Fundamental limits on the electron-phonon coupling and superconducting T_c

2024/07/17 by Dmitrii V. Semenok, Semenok, Dmitrii V., B. L. Altshuler +3 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Quantum, superfluid, helium dynamics

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2407.12922

Abstract

Fundamental upper bounds on the electron-phonon interaction strength and superconducting transition temperature T_c in metals are established based on the intrinsic instability of the equilibrium between electrons and the crystal lattice under strong interaction. This instability explains why observed electron-phonon coupling constants are limited to λ\lesssim 4. The theory also accounts for the mechanism of metastable superconductivity with enhanced T_c, which emerges near the instability threshold. Based on theoretical analysis and comparison with experimental data, room-temperature phonon-mediated superconductivity is found to be feasible exclusively in hydrogen compounds.

Cited by

• Stability and Superconductivity of Ternary Polyhydrides

Related

• Upper limit for superconducting transition temperature in electron-phonon superconductors: very strong coupling
• Two Bounds on the Maximum Phonon-Mediated Superconducting Transition Temperature
• The Maximum T_c of Conventional Superconductors at Ambient Pressure
• Transition Temperature of Strong-Coupled Superconductors
• Computational electron-phonon superconductivity: from theoretical physics to material science