Heavy fermion d-wave superconductivity: a X-boson approach

From an extension of the periodic Anderson model (PAM) in the $U=\infty$ limit taking into account the effect of a nearest neighbor attractive interaction between $f$-electrons, we compare the obtained superconducting phase diagram of a two dimensional d-wave superconductor with the results obtained for an isotropic s-wave superconductor employing the X-boson method.Comment: Submitted to the Proceeding of the ICM 2003-Rome. Requires elsart3.cl

BCS Model in Tsallis' Statistical Framework

We show that there is an effect of nonextensivity acting upon the BCS model for superconductors in the ground state that motivates its study in the Tsallis' statistical framework. We show that the weak-coupling limit superconductors are well described by $q \sim 1$, where q is a real parameter which characterizes the degree of nonextensivity of the Tsallis' entropy. Nevertheless, small deviations with respect to q = 1 provide better agreement when compared with experimental results. To illustrate this point, making use of an approximated Fermi function, we show that measurements of the specific heat, ultrasonic attenuation and tunneling experiments for tin (Sn) are better described with q = 0.99.Comment: 13 pages, amssym

Superconductivity in graphene stacks: from the bilayer to graphite

We study the superconducting phase transition, both in a graphene bilayer and in graphite. For that purpose we derive the mean-field effective potential for a stack of graphene layers presenting hopping between adjacent sheets. For describing superconductivity, we assume there is an on-site attractive interaction between electrons and determine the superconducting critical temperature as a function of the chemical potential. This displays a dome-shaped curve, in agreement with previous results for two-dimensional Dirac fermions. We show that the hopping between adjacent layers increases the critical temperature for small values of the chemical potential. Finally, we consider a minimal model for graphite and show that the transition temperature is higher than that for the graphene bilayer for small values of chemical potential. This might explain why intrinsic superconductivity is observed in graphite

Quantum Criticality and Superconductivity in Quasi-Two-Dimensional Dirac Electronic Systems

We present a theory describing the superconducting (SC) interaction of Dirac electrons in a quasi-two-dimensional system consisting of a stack of N planes. The occurrence of a SC phase is investigated both at T=0 and T\neq 0, in the case of a local interaction, when the theory must be renormalized and also in the situation where a natural physical cutoff is present in the system. In both cases, at T=0, we find a quantum phase transition connecting the normal and SC phases at a certain critical coupling. The phase structure is shown to be robust against quantum fluctuations. The SC gap is determined for T=0 and T\neq 0, both with and without a physical cutoff and the interplay between the gap and the SC order parameter is discussed. Our theory qualitatively reproduces the SC phase transition occurring in the underdoped regime of the high-Tc cuprates. This fact points to the possible relevance of Dirac electrons in the mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity.Comment: To be published in Nuclear Physics, Section B. 24 pages, 4 figure