We consider the possibility for a pairing in a two-dimensional (2D) repulsive Fermi liquid due to the singularity in the scattering amplitude \ensuremath{\Gamma}(q) at the momentum transfer q\ensuremath{\le}2
pF (Kohn-Luttinger effect). A common belief based on perturbative calculations up to second order in the s-wave scattering amplitude is that this effect is absent in two dimensions. I show that this is not the case. For an arbitrary Fermi liquid, \ensuremath{\Gamma}(q) is found to have a singular part, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}^{\mathrm{sing}}$(q)\ensuremath{\sim} \ensuremath{\surd}1-
q2/(2
pF)2 , for q\ensuremath{\le}2
pF. For large 2D orbital momentum l, this term gives a dominant attractive contribution to the scattering amplitude and leads to a pairing instability in a 2D Fermi liquid with arbitrary short-range repulsion. In the dilute limit, numerical studies show that the effect survives down to l=1 and gives rise to a p-wave pairing. The relevance of these results to experiments on
3He adsorbed on the free surface of
4He is discussed.
We study the Kohn-Luttinger effect in a two-dimensional (2D) nested fermion liquid with a repulsive interaction via the renormalization group method and identify the resulting order parameter symmetry. Using the band structure of the 2D Hubbard model close to half-filling as a prototype, we construct an effective low-energy theory. We use multidimensional bosonization to incorporate the zero-sound channel and find marginal Fermi liquid behavior in the absence of any instability. We show an analog of the Landau theorem in nested fermion liquids, which serves as the criterion of the BCS instability. Including repulsive or antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in the low-energy theory, we show that the ${\mathrm{d}}_{{\mathrm{x}}^{2}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{y}}^{2}}$-wave BCS channel is renormalized to be the most attractive. Below half-filling, when the nesting is not perfect, there is competition between the spin-density-wave (SDW) and the BCS channels; when the SDW coupling is small enough, there occurs a ${\mathrm{d}}_{{\mathrm{x}}^{2}\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{y}}^{2}}$-wave superconducting instability at sufficiently low temperatures.
We consider possible superconducting instabilities in a two-dimensional Fermi system with short-ranged repulsive interactions between electrons. The possibility of an unusual superconducting paring due to the Kohn-Luttinger mechanism is examined. The quasiparticle scattering amplitude is shown to possess an attractive harmonic in second-order perturbation theory for finite values of the energy transfer. The corresponding singularity in the pairing vertex leads to a superconducting pairing of the electron excitations with finite energies. We identify the energy transfer in the Cooper channel as the binding energy of the excited pair. At low enough temperatures, the Fermi system is a mixture of normal electron excitations and fluctuating d-wave Cooper pairs possessing a finite gap.