We study the newly discovered Pt phosphides APt3P (A=Sr, Ca, La) [ T. Takayama et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 237001 (2012)] using first-principles calculations and Migdal-Eliashberg theory. Given the remarkable agreement with the experiment, we exclude the charge-density wave scenario proposed by previous first-principles calculations, and give conclusive answers concerning the superconducting state in these materials. The pairing increases from La to Ca and Sr due to changes in the electron-phonon matrix elements and low-frequency phonons. Although we find that all three compounds are well described by conventional s-wave superconductivity and spin-orbit coupling of Pt plays a marginal role, we show that it could be possible to tune the structure from centrosymmetric to noncentrosymmetric opening new perspectives towards the understanding of unconventional superconductivity.
@article{arxiv.1209.5253,
title = {Electron-phonon superconductivity in $A$Pt$_3$P compounds: from weak to strong coupling},
author = {Alaska Subedi and Luciano Ortenzi and Lilia Boeri},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1209.5253},
year = {2015}
}