Dynamics and effective actions of BCS superconductors

We derive the effective dynamical theory for BCS superconductors, based on the effective action formalism. Both the metallic regime T similar to T-C a nd the superconducting regime T << T-C are studied in the clean and dirty l imit. The full electrodynamics of the problem is formulated in a manifestly gauge-invariant and transparent way. Furthermore, we consider the effect o f particle-hole asymmetry in the band structure, and discuss its consequenc es for vortex dynamics and the topological term in the effective action. Th e effective action is the starting point for treating (quantum-) dynamical problems involving BCS superconductors.