Longitudinal spin-fluctuations and superconductivity in ferromagnetic ZrZn$_{2}$ from ab initio calculations

Abstract

The recent discovery of superconductivity coexisting with weak itinerant ferromagnetism in the $d$-electron intermetallic compound ZrZn$_{2}$ strongly suggests spin-fluctuation mediated superconductivity. {\it Ab initio} electronic structure calculations of the Fermi surface and generalized susceptibilities are performed to investigate the viability of longitudinal spin-fluctuation-induced spin-triplet superconductivity in the ferromagnetic state. The critical temperature is estimated to be of the order of 1 K. Additionally, it is shown that in spite of a strong electron-phonon coupling ($λ_{ph}=0.7$), conventional s-wave superconductivity is inhibited by the presence of strong spin-fluctuations.

5 pages, 1 figure