Variational and parquet-diagram calculations for neutron matter: S-wave pairing

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 v₆ and the Reid v₆ potentials. It is shown that diagrammatic contributions that are outside the parquet class play an important role. These are, in variational theories, identified as so-called ``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.