Pairing in fermionic systems: A quantum-information perspective

The notion of "paired" fermions is central to important condensed-matter phenomena such as superconductivity and superfluidity. While the concept is widely used and its physical meaning is clear, there exists no systematic and mathematical theory of pairing that would allow us to unambiguously characterize and systematically detect paired states. We propose a definition of pairing and develop methods for its detection and quantification applicable to current experimental setups. Pairing is shown to be a quantum correlation different from entanglement, giving further understanding in the structure of highly correlated quantum systems. In addition, we will show the resource character of paired states for precision metrology, proving that the BCS states allow phase measurements at the Heisenberg limit.