The electron-phonon interaction with forward scattering peak is a relevant approach to high Tc superconductivity in FeSe films on SrTiO3 and TiO2

Abstract

The theory of EPI with strong forward scattering peak (FSP)[1-3] is recently applied in [4-5] in studying high Tc(~100 K) in a FeSe grown on SrTiO3 [4] and TiO2 [6]. The EPI is due to a long-range dipolar electric field created by the high-energy oxygen vibrations (E0~90 meV) at the interface [4-5]. Besides obtaining new results we also correct some misleading results from the recent literature. We show that the mean-field critical temperature Tc0 is an interplay between the maximal pairing potential and the FSP-width qc. For Tc0~100 K the gap (G) is G~16 meV in agreement with ARPES experiments. We find that in leading order Tc0 is mass-independent and there is small oxygen isotope effect in next to leading order. In clean systems Tc0 for s-wave and d-wave pairing is degenerate but both are affected by non-magnetic impurities. The non-magnetic impurities are pair-weakening in the s-channel and pair-breaking in the d-channel. The normal state self-energy at the Fermi surface gives rise to the ARPES quasiparticle band at E=0 and to a replica band at Er=-E0(1+l(m))^1/2, respectively. The EPI coupling l(m), which enters the self-energy, is mass-dependent - the fact overlooked in the literature, makes at low energies the slope of the self-energy mass-dependent. The smallness of the oxygen isotope effect in Tc0 and its presence in the self-energy in FeSe films on SrTiO3 and TiO2 is a smoking-gun experiment for the application of the EPI-FSP theory to these systems. The EPI-FSP theory predicts a large number of low-laying pairing states (above the ground state) thus causing internal pair fluctuations. The latter reduce Tc0 additionally, by creating a pseudogap state for Tc<T<Tc0. Possibilities to increase Tc0 by designing novel structures are discussed in the framework of the EPI-FSP theory.