Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026

Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Published on: March 24, 2019
Superconductivity Governed by Janus-Faced Fermiology in Strained Bilayer Nickelates
Siheon Ryee1,2, Niklas Witt3, Giorgio Sangiovanni3
1University of Hamburg, I. Institute of Theoretical Physics, Notkestraße 9-11, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
High-temperature superconductivity in pressurized and strained bilayer nickelates (La,Pr)_{3}Ni_{2}O_{7} has emerged as a new frontier. One of the key unresolved issues concerns the fermiology that underlies superconductivity. On both theoretical and experimental sides, no general consensus has been reached, and conflicting results exist regarding whether the relevant Fermi surface involves a γ pocket-a hole pocket with d_{z^{2}}-orbital character centered at the Brillouin zone corner. Here, we address this issue by unveiling a Janus-faced role of the γ pocket in spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity. We show that this pocket simultaneously induces dominant pair-breaking and pair-forming channels for the leading s_{±}-wave pairing. Consequently, an optimal superconducting transition temperature T_{c} is achieved when the γ pocket surfaces at the Fermi level, placing the system near a Lifshitz transition. This suggests that superconductivity can emerge, provided the maximum energy level of the γ pocket lies sufficiently close to the Fermi level, either from below or above. Our finding not only reconciles two opposing viewpoints on the fermiology, but also naturally explains recent experiments on (La,Pr)_{3}Ni_{2}O_{7} thin films, including the superconductivity under compressive strain, two conflicting measurements on the Fermi surface, and the dome shape of T_{c} as a function of hole doping.
Related Concept Videos
Ferromagnetism
Types Of Superconductors
Theory of Metallic Conduction
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...
Superconductor
Fermi Level
At absolute zero temperature, electrons fill all energy states up to the Fermi level, leaving upper states empty. As the temperature rises,...
Valence Bond Theory

