Microscopic Origin of Pressure-Enhanced and Robust Superconductivity in Infinite-Layer La$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$

Abstract

Recent transport measurements on freestanding La$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ membranes revealed a broad superconducting dome extending from ambient pressure to 210 GPa, with an onset transition temperature reaching 74.5 K near 146 GPa. Using first-principles calculations, a pressure-dependent two-orbital model, and self-consistent FLEX calculations combined with the linearized Eliashberg equation, we determine how compression modifies the pairing tendency. Pressure increases the kinetic-energy scale, reduces $U_x/t_1$, strengthens interlayer hybridization, and transfers holes from the La/Sr-derived charge reservoir to the correlated Ni sector. Within the present low-energy description, the increasing kinetic scale and the approach to optimal intermediate coupling account for the initial enhancement of pairing, whereas pressure-induced self-doping into the overdoped regime is primarily responsible for its high-pressure suppression. Despite a pronounced three-dimensionalization of the Fermi surface, the pairing-relevant spin susceptibility remains weakly dependent on $q_z$ and peaked near $(\pi,\pi)$. Consequently, the Ni-$d_{x^2-y^2}$-dominated $d$-wave pairing state remains stable over the calculated pressure range. These results provide a unified microscopic interpretation of both the superconducting dome and its unusual robustness under megabar compression.