Molecular Pairing in Twisted Bilayer Graphene Superconductivity

TL;DR

This paper proposes a phonon-mediated pairing mechanism in twisted bilayer graphene that overcomes Coulomb repulsion, leading to nematic d-wave superconductivity with potential p-wave features, supported by a non-perturbative theoretical proof.

Contribution

It introduces a novel pairing mechanism in MATBG analogous to molecular superconductors, demonstrating how phonons induce effective attraction despite strong Coulomb repulsion.

Findings

Phonon-mediated interaction $J_A$ can induce superconductivity in MATBG.

Ground state exhibits nematic d-wave singlet pairing.

Existence of an optimal Coulomb interaction $U$ for superconductivity.

Abstract

We propose a theory for how the weak phonon-mediated interaction ($J_{\rm A}\!=\!1\!\sim\!4$meV) wins over the prohibitive Coulomb repulsion ($U\!=\!30\!\sim\!60$meV) and leads to a superconductor in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG). We find the pairing mechanism akin to that in the A$_3$C$_{60}$ family of molecular superconductors: Each AA stacking region of MATBG resembles a C$_{60}$ molecule, in that optical phonons can dynamically lift the degeneracy of the moir\'e orbitals, in analogy to the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect. Such induced $J_{\rm A}$ has the form of an inter-valley anti-Hund's coupling and is less suppressed than $U$ by the Kondo screening near a Mott insulator. Additionally, we also considered an intra-orbital Hund's coupling $J_{\rm H}$ that originates from the on-site repulsion of a carbon atom. Under a reasonable approximation of the realistic model, we prove that the renormalized local interaction between quasi-particles must have a pairing (negative) channel in a doped correlated insulator at $\nu=\pm(2+\delta\nu)$, albeit the bare interaction is positive definite. The proof is non-perturbative and based on exact asymptotic behaviors of the vertex function imposed by Ward identities. Existence of an optimal $U$ for superconductivity is predicted. We also analyzed the pairing symmetry. In a large area of the parameter space of $J_{\rm A}$, $J_{\rm H}$, the ground state has a nematic $d$-wave singlet pairing, which, however, can lead to a $p$-wave-like nodal structure due to the Berry's phase on Fermi surfaces (or Euler obstruction).