Anomalous isotope effect in BCS superconductors with two boson modes

Abstract

The isotope effect in the superconducting transition temperature is anomalous if the isotope coefficient $\alpha<0$ or $\alpha>1/2$. In this work, we show that such anomalous behaviors can naturally arise within the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer framework if both phonon and non-phonon modes coexist. Different from the case of the standard Eliashberg theory (with only phonon) in which $\alpha\le1/2$, the isotope coefficient can now take arbitrary values in the simultaneous presence of phonon and the other non-phonon mode. In particular, most strikingly, a pair-breaking phonon can give rise to large isotope coefficient $\alpha>1/2$ if the unconventional superconductivity is mediated by the lower frequency non-phonon boson mode. Based on our studies, implications on several families of superconductors are discussed.