Magnetic and Superconducting Properties of ZrZn2 from Ab-initio
Electronic Structure Calculations
Dr. Gilles Santi
University of Bristol, United Kingdom
The interplay between magnetism and
superconductivity has been of great
interest since the advent of the BCS theory.
In this conventional picture, ferromagnetism, acting as a breaker of the Cooper
pairs, is very detrimental to superconductivity. The very recent observation of
the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in ZrZn2 has led to a re-evaluation
of the conventional (electron-phonon) BCS scenario. I will discuss the
ferromagnetic and superconducting properties of ZrZn2 in the framework of
ab-initio electronic structure calculations. In particular, I will show that,
despite a large conventional BCS-like electron-phonon coupling, the
ferromagnetic) spin-fluctuations dominate and can account for spin-triplet
p-wave superconductivity in this material.