  We investigate the BCS treatment of neutron-proton pairing involving
time-reversed orbits. We conclude that an isospin-symmetric hamiltonian,
treated with the help of the generalized Bogolyubov transformation, fails to
describe the ground state pairing properties correctly. In order for the np
isovector pairs to coexist with the like-particle pairs, one has to break the
isospin symmetry of the hamiltonian by artificially increasing the strength of
np pairing interaction above its isospin symmetric value. We conjecture that
the np isovector pairing represents part (or most) of the congruence energy
(Wigner term) in nuclear masses.

Nuclear Theory