Two-stage superconductivity in the Hatsugai-Kohmoto-BCS model

TL;DR

This paper investigates a novel two-stage superconducting transition in a strongly correlated electron model, revealing complex pairing behavior and entropy release mechanisms that differ from conventional superconductivity.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of two-stage superconductivity in the HK-BCS model, highlighting a first-order transition and subsequent order parameter increase, with detailed phase analysis.

Findings

First-order superconducting transition at T_c

Sudden increase of order parameter at T'_c

Entropy release near Fermi surfaces and in deep Fermi sea regions

Abstract

Superconductivity in strongly correlated electrons can emerge out from a normal state that is beyond the Landau's Fermi liquid paradigm, often dubbed as "non-Fermi liquid". While the theory for non-Fermi liquid is still not yet conclusive, a recent study on the exactly-solvable Hatsugai-Kohmoto (HK) model has suggested a non-Fermi liquid ground state whose Green's function resembles the Yang-Rice-Zhang ansatz for cuprates [P. W. Phillips, L. Yeo and E. W. Huang, Nat. Phys. $\bf{16}$, 1175 (2020)]. Similar to the effect of on-site Coulomb repulsion in the Hubbard model, the repulsive interaction in the HK model divides the momentum space into three parts: empty, single-occupied and double-occupied regions, that are separated from each other by two distinct Fermi surfaces. In the presence of an additional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-type pairing interaction of a moderate strength, we show that the system exhibits a "two-stage superconductivity" feature as temperature decreases: a first-order superconducting transition occurs at a temperature $T_{\rm c}$ that is followed by a sudden increase of the superconducting order parameter at a lower temperature $T_{\rm c}^{\prime}<T_{\rm c}$. At the first stage, $T_{\rm c}^{\prime}<T<T_{\rm c}$, the pairing function arises and the entropy is released only in the vicinity of the two Fermi surfaces; while at the second stage, $T<T_{\rm c}^{\prime}$, the pairing function becomes significant and the entropy is further released in deep (single-occupied) region in the Fermi sea. The phase transitions are analyzed within the Ginzburg-Landau theory. Our work sheds new light on unconventional superconductivity in strongly correlated electrons.