In case of superconductors whose electrons attract each other only if they are near certain centers, the question arises 'How many such centers are needed to make the ground state superconducting?' We shall examine it in the context of a random U Hubbard model. In short we study the case where U_i is -|U| and 0 with probability c and 1-c respectively on a lattice whose sites are labelled i using the Gorkov decoupling and the Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA). We argue that for this model there is a critical concentration c_0 below which the system is not a superconductor.
We study the effect of random dilution of attraction centers on electron pairing in a generalization of the negative
U Hubbard model where the interaction
Ui, defined on the two dimensional lattice, can be
−∣U∣ and 0 with probability
c and
1−c depending on the lattice site
i. Using the determinant quantum Monte Carlo approach, we find the critical concentration
c0 of negative centers which leads to superconductivity, and show how the evolution of the local density on the two types of sites lends insight into the formation of global phase coherence.
We have considered the half-filled disordered attractive Hubbard model on a square lattice, in which the on-site attraction is switched off on a fraction
f of sites, while keeping a finite
U on the remaining ones. Through quantum Monte Carlo simulations for several values of
f and
U and for system sizes ranging from $8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}8$ to $16\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}16$, we have calculated the configurational averages of the equal-time pair structure factor
Ps and, for a more restricted set of variables, the helicity modulus ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s}$, as functions of temperature. Two finite-size scaling Ans\"atze for
Ps have been used: one for zero temperature and the other for finite temperatures. We have found that the system sustains superconductivity in the ground state up to a critical impurity concentration
fc, which increases with
U, at least up to
U=4 (in units of the hopping energy). Also, the normalized zero-temperature gap as a function of
f shows a maximum near $f\ensuremath{\sim}0.07$ for $2\ensuremath{\lesssim}U\ensuremath{\lesssim}6$. Analyses of the helicity modulus and of the pair structure factor led to the determination of the critical temperature as a function of
f for
U=3, 4, and 6: they also show maxima near $f\ensuremath{\sim}0.07$, with the highest
Tc increasing with
U in this range. We argue that, overall, the observed behavior results from both the breakdown of charge-density-wave-superconductivity degeneracy and the fact that free sites tend to ``push'' electrons toward attractive sites; the latter effect being more drastic at weak couplings.
We study
s-wave superconductivity in the two-dimensional square-lattice attractive Hubbard Hamiltonian for various inhomogeneous patterns of interacting sites. Using the Bogoliubov--de Gennes mean-field approximation, we obtain the phase diagram for inhomogeneous patterns in which the on-site attractive interaction
Ui between the electrons takes on two values
Ui=0 and $\ensuremath{-}U∕(1\ensuremath{-}f)$ (with
f the concentration of noninteracting sites) as a function of average electron occupation per site,
n, and study the evolution of the phase diagram as
f varies. In certain regions of the phase diagram, inhomogeneity results in a larger zero-temperature average pairing amplitude (order parameter) and also a higher superconducting critical temperature
Tc, relative to a uniform system with the same mean interaction strength (${U}_{i}=\ensuremath{-}U$ on all sites). These effects are observed for stripes, checkerboard, and even random patterns of the attractive centers, suggesting that the pattern of inhomogeneity is unimportant. The phase diagrams also include regions where superconductivity is obliterated due to the formation of various charge-ordered phases. The enhancement of
Tc due to inhomogeneity is robust as long as the electron doping per site,
n, is less than twice the fraction of interacting sites $[2(1\ensuremath{-}f)]$ regardless of the pattern. We also show that for certain inhomogeneous patterns, when $n=2(1\ensuremath{-}f)$, increasing temperature can work against the stability of existing charge-ordered phases for large
f and, as a result, enhance
Tc.
We have developed a method for studying superconductivity in the negative-U Hubbard model. It is based on the Hubbard-alloy-analogy approximation applied to the Gor'kov equation for the model. We find that, unlike the case of the BCS solution, the formation of pairs and their condensation into a superconducting ground state take place at two different temperatures. We calculate the condensation temperature
Tc for all U and discuss the nature of the normal state which, for large enough U, features a macroscopically large number of pairs. Briefly, we argue that the model has relevance for high-temperature superconductors.
We use the correlated-random-field approximation and a conditional coherent-potential approximation to study the ground-state phase diagram of the one-band Hubbard model. Our approach incorporates both spin and electron correlations. It has been found that for certain values of the parameters of the model, in addition to paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and spin-glass or spin-liquid phases found in our earlier studies, a phase-separated phase is found to be favored for 0.7\ensuremath{\le}n\ensuremath{\le}1.0 and U/B\ensuremath{\ge}2 in good agreement with results obtained in the t-J model using the technique of the 1/N expansion. The present approach also allows one to watch the dependence of the electron density of states on the number of electrons per site and gives a single physical picture for the occurrence of a metal-insulator transition. Implications of these results for the existence of superconducting ground state as well as comparison to other studies will be briefly discussed.