- Open Access
Spin-fluctuation-mediated unconventional -wave superconductivity in ThFeAsN from first principles
Phys. Rev. Research 8, 043057 – Published 16 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9ft6-nfbj
Abstract
Superconducting (SC) pairing mechanism, origin of high , and symmetry of SC order parameter in Fe-based superconductors are among the important unsolved problems in condensed matter and materials physics. We study the SC properties of ThFeAsN, an Fe-based high- superconductor, by ab initio superconducting density functional theory calculations with electron-phonon coupling, screened static and dynamic electron-electron Coulomb repulsion, and spin fluctuation (SF)-mediated pair interaction fully taken into account. Our calculations reveal that ThFeAsN is an SF-mediated multiband superconductor with the calculated of 22.4 K and the -wave SC order parameter with different signs on different Fermi surface sheets, consistent with most experiments. We also present distinct SC properties such as quasiparticle density of states and ultrasonic attenuation coefficient, which can be immediately verified by experiments.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (50)
- Y. Kamihara, T. Watanabe, M. Hirano, and H. Hosono, Iron-based layered superconductor with , J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 3296 (2008).
- G. R. Stewart, Superconductivity in iron compounds, Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 1589 (2011).
- X. Chen, P. Dai, D. Feng, T. Xiang, and F.-C. Zhang, Iron-based high transition temperature superconductors, Natl. Sci. Rev. 1, 371 (2014).
- T. Shibauchi, T. Hanaguri, and Y. Matsuda, Exotic superconducting states in FeSe-based materials, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 89, 102002 (2020).
- J. Bardeen, L. N. Cooper, and J. R. Schrieffer, Theory of superconductivity, Phys. Rev. 108, 1175 (1957).
- L. Boeri, O. V. Dolgov, and A. A. Golubov, Is an electron-phonon superconductor?, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 026403 (2008).
- S. Sen and G.-Y. Guo, Electronic structure, lattice dynamics, and magnetic properties of ( = Fe, Co, Ni) superconductors: A first-principles study, Phys. Rev. B 102, 224505 (2020).
- F. Schrodi, F. C. Kabeer, A. Aperis, and P. M. Oppeneer, Exploring multichannel superconductivity in ThFeAsN, Phys. Rev. B 104, 094516 (2021).
- J. Dong, H. J. Zhang, G. Xu, Z. Li, G. Li, W. Z. Hu, D. Wu, G. F. Chen, X. Dai, J. L. Luo, Z. Fang, and N. L. Wang, Competing orders and spin-density-wave instability in La()FeAs, Europhys. Lett. 83, 27006 (2008).
- R. M. Fernandes, A. V. Chubukov, and J. Schmalian, What drives nematic order in iron-based superconductors?, Nat. Phys. 10, 97 (2014).
- I. I. Mazin, D. J. Singh, M. D. Johannes, and M. H. Du, Unconventional superconductivity with a sign reversal in the order parameter of , Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 057003 (2008).
- K. Kuroki, S. Onari, R. Arita, H. Usui, Y. Tanaka, H. Kontani, and H. Aoki, Unconventional pairing originating from the disconnected Fermi surfaces of superconducting , Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 087004 (2008).
- A. D. Christianson, E. A. Goremychkin, R. Osborn, S. Rosenkranz, M. D. Lumsden, C. D. Malliakas, I. S. Todorov, H. Claus, D. Y. Chung, M. G. Kanatzidis, R. I. Bewley, and T. Guidi, Unconventional superconductivity in from inelastic neutron scattering, Nature (London) 456, 930 (2008).
- L. Ding, J. K. Dong, S. Y. Zhou, T. Y. Guan, X. Qiu, C. Zhang, L. J. Li, X. Lin, G. H. Cao, Z. A. Xu, and S. Y. Li, Nodeless superconducting gap in electron-doped probed by quasiparticle heat transport, New J. Phys. 11, 093018 (2009).
- R. Thomale, C. Platt, W. Hanke, J. Hu, and B. A. Bernevig, Exotic -wave superconducting state of strongly hole-doped , Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 117001 (2011).
- K. Okazaki, Y. Ota, Y. Kotani, W. Malaeb, Y. Ishida, T. Shimojima, T. Kiss, S. Watanabe, C.-T. Chen, K. Kihou et al., Octet-line node structure of superconducting order parameter in , Science 337, 1314 (2012).
- M. Smidman, F. K. K. Kirschner, D. T. Adroja, A. D. Hillier, F. Lang, Z. C. Wang, G. H. Cao, and S. J. Blundell, Nodal multigap superconductivity in , Phys. Rev. B 97, 060509(R) (2018).
- C. Wang, Z.-C. Wang, Y.-X. Mei, Y.-K. Li, L. Li, Z.-T. Tang, Y. Liu, P. Zhang, H.-F. Zhai, Z.-A. Xu, and G.-H. Cao, A new ZrCuSiAs-type superconductor: ThFeAsN, J. Am Chem. Soc. 138, 2170 (2016).
- D. Adroja, A. Bhattacharyya, P. K. Biswas, M. Smidman, A. D. Hillier, H. Mao, H. Luo, G.-H. Cao, Z. Wang, and C. Wang, Multigap superconductivity in ThAsFeN investigated using measurements, Phys. Rev. B 96, 144502 (2017).
- T. Shiroka, T. Shang, C. Wang, G.-H. Cao, I. Eremin, H.-R. Ott, and J. Mesot, High- superconductivity in undoped ThFeAsN, Nat. Commun. 8, 156 (2017).
