Abstract
Model calculations are used to explore the role of demons (acoustic plasmons involving light and heavy mass carriers) in superconductivity. Heavy electrons and light and electrons in a transition metal are used for discussion, but the calculation presented is more general, and the results can be applied to other systems. The analysis is based on the dielectric-function approach and the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. The dielectric function includes intraband and interband scattering, and a tight-binding model is used to examine the role of hybridization. The demon contribution generally reduces the Coulomb interaction between the electrons. Under suitable conditions, the model calculations indicate that the electron-electron interaction via demons can be attractive, but the results also suggest that this mechanism is probably not dominant in transition metals and transition-metal compounds. An attractive interband contribution is found, and it is proposed that this effect may lead to pairing in suitable systems.
- Received 22 October 1980
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.23.3258
©1981 American Physical Society