Non-Quantum-Critical Routes to Magnetic Superconductivity

Abstract

Electronic superconductivity is most commonly understood to be associated with magnetic quantum criticality. This framework is natural when a quantum critical point is present below the peak of the $T_c$ dome, but it is less satisfactory in the many systems where electronic superconductivity appears without a visible quantum critical point (QCP). Why and where does superconductivity emerge in such cases, given that its condensation energy is generally much smaller than the energy scale of the magnetic order itself? Here we develop an energetic perspective of this non-quantum-critical route to electronic superconductivity. When magnetic order becomes incipient but cannot be fully realized, the opening of a pairing gap lowers the free-energy cost of the nearby fluctuating magnetic state. This means that pairing can become strongest where long range order first becomes fragile. As a result, the strongest pairing tendency can sometimes occur at the edge of the superconducting dome closest to the loss of magnetism, even when $T_c$ itself is relatively small there. The relevant organizing principle is therefore not quantum criticality itself, but proximity to unrealized or disappearing magnetic order. Because many unconventional superconductors show no clear QCP, this perspective provides an alternative framework for understanding the phase diagram of a large class of electronic superconductors and may help identify new superconducting materials.