  We propose a theory to explain the strain dependence of the critical
properties in A15 superconductors. Starting from the strong-coupling formula
for the critical temperature, and assuming that the strain sensitivity stems
mostly from the electron-phonon alpha^2F function, we link the strain
dependence of the critical properties to a widening of alpha^2F. This widening
is attributed to the nonlinear generation of phonons, which takes place in the
anharmonic deformation potential induced by the strain. Based on the theory of
sum- and difference-frequency wave generation in nonlinear media, we obtain an
explicit connection between the widening of alpha^2F and the anharmonic energy.
The resulting model is fit to experimental datasets for Nb3Sn, and the
anharmonic energy extracted from the fits is compared with first-principles
calculations.