- M. A. Albedah, F. Nejadsattari, Z. M. Stadnik, Z.-C. Wang, C. Wang, and G.-H. Cao, Absence of the stripe antiferromagnetic order in the new 30 K superconductor ThFeAsN, J. Alloys Compd. 695, 1128 (2017).
- H. Mao, C. Wang, H. E. Maynard-Casely, Q. Huang, Z. Wang, G. Cao, S. Li, and H. Luo, Neutron powder diffraction study on the iron-based nitride superconductor ThFeAsN, Europhys. Lett. 117, 57005 (2017).
- L. N. Oliveira, E. K. U. Gross, and W. Kohn, Density-functional theory for superconductors, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 2430 (1988).
- M. Lüders, M. A. L. Marques, N. N. Lathiotakis, A. Floris, G. Profeta, L. Fast, A. Continenza, S. Massidda, and E. K. U. Gross, Ab initio theory of superconductivity. I. Density functional formalism and approximate functionals, Phys. Rev. B 72, 024545 (2005).
- M. A. L. Marques, M. Lüders, N. N. Lathiotakis, G. Profeta, A. Floris, L. Fast, A. Continenza, E. K. U. Gross, and S. Massidda, Ab initio theory of superconductivity. II. Application to elemental metals, Phys. Rev. B 72, 024546 (2005).
- F. Essenberger, A. Sanna, A. Linscheid, F. Tandetzky, G. Profeta, P. Cudazzo, and E. K. U. Gross, Superconducting pairing mediated by spin fluctuations from first principles, Phys. Rev. B 90, 214504 (2014).
- M. Kawamura, Y. Hizume, and T. Ozaki, Benchmark of density functional theory for superconductors in elemental materials, Phys. Rev. B 101, 134511 (2020).
- S. P. Keshri and G.-Y. Guo, Ab initio study of orbital-selective superconductivity in , Phys. Rev. B 112, 214518 (2025).
- D. Mou, S. Liu, X. Jia, J. He, Y. Peng, L. Zhao, L. Yu, G. Liu, S. He, X. Dong et al., Distinct Fermi surface topology and nodeless superconducting gap in a superconductor, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 107001 (2011).
- Ø. Fischer, M. Kugler, I. Maggio-Aprile, C. Berthod, and C. Renner, Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of high-temperature superconductors, Rev. Mod. Phys. 79, 353 (2007).
- T. Watanabe, M. Nohara, T. Hanaguri, and H. Takagi, Anisotropy of the superconducting gap of the borocarbide superconductor with ultrasonic attenuation, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 147002 (2004).
- I. Vekhter, E. J. Nicol, and J. P. Carbotte, Ultrasonic attenuation in clean -wave superconductors, Phys. Rev. B 59, 7123 (1999).
- R. W. Morse and H. V. Bohm, Superconductivity energy gap from ultrasonic attenuation measurements, Phys. Rev. 108, 1094 (1957).
- P. J. Hirschfeld, M. M. Korshunov, and I. I. Mazin, Gap symmetry and structure of Fe-based superconductors, Rep. Prog. Phys. 74, 124508 (2011).
- J. P. Perdew, K. Burke, and M. Ernzerhof, Generalized gradient approximation made simple, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3865 (1996).
- S. Baroni, S. de Gironcoli, A. Dal Corso, and P. Giannozzi, Phonons and related crystal properties from density-functional perturbation theory, Rev. Mod. Phys. 73, 515 (2001).
- A. Dal Corso, Pseudopotentials periodic table: From H to Pu, Comput. Mater. Sci. 95, 337 (2014).
- https://www.quantum-espresso.org/pseudopotentials.
- P. Giannozzi, S. Baroni, N. Bonini, M. Calandra, R. Car, C. Cavazzoni, D. Ceresoli, G. L. Chiarotti, M. Cococcioni, I. Dabo et al., QUANTUM ESPRESSO: A modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 21, 395502 (2009).
- P. Giannozzi, O. Andreussi, T. Brumme, O. Bunau, M. Buongiorno Nardelli, M. Calandra, R. Car, C. Cavazzoni, D. Ceresoli, M. Cococcioni et al., Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESPRESSO, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 29, 465901 (2017).
- M. Kawamura, Y. Gohda, and S. Tsuneyuki, Improved tetrahedron method for the Brillouin-zone integration applicable to response function, Phys. Rev. B 89, 094515 (2014).
- http://sctk.osdn.jp/.
- M. Gell-Mann and K. Brueckner, Correlation energy of an electron gas at high density, Phys. Rev. 106, 364 (1957).
- A. Zangwill and P. Soven, Density-functional approach to local-field effects in finite systems: Photoabsorption in the rare gases, Phys. Rev. A 21, 1561 (1980).
- K. Tsutsumi, Y. Hizume, M. Kawamura, R. Akashi, and S. Tsuneyuki, Effect of spin fluctuations on superconductivity in V and Nb: A first-principles study, Phys. Rev. B 102, 214515 (2020).
- M. Kawamura, Fermi-surface viewer providing multiple representation schemes, Comput. Phys. Commun. 239, 197 (2019).
- J. F. Annett, Symmetry of the order parameter for high-temperature superconductivity, Adv. Phys. 39, 83 (1990).
- S. Yip and A. Garg, Superconducting states of reduced symmetry: General order parameters and physical implications, Phys. Rev. B 48, 3304 (1993).
- J. Schrieffer, Theory of Superconductivity (Benjamin-Cummings Pub Co, San Francisco, 1983).
- M. Kawamura, Anisotropic superconducting gaps in : A first-principles investigation, Doctoral dissertation, University of Tokyo, 2015.