A new formulation to calculate general HFB matrix elements through the Pfaffian

A new formula is presented for the calculation of matrix elements between multi-quasiparticle Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) states. The formula is expressed in terms of the Pfaffian, and is derived by using Fermion coherent states with Grassmann numbers. It turns out that the formula corresponds to an extension of the generalized Wickʼs theorem and simplifies the combinatorial complexity resulting from practical applications of the generalized Wickʼs theorem by unifying the transition density and the transition pairing tensor in HFB theory. The resultant formula is simpler and more compact than the traditional description of matrix elements of general many-body operators. In addition, through the derivation of our new formula, we found that the Pfaffian version of the Lewis Carroll formula corresponds to a relation suggested by Balian and Brezin for HFB theory in 1969.