Superconducting pairing from repulsive interactions of fermions in a flat-band system

Fermion systems with flat bands can boost superconductivity by enhancing the density of states at the Fermi level. We use quasiexact numerical methods to show that repulsive interactions between spinless fermions in a one-dimensional (1D) flat-band system, the Creutz ladder, give a finite pairing energy that increases with repulsion, though charge quasiorder remains dominant. Adding an attractive component shifts the balance in favor of superconductivity and the interplay of two flat bands further yields a remarkable enhancement of superconductivity, well outside of known paradigms for 1D fermions.