High-temperature superconductivity in cuprates. The nonlinear mechanism and tunneling measurements (Q1860568)

This book is devoted to the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) concluded by the author, in general, from the tunneling measurements in superconducting cuprates and related systems. The book is divided into twelve chapters. The first, introductory chapter presents some main discoveries, which provide understanding of the superconductivity phenomenon, in general, and high-temperature superconductivity, in particular. Chapter 2 covers some aspects of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) model of superconductivity in metals and concentrates on a general description of the BCS mechanism and also on basic characteristics of, so-called, conventional superconductors, in which the superconducting state is characterized by perfect electrical conductivity and perfect diamagnetism. The structure and basic properties of cuprates are presented in Chapter 3, including, in particular, the issues of structural phase transitions, phase coherence, electron pairing and fluctuations of different properties. The next chapter being the most important one in the reviewer's opinion, presents the anomaly in tunneling spectra in cuprates. The pairing mechanism of HTS is based on this anomaly. It is interesting, that a separate chapter of this book provides a brief introduction to nonlinear excitations and underlines the soliton concept. This theme is defined due to the Cooper pairs in HTS are pairs of soliton-like excitations. Chapter 6 presents evidence for the existence of soliton-like excitations in cuprates, which form the superconducting condensate. Key evidence for soliton in cuprates is provided by tunneling and acoustic measurements. The next chapter discusses the bisoliton model of electron transfer in a molecular chain, which is utilized for explaining the superconductivity phenomenon in quasi-one-dimensional organic compounds and in cuprates. The bisoliton theory is based on the concept of electron (or hole) pairs coupled in a singlet state due to local deformations of the lattice, stating electron-phonon interactions, which are moderately strong and nonlinear. In Chapter 8 data obtained in cuprates are compared with predictions of the bisoliton model. In first approximation the model can describe pairing characteristics of hole doped cuprates, while it lacks a mechanism for establishing phase coherence. Here, it is shown, that in cuprates the phase coherence among bisolitons is established due to a non-phonon mechanism, which is different from the wave-function coupling. The mechanism of \(c\)-axis phase coherence (or interlayer coupling) is considered in Chapter 9. By this, the long-range phase coherence in cuprates occurs due to magnetic fluctuations along the \(c\)-axis. The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity is presented in Chapter 10, basing on the physics of HTS. Special and detailed attention is devoted to the consideration of its ``ingredients''. In the following chapter the author adduces facts, basing on the A-15 superconductors and Chevrel phases, which show, that superconductivity in cuprates could have been predicted in the early-mid eighties. Then, the main principles of superconductivity as a phenomenon are discussed, and the different mechanisms of electron pairing and phase coherence are considered with some attention to superconductors, where these mechanisms are realized. The final chapter shows that the physics of HTS can be inferred from tunneling data. These data are also compared with angle-resolved photoemission measurements, showing principal distinctions of information provided for both these techniques. In total, this very interesting book is a new step to the future theory of high-temperature superconductivity. It is equally useful for experimentators and theoreticians, working in the HTS field. The simplicity of the account together with the deep ideas presented make this book a valuable textbook for students specializing in superconductivity and related fields of physics and techniques.