Abstract
Cuprate superconductors have many different atoms per unit cell. A large fraction of cells (5–25%) must be modified (‘doped’) before the material superconducts. Thus it is not surprising that there is little consensus on the superconducting mechanism, despite almost 200 000 papers (Mann 2011 Nature 475 280). Most astonishing is that for the simplest electrical property, the resistance, ‘despite sustained theoretical efforts over the past two decades, its origin and its relation to the superconducting mechanism remain a profound, unsolved mystery’ (Hussey et al 2011 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 369 1626). Currently, model parameters used to fit normal state properties are experiment specific and vary arbitrarily from one doping to the other. Here, we provide a quantitative explanation for the temperature and doping dependence of the resistivity in one self-consistent model by showing that cuprates are intrinsically inhomogeneous with a percolating metallic region and insulating regions. Using simple counting of dopant-induced plaquettes, we show that the superconducting pairing and resistivity are due to phonons.
Highlights
Cuprate superconductors have many different atoms per unit cell
The resistivity, the Hall effect, and the magnetoresistance are fundamentally measurements of the momentum dependent Fermi surface scattering rate, 1/τ (k), that measures the strength of whatever is coupling to electrons
At optimal hole doping of x = 0.16, we find the fraction 4 × 0.16 = 0.64 of the crystal is metallic leading to a ρMIR that is (1/0.64) = 1.56 times larger than the conventional estimate. ρ(T ) remains below the larger ρMIR up to the melting temperature
Summary
We dope plaquettes using a simple model for the Coulomb repulsion of the dopants. Since the dopants reside in the metallic region, the repulsion is screened over a short distance. [8] Abdel-Jawad, M. et al Anisotropic scattering and anomalous normal-state transport in a high-temperature superconductor. E. The normal state scattering rate in high-Tc cuprates. H. Transport properties of the metallic state of overdoped cuprate superconductors from an anisotropic marginal fermi liquid model. Temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of high-Tc cuprates - from pseudogap to overdoped regions. A. Origin of the pseudogap in high-temperature cuprate superconductors. A. Universal properties of cuprate superconductors: Tc phase diagram, room-temperature thermopower, neutron spin resonance, and stm incommensurability explained in terms of chiral plaquette pairing. E. Electronic-structure of the high-temperature oxide superconductors. F. et al Fermi surface and electronic homogeneity of the overdoped cuprate superconductor Tl2Ba2CuO6+δ as revealed by quantum oscillations. [25] Reznik, D. et al Electron-phonon coupling reflecting dynamic charge inhomogeneity in copper oxide superconductors.
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