Fullerene superconductivity by short-range order instability

Abstract

For the fullerene-group (C60 group) of metastable materials a novel model is conceptualized on the basis of a special dynamic clustering. This clustering is realized by a short-range instability through a collective, cooperative, and coherent displacement of the ions to seek for the most dense and most stable cluster formation. In the C60 superconductivity, mediation by harmonic lattice vibrations (phonons) is replaced by a pairing mechanism with anharmonic collective and coherent cluster vibrations. The suggested model fits the experimental data surprisingly well.