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    Enhancement of superconductivity by polarization of magnetic impurities in disordered films

    Gleb S. Seleznev1,2 and Yakov V. Fominov1,2,3

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 074505 – Published 17 August, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2tnp-l8dr

    Abstract

    Dirty superconducting films with magnetic impurities can exhibit nontrivial behavior in a magnetic field that polarizes the impurity spins. As predicted by Kharitonov and Feigelman (KF) [JETP Lett. 82, 421 (2005)], this polarization reduces the exchange scattering rate. Consequently, a parallel magnetic field can enhance the critical temperature Tc when magnetic-field pair breaking is weak, as realized for strong spin-orbit scattering and small film thickness. Recently, Llanos et al. [Nat. Phys. 22, 856 (2026)] observed a pronounced enhancement of Tc consistent with the KF theory. The same experiment also reported an enhancement of the perpendicular upper critical field Hc2⊥ and a suppression of the London penetration depth λL by a parallel magnetic field. These quantities were not considered in the original KF theory. To address this gap, we develop a theoretical framework based on Gor'kov's diagrammatic technique for dirty superconductors. We extend the KF theory in two experimentally relevant directions: (i) to arbitrary temperatures T<Tc and several superconducting observables and (ii) to arbitrary magnetic-field orientations. As a result, we demonstrate theoretically the suppression of λL and the enhancement of Hc2⊥ by a parallel magnetic field, in agreement with experiment.

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