Superconductivity in Twisted Bismuth Bilayers

Abstract

Two twisted bismuth bilayers, TBB, each with 120 atoms, are studied using their electron density of states and their vibrational density of states using first‐principles calculations. Metallic character at the Fermi level is found for the non‐rotated sample as well as for each sample rotated 0.5°, 1.0°, 1.5°, 2.0°, 2.5°, 3.0°, 4.0°, 5.0°, 6.0°, 7.0°, 8.0°, and 10° with respect to each other. Assuming that the superconductivity is BCS‐type and the invariance of the Cooper pairing potential, a maximum superconducting temperature TC ≈1.8 K is predicted for a magic angle of 0.5° between the two bilayers, increasing the superconducting transition temperature from the experimentally measured value of 0.53 mK for the Wyckoff structure of crystalline bismuth.