Screening-Approximation Prediction of Peaking in the Specific Heat of a Superconducting Film

Douglas J. Scalapino; Richard A. Ferrell; Alan J. Bray

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.31.292

Screening-Approximation Prediction of Peaking in the Specific Heat of a Superconducting Film

Douglas J. Scalapino, Richard A. Ferrell, and Alan J. Bray

Phys. Rev. Lett. 31, 292 – Published 30 July 1973

Abstract

All contributions to the free energy of $O (n)$ and of $O (1)$ are computed for an $n$ -component two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau field. The $O (1)$ terms correspond to ring diagrams, and their sum constitutes the first-order screening approximation. The second derivative of the free energy with respect to temperature yields a predicted specific heat for $n = 2$ which peaks, in qualitative disagreement with the monotonic temperature variation found experimentally for a superconducting film by Zally and Mochel.

Received 27 March 1973

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.31.292

Authors & Affiliations

Douglas J. Scalapino^*

Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93105

Richard A. Ferrell^†

Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

Alan J. Bray^‡

Physics Laboratory, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent, England

^*Research sponsored by the U. S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command, under Grant No. AFOSR 71-2007.
^†Research supported in part by the Office of Naval Research.
^‡Research supported in part by the Science Research Council.