Fast Real-Axis Eliashberg Calculations: Full-bandwidth solutions beyond the constant density of states approximation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a direct real-frequency solution to Migdal-Eliashberg equations that incorporates full electronic structure effects, enabling more accurate spectral and superconducting property calculations without analytic continuation.

Contribution

It presents a computationally efficient real-axis Eliashberg method that accounts for energy-dependent density of states and Coulomb interactions, improving accuracy over constant density approximations.

Findings

Full-bandwidth solutions differ significantly from constant density results.

Application to H₃S shows better agreement with experimental spectra.

Method enables high-resolution, real-frequency calculations without analytic continuation.

Abstract

Experimentally relevant signatures of superconductivity require access to real-frequency quantities, such as the spectral functions, optical response, and transport properties, yet Migdal-Eliashberg calculations are commonly performed on the imaginary axis and then analytically continued, a step that is numerically delicate and can obscure physically relevant spectral features. Here we present a practical route to solving the finite-temperature Migdal-Eliashberg equations directly on the real-frequency axis, while retaining the effects from the full-bandwidth electronic structure. Our formulation accounts for particle-hole asymmetry through an energy-dependent electronic density of states, avoiding the constant density of states approximation often used in real-axis calculations, and includes a static screened Coulomb contribution. We introduce an efficient numerical technique to solve the Migdal-Eliashberg integrals whose computational cost scales linearly with the real-frequency grid, making high-resolution, full-bandwidth real-axis calculations feasible and providing direct access to the interacting Green's function and derived observables without analytic continuation. As an illustration, we apply the method to H$_{3}$S, where a van-Hove singularity near the Fermi level produces strong particle-hole asymmetry. The full-bandwidth solution yields noticeably different spectra than the constant density of states approximation and brings the superconducting gap and lineshapes into closer agreement with experiment, highlighting when band-structure details are essential. Furthermore, the methods presented here open the door to time-dependent, nonequilibrium simulations within Eliashberg theory.