Theory of superconductivity for Dirac electrons in graphene

Abstract

Phonon-exchange-induced superconducting pairing of effectively ultrarelativistic electrons in graphene is investigated. The Eliashberg equation obtained for describing pairing in the Cooper channel with allowance for delayed interaction are matrix equations with indices corresponding to the valence and conduction bands. The equations are solved in the high doping limit, in which pairing is effectively a single-band process, and in the vicinity of a critical quantum point of underdoped graphene for a value of the coupling constant for which pairing is an essentially multiband process. For such cases, analytic estimates are obtained for the superconducting transition temperature of the system. It is shown that the inclusion of dynamic effects makes it possible to determine the superconducting transition temperature, as well as the critical coupling constant for underdoped graphene, more accurately than in the static approximation of the BCS type. Estimates of the constants of electron interaction with the scalar optical phonon mode in graphene indicate that an appreciable superconducting transition temperature can be attained under a high chemical doping level of graphene.