Electronic Thermal Conductivity of Multi-Gap Superconductors with Application to MgB_2

Abstract

The remarkable field dependence of the electronic thermal conductivity observed in MgB_2 can be explained as a consequence of multi-gap superconductivity. A key point is that for moderately clean samples, the mean free path becomes comparable to coherence length of the smaller gap over its entire Fermi surface. In this case, quasiparticle excitations bound in vortex cores can easily be delocalized causing a rapid rise in the thermal conductivity at low magnetic fields. This feature is in marked contrast to that for anisotropic or nodal gaps, where delocalization occurs only on part of the Fermi surface.