Origin of the material dependence of $T_c$ in the single-layered cuprates

TL;DR

This study investigates how the energy difference between specific orbitals in single-layered cuprates influences the superconducting transition temperature, revealing that orbital hybridization suppresses $T_c$ more than Fermi surface shape.

Contribution

It introduces a two-orbital model highlighting the role of $d_{z^2}$ orbital hybridization and identifies key structural parameters affecting $T_c$ in cuprates.

Findings

Smaller $\Delta E$ suppresses $T_c$ due to increased $d_{z^2}$ hybridization.

Orbital hybridization effects outweigh Fermi surface nesting in determining $T_c$.

Structural parameters like apical oxygen height influence the orbital energy difference $\Delta E$.

Abstract

In order to understand the material dependence of $T_c$ within the single-layered cuprates, we study a two-orbital model that considers both $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{z^2}$ orbitals. We reveal that a hybridization of $d_{z^2}$ on the Fermi surface substantially affects $T_c$ in the cuprates, where the energy difference $\Delta E$ between the $d_{x^2-y2}$ and $d_{z^2}$ orbitals is identified to be the key parameter that governs both the hybridization and the shape of the Fermi surface. A smaller $\Delta E$ tends to suppress $T_c$ through a larger hybridization, whose effect supersedes the effect of diamond-shaped (better-nested) Fermi surface. The mechanism of the suppression of d-wave superconductivity due to $d_{z^2}$ orbital mixture is clarified from the viewpoint of the ingredients involved in the Eliashberg equation, i.e., the Green's functions and the form of the pairing interaction described in the orbital representation. The conclusion remains qualitatively the same if we take a three-orbital model that incorporates Cu 4s orbital explicitly, where the 4s orbital is shown to have an important effect of making the Fermi surface rounded. We have then identified the origin of the material and lattice-structure dependence of $\Delta E$, which is shown to be determined by the energy difference $\Delta E_d$ between the two Cu3d orbitals (primarily governed by the apical oxygen height), and the energy difference $\Delta E_p$ between the in-plane and apical oxygens (primarily governed by the interlayer separation $d$).