Enhancement of superconducting Tc due to the spin-orbit interaction

Joel Hutchinson; J. E. Hirsch; Frank Marsiglio

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.97.184513

← Back to search

Enhancement of superconducting Tc due to the spin-orbit interaction

Joel Hutchinson, J. E. Hirsch, Frank Marsiglio

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.97.184513 · Physical Review B

T1

Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval

Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.

Abstract

We calculate the superconducting Tc for a system which experiences Rashba spin-orbit interactions. Contrary to the usual case where the electron-electron interaction is assumed to be wave vector independent, where superconductivity is suppressed by the spin-orbit interaction (except for a small region at low electron or hole densities), we find an enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature when we include a correlated hopping interaction between electrons. This interaction originates in the expansion of atomic orbitals due to electron-electron repulsion and gives rise to superconductivity only at high electron (low hole) densities. When superconductivity results from this interaction it is enhanced by spin-orbit coupling, in spite of a suppression of the density of states. The degree of electron-hole asymmetry about the Fermi surface is also enhanced.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
BiTeI Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown