Abstract
We propose a practical alternative to Eliashberg equations for the ab initio calculation of superconducting transition temperatures and gap functions. Within the recent density functional theory for superconductors, we develop an exchange-correlation functional that retains the accuracy of Migdal’s approximation to the many-body electron-phonon self-energy, while having a simple analytic form. Our functional is based on a parametrization of the Eliashberg self-energy for a superconductor with a single Einstein frequency, and enables density functional calculations of experimental excitation gaps. By merging electronic structure methods and Eliashberg theory, the present approach sets a new standard in quality and computational feasibility for the prediction of superconducting properties.
- Received 3 January 2020
- Revised 10 May 2020
- Accepted 18 June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.057001
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.
Published by the American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Improved Predictions for Superconductors
Published 27 July 2020
A refinement of the density-functional theory used to describe conventional superconductors dramatically increases the accuracy of the theory’s predictions.
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