Effect of an Electron-phonon Interaction on the One-electron Spectral Weight of a d-wave Superconductor

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electron-phonon interactions influence the one-electron spectral weight in a d-wave superconductor, comparing effects of phonons and magnetic modes, revealing subtle observable differences.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of electron-phonon and magnetic mode effects on spectral weight in d-wave superconductors, highlighting potential experimental signatures.

Findings

Differences in spectral weight are small but potentially observable near k=(pi,0).

Adjusting interaction strength to match nodal renormalization minimizes differences.

The study clarifies the impact of electron-phonon coupling on spectral features in high-Tc superconductors.

Abstract

We analyze the effects of an electron-phonon interaction on the one-electron spectral weight A(k,omega) of a d_{x^2-y^2} superconductor. We study the case of an Einstein phonon mode with various momentum-dependent electron-phonon couplings and compare the structure produced in A(k,omega) with that obtained from coupling to the magnetic pi-resonant mode. We find that if the strength of the interactions are adjusted to give the same renormalization at the nodal point, the differences in A(k,omega) are generally small but possibly observable near k=(pi,0).