Four-Particle Condensate in Strongly Coupled Fermion Systems

Four-particle correlations in fermion systems at finite temperatures are investigated with special attention to the formation of a condensate. Instead of the instability of the normal state with respect to the onset of pairing described by the Gorkov equation, a new equation is obtained which describes the onset of ``quartetting.'' Applying to symmetric nuclear matter, below a critical density, the four-particle condensation ( $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-like quartetting) is found to be favored over deuteron condensation (triplet pairing). This pairing-quartetting competition is expected to be a general feature of interacting fermion systems, such as the exciton-biexciton system in excited semiconductors. Possible experimental consequences are pointed out.