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Effect of spin-orbit coupling on the electron-phonon interaction of the superconductors Pb and Tl

R. Heid, K.-P. Bohnen, I. Yu. Sklyadneva, and E. V. Chulkov
Phys. Rev. B 81, 174527 – Published 24 May 2010

Abstract

The influence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on the electron-phonon interaction and on the pairing strength is investigated for Pb and Tl within density-functional theory. For Pb we find that SOC increases the coupling constant λ by 44%, solving the longstanding puzzle of too small λ values obtained consistently in previous first-principles calculations. The origin of the SOC-induced enhancement of λ lies both in a softening of the phonon spectrum and in an increase in the electron-phonon coupling matrix elements. In contrast, for the neighboring element Tl only weak effects of SOC on the phonon spectrum and the electron-phonon interaction is obtained, leading to an overall reduction in λ by 12%. In both cases, the inclusion of SOC improves the agreement with experiment.

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  • Received 22 March 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.174527

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

R. Heid and K.-P. Bohnen

  • Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Institut für Festkörperphysik, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

I. Yu. Sklyadneva

  • Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), P. de Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20080 San Sebastián/Donostia, Basque Country, Spain; Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science, pr. Academicheskii 2/1, 634021 Tomsk, Russia; and Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Institut für Festkörperphysik, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

E. V. Chulkov

  • Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), P. de Manuel Lardizabal 4, 20080 San Sebastián/Donostia, Basque Country, Spain; Departamento de Física de Materiales, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, UPV/EHU, Apdo. 1072, 20080 San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain; and Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM), Materials Physics Center (MPC), Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU, Edificio Korta, Avenida de Tolosa 72, 20018 San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain

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Issue

Vol. 81, Iss. 17 — 1 May 2010

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