Orbital-order as the driving mechanism for superconductivity in ruthenates.

ABSTRACT: Several materials transition from an insulating to a superconducting state by reducing the strength of the electron-phonon coupling associated with charge and bond orderings provided that the coupling remains strong enough to produce Cooper pairs. While the Jahn-Teller effect is at the core of a strong electron-phonon coupling producing insulating states and orbital and bond orderings, its implication in superconductivity remains unobserved. Here, with parameter-free first-principles calculations, we reveal that superconductivity in A₂RuO₄ (A = Sr, Ca) emerges due to an electron-phonon mechanism associated with the proximity of an orbital and bond-ordered phase. The model predicts critical temperatures T_c of 0.5-1.65 K in bulk Sr₂RuO₄

SUBMITTER: Carrasco Alvarez AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11806071 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature