Dynamical vortices in electron-phonon superconductors

Abstract: We analyze the structure of an $s-$wave superconducting gap in systems with electron-phonon attraction and electron-electron repulsion. Earlier works have found that superconductivity develops despite strong repulsion, but the gap, $\Delta (\omega_m)$, necessarily changes sign along the Matsubara axis. We analyze the sign-changing gap function from a topological perspective using the knowledge that a nodal point of $\Delta (\omega_m)$ is the center of dynamical vortex. We consider two models with different cutoffs for the repulsive interaction and trace the vortex positions along the Matsubara axis and in the upper frequency half plane upon changing the relative strength of the attractive and repulsive parts of the interaction. We discuss how the presence of dynamical vortices affects the gap structure along the real axis, detectable in ARPES experiments.