Interplay of hyperbolic plasmons and superconductivity

Hyperbolic plasmons are collective electron excitations in layered conductors. They are of relevance to a number of superconducting materials, including the cuprates and layered hyperbolic metamaterials [V. N. Smolyaninova, et al. Scientific Reports 6, 34140 (2016)]. This work studies how the unusual dispersion of hyperbolic plasmons affects Cooped pairing. We use the Migdal-Eliashberg equations, which are solved both numerically and analytically using the Grabowski-Sham approximation, with consistent results. We do not find evidence for plasmon-mediated pairing within a reasonable parameter range. However, it is shown that the hyperbolic plasmons can significantly reduce the effects of Coulomb repulsion in the Cooper channel leading to an enhancement of the transition temperature originating from other pairing mechanisms. In the model of a hyperbolic material composed of identical layers, we find this enhancement to be the strongest in the $d$-wave channel. We also discuss strategies for engineering an optimal hyperbolic plasmon background for a further enhancement of superconductivity in both $s$-wave and $d$-wave channels.

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