On the superconducting critical temperature in Eliashberg theory

Abstract: This thesis presents a brief synopsis of the derivations of the BCS and Eliashberg equations. An analytic formula for the critical temperature $T_c$ in Eliashberg theory is derived, which contains a sum of iterative integral corrections. These iterative integral corrections are the result of an iterative expression for the gap quotient $\Delta(\iw, T)/\Delta(0,T)$, which is derived. At the critical temperature this expression contains no reference to the critical temperature itself due to the gap approaching zero in this limit, $\lim_{T \rightarrow T_c} \Delta(\iw, T) = 0$. This enables explicit calculation of the critical temperature through the aforementioned iterative expression.\\ \\The behaviour of the iterative expression and its corrections are explored numerically with a toy spectral function $\sF$. Through these numerical experiments, this formula is found to be consistent with, though not equal to the successful McMillan formula for the coupling parameter $\lambda$ in the range $0.3 \leq \lambda \leq 1.5$. Below this value, the McMillan formula is found to approach zero critical temperature $T_c$ more rapidly, raising the future question of which of the two expressions is most successful in predicting the critical temperature $T_c$ in this range. \\ \\ For a toy spectral function with a single mode, the zeroth order correction of the iterative expression for the critical temperature $T_c$ is found to be adequate for most practical purposes due to the magnitude of measurement errors in real life measurements of model parameters.