Resolving phonon-mediated superconducting pairing symmetries from first-principles calculation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new first-principles algorithm to analyze phonon-mediated superconducting pairing symmetries, extending the capabilities of existing methods beyond conventional s-wave superconductivity.

Contribution

The authors develop an efficient algorithm for first-principles analysis of pairing channels, enabling the study of non-s-wave superconductivity mediated by phonons.

Findings

Algorithm successfully applied to multiple material systems

Enables analysis of unconventional pairing symmetries

Extends first-principles methods beyond s-wave superconductivity

Abstract

The quest for topological superconductors triggers revived interests in resolving non-s-wave pairing channels mediated by phonons. While density functional theory and density functional perturbtaion theory have established a powerful framework to calculate electron-phonon couplings in real materials in a first-principles way, its application is largely limited to conventional s-wave superconductivity. Here, we formulate an efficient and simple-to-use algorithm for first-principles pairing channel analysis, and apply it to several representative material systems.