We theoretically investigate a quartet superfluid state in fermionic matter by using the quartet Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) variational theory and the Green's function method. We demonstrate that the quartet BCS theory with the multiple-infinite-product ansatz successfully reproduces an exact four-body result in a one-dimensional four-component Fermi gas at the dilute limit, in contrast to the single-infinite-product ansatz. To see the validity of the quartet BCS state, we derive the self-consistent equation for the quartet superfluid order parameter within the generalized imaginary-time Nambu-Gor'kov formalism, which is found to be consistent with the quartet BCS variational equation. Moreover, by numerically computing the momentum-resolved single-particle spectral function in a one-dimensional system, we discuss how the single-particle spectra evolve with increasing the strength of the four-body cluster formation. We show that a coherent BCS-like quasiparticle branch on the weak-coupling side evolves into a strongly damped, continuum-dominated spectrum in the strong-coupling side, while nonzero quartet superfluid order parameter persists throughout the crossover regime. Our results would be useful for understanding beyond-BCS pairing effects and four-body cluster formations in fermionic systems in an interdisciplinary way.

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• BCS-BEC crossover
• Nuclear structure & decays
• 1-dimensional systems
• Quantum many-body systems
• BCS theory
• Green's function methods
• Nuclear many-body theory
• Variational approach