Enhancement of superconductivity near a nematic quantum critical point

Abstract

We consider a low $T_c$ metallic superconductor weakly coupled to the soft fluctuations associated with proximity to a nematic quantum critical point (NQCP). We show that: 1) a BCS-Eliashberg treatment remains valid outside of a parametrically narrow interval about the NQCP; 2) the symmetry of the superconducting state (d-wave, s-wave, p-wave) is typically determined by the non-critical interactions, but $T_c$ is enhanced by the nematic fluctuations in all channels; 3) in 2D, this enhancement grows upon approach to criticality up to the point at which the weak coupling approach breaks-down, but in 3D the enhancement is much weaker.

4 pages, plus supplementary material

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Theory of Intertwined Orders in High Temperature Superconductors
• Monolayer FeSe on SrTiO${}_3$
• Pairing from dynamically screened Coulomb repulsion in bismuth
• Effective SU(2) theory for the pseudogap state
• Effect of nematic order on the low-energy spin fluctuations in detwinned BaFe${}_{1.935}$Ni${}_{0.065}$As${}_2$
• Superconductivity and electronic fluctuations in Ba${}_{1-x}$K${}_x$Fe${}_2$As${}_2$ studied by Raman scattering
• NMR study of nematic spin fluctuations in a detwinned single crystal of underdoped Ba(Fe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$)${}_2$As${}_2$
• Local nematic susceptibility in stressed BaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ from NMR electric field gradient measurements
• Nematic fluctuations balancing the zoo of phases in half-filled quantum Hall systems
• Emergent Ising degrees of freedom above double-stripe magnetism