Linear Criterion for an Upper Bound on the BCS Critical Temperature

Since BCS theory of superconductivity is non-linear, it is difficult to study superconducting properties analytically. There is a more tractable linear criterion which determines a temperature Tₗ below which the system is superconducting. Here, we observe that there is a similar linear criterion which gives a temperature Tᵤ above which no superconductivity occurs. We provide examples of translation invariant systems where Tᵤ>Tₗ as well as systems where Tᵤ=Tₗ. Furthermore, we estimate Tᵤ for half-spaces and show that it is exponentially small in the weak coupling limit, exhibiting the same asymptotics as the critical temperature for full space.