Microscopic theory of strong superfluidity

Various forms of superfluidity in nuclei and nuclear and neutron matter are characterized by the relevance of strong nucleon-nucleon correlations, as well as by gap values, which can be a substantial fraction of the Fermi energy. We present a microscopic many-body theory of nuclear superfluidity. The influence of various physical effects is analyzed within the Green's function formalism and the Bethe-Brueckner-Goldstone expansion. In particular, dispersive effects are discussed in detail. We point out open problems that must be solved before a full understanding of nuclear superfluidity can be achieved.