SPICE Workshop on Unconventional Superconductors and Magnets May 12th - 14th, 2026
Marco Polini
The electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) metals are altered by changes in their three-dimensional dielectric environment. In this talk we will show [1] that superconductivity can be induced in a 2D metal by resonant coupling between its plasmonic collective modes and optical phonons in a nearby polar dielectric. Specifically, we will demonstrate that relatively high-temperature superconductivity can be induced in bilayer graphene twisted to an angle somewhat larger than the magic value by surrounding it with a terahertz polar dielectric. Our conclusions [1] are based on numerical solutions of the Eliashberg equation for massless Dirac fermions with tunable Fermi velocities and Fermi energies and can be understood qualitatively in terms of a generalized McMillan formula.
References
[1] R. Riolo, F. H. L. Koppens, P. Jarillo-Herrero, G. Mazza, A. H. MacDonald, and M. Polini, arXiv:2511.00608.