Eliashberg theory of the Jahn-Teller-Hubbard model

TL;DR

This paper develops an Eliashberg theory for a multiorbital Hubbard model with Jahn-Teller phonons, revealing how phonon softening and electronic fluctuations stabilize superconductivity in fullerides.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent approach incorporating phonon and electron self-energies, highlighting the role of anisotropic phonons and orbiton coupling in superconductivity stabilization.

Findings

Phonon softening enhances superconductivity.

Anisotropic phonons are crucial for stabilization.

Electronic fluctuations and orbitons further support superconductivity.

Abstract

We study a multiorbital Hubbard model coupled to local Jahn-Teller phonons to investigate the superconducting state realized in fullerides. A weak-coupling approach is employed in combination with a local self-energy approximation. In addition to the normal and anomalous self-energies of the electrons, we consider the phonon self-energy, which allows a self-consistent treatment of the energetics. The frequency dependence of the self-energies and their characteristic coefficients, such as renormalization factors and dampings, are investigated in detail using numerical calculations. It is clarified that the anisotropic phonons play an important role in the stabilization of the superconducting state. By comparing the full results to those without phonon self-energies, we show that the superconductivity is stabilized by the softening of the phonon frequency. The effects of electronic fluctuations are also considered, which leads to the coupling to orbitons, an analog of plasmons in the electron gas. This additional contribution further stabilizes the superconducting state.