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Implications of the electron-phonon coupling in CuPb9(PO4)6O for superconductivity: An ab initio study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Implications of the electron-phonon coupling in CuPb9(PO4)6O for superconductivity: An ab initio study

Hari Paudyal, Michael E. Flatté and Durga Paudyal
Physical review materials, Vol.8(1), L011801
01/16/2024
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.8.L011801
url
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2282322View
Open Access

Abstract

Here we report ab initio calculations of the electronic and vibrational properties in CuPb9 (PO4)6O, including the electron-phonon coupling strength via strong-coupling Migdal-Eliashberg theory. We verify the presence of appealing flat electronic bands near the Fermi level, a strong hybridization between the Cu 3d and O 2p states, and soft low-energy phonons, which can suggest high-temperature superconducting behavior. However, the electron-phonon coupling strength appears insufficient to overcome the Coulomb repulsion between an electron pair and thus does not support high-temperature superconductivity in CuPb9 (PO4)6O via the conventional electron-phonon Migdal-Eliashberg mechanism. Even neglecting Coulomb repulsion of the electron pair we find this electron-phonon coupling suggests a superconducting transition temperature of less than 2 K.

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