single bound level which in turn renders them conveniently simple single-parameter interactions, e.g., for modeling the pair-forming dynamics of quasi-2D superconductors such as the cuprates, or in 3D of other superconductors and of neutral-fermion superfluids such as ultra-cold trapped Fermi gases.