Correlated electrons in high-temperature superconductors

Abstract

Theoretical ideas and experimental results concerning high temperature superconductors are reviewed. Special emphasis is given to calculations carried out with the help of computers applied to models of strongly correlated electrons proposed to describe the two dimensional ${\rm Cu O_2}$ planes. The review also includes results using several analytical techniques. The one and three band Hubbard models, and the ${\rm t-J}$ model are discussed, and their behavior compared against experiments when available. Among the conclusions of the review, we found that some experimentally observed unusual properties of the cuprates have a natural explanation through Hubbard-like models. In particular abnormal features like the mid-infrared band of the optical conductivity $\sigma(\omega)$, the new states observed in the gap in photoemission experiments, the behavior of the spin correlations with doping, and the presence of phase separation in the copper oxide superconductors may be explained, at least in part, by these models. Finally, the existence of superconductivity in Hubbard-like models is analyzed. Some aspects of the recently proposed ideas to describe the cuprates as having a $\dx2y2$ superconducting condensate at low temperatures are discussed. Numerical results favor this scenario over others....(continues).