Linear response function around a localized impurity in a superconductor

Imaging the effects of an impurity like Zn in high-T-c superconductors [Nature 61 (2000) 746] has rekindled interest in defect problems in the superconducting phase. This has prompted us here to re-examine the early work of March and Murray [Phys. Rev. 120 (1960) 830] on the linear response function in an initially translationally invariant Fermi gas. In particular, we present corresponding results for a superconductor at zero temperature, both in the s- and in the cl-wave case, and mention their direct physical relevance in the case when the impurity potential is highly localized. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.