We apply parquet-diagram summation methods for the calculation of the superfluid gap in $S$-wave pairing in neutron matter for realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions such as the Argonne $v_6$ and the Reid $v_6$ potentials. It is shown that diagrammatic contributions that are outside the parquet class play an important role. These are, in variational theories, identified as “commutator contributions.” Moreover, using a particle-hole propagator appropriate for a superfluid system results in the suppression of the spin-channel contribution to the induced interaction. Applying these corrections to the pairing interaction, our results agree quite well with quantum Monte Carlo data.

• Received 26 October 2020
• Accepted 15 February 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.103.035808