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arXiv · 1805.01039

Mean-field theory for superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract

Recent experiments show how a bilayer graphene twisted around a certain magic angle becomes superconducting as it is doped into a region with approximate flat bands. We investigate the mean-field $s$-wave superconducting state in such a system and show how the state evolves as the twist angle is tuned, and as a function of the doping level. We argue that part of the experimental findings could well be understood to result from an attractive electron--electron interaction mediated by electron--phonon coupling, but the flat-band nature of the excitation spectrum makes also superconductivity quite unusual. For example, as the flat-band states are highly localized around certain spots in the structure, also the superconducting order parameter becomes strongly inhomogeneous.

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T. J. Peltonen, R. Ojajärvi, T. T. Heikkilä. 2018-05-02. Mean-field theory for superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.98.220504

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