Eliashberg theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity — When it is valid and how it breaks down

Andrey V. Chubukov, Artem Abanov, Ilya Esterlis, Steven A. Kivelson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

We analyze the validity of Eliashberg theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity in 2D systems in light of recent extensive Monte-Carlo studies of the Holstein model. Conventional wisdom says that Eliashberg theory is applicable as long as vertex corrections remain small. For small ratio of the phonon energy Ω0 and the Fermi energy EF, this condition is supposed to hold even when the dimensionless electron–phonon coupling λ is larger than one, i.e., in the strong coupling regime. A comparison between various quantities computed in the Migdal approximation and those computed by Quantum Monte Carlo prove that this belief is wrong, and we identify analytically some of the ways in which this breakdown occurs for various “normal state” properties at λ=λcr, where λcr=O(1). The breakdown occurs at temperatures high enough that neither superconducting nor charge–density wave correlations extend over any significant range of distances, so it cannot be associated with the onset of an instability toward any of the relevant ordered ground-states — rather it is associated with the local physics of classical bipolaron formation. Still, we show that certain properties, including the superconducting Tc and the superconducting gap structure below Tc, can be accurately inferred from the strong-coupling limit of Eliashberg theory at λ≤λcr.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number168190
JournalAnnals of Physics
Volume417
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Eliashberg theory of phonon-mediated superconductivity — When it is valid and how it breaks down'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this