Semi-classical theory of bipolaronic superconductivity in a bond-modulated electron-phonon model

Abstract

We analyze the transition temperature $T_c$ of bipolaronic superconductivity in a bond Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (bond-SSH) model -- also known as a bond Peierls model -- where the electron hoppings are modulated by bond phonons. Using a semiclassical instanton approximation justifiable in the adiabatic limit of slow phonons, we find that the bipolaron mass is only weakly enhanced, in contrast to the typical large mass enhancement found in standard (Holstein) electron-phonon models. Specifically, in the strong coupling limit, the bipolarons can freely slide within a degenerate manifold rather than become self-trapped. A gas of these bipolarons can undergo a superfluid transition at a critical temperature for which we obtain an upper bound. We find that this bound is exponentially larger than that in the Holstein model. Our study provides an analytical understanding of the mechanism behind the high-$T_c$ bipolaronic superconductivity numerically observed in [Phys. Rev. X 13, 011010 (2023)].