Theory of a Strange Metal in a Quantum Superconductor to Metal Transition

Recent experiments with nanopatterned thin films revealed an unusual quantum superconductor to metal phase transition (QSMT) with a linear in temperature resistivity. In contrast, most known examples of such transitions and standard theoretical considerations predict a temperature-independent sheet resistance of order R_Q = ħ/e^2. We propose an effective theory of a disordered superconductor which features a QSMT with robust T linear resistivity at the critical point. The crucial ingredient in our model is spatial disorder in the pairing interaction. Such random pairing mirrors the emergent phase disorder seen in a recent mean field study of a microscopic d-wave superconductor subject to potential disorder. We also make the prediction that in such systems the diamagnetic susceptibility diverges as logΛ/T, which starkly differs from the power law divergence in standard XY transitions.