Isotope effect on superconductivity in Josephson coupled stripes in underdoped cuprates

Abstract

Inelastic neutron scattering data for YBaCuO as well as for LaSrCuO indicate incommensurate neutron scattering peaks with incommensuration $\delta (x)$ away from the $(\pi ,\pi )$ point. $T_c(x)$ can be replotted as a linear function of the incommensuration for these materials. This linear relation implies that the constant that relates these two quantities, one being the incommensuration (momentum) and another being $T_c(x)$ (energy), has the dimension of velocity we denote $v^{\ast }$: $k_B{T}_c(x)=\hslash v^{\ast }\delta (x)$. We argue that this experimentally derived relation can be obtained in a simple model of Josephson coupled stripes. Within this framework we address the role of the $O^{16}\to O^{18}$ isotope effect on the $T_c(x)$. We assume that the incommensuration is set by the {\em doping} of the sample and is not sensitive to the oxygen isotope given the fixed doping. We find therefore that the only parameter that can change with O isotope substitution in the relation $T_c(x)\sim \delta (x)$ is the velocity $v^{\ast }$. We predict an oxygen isotope effect on $v^{\ast }$ and expect it to be $\simeq 5$.

4 pages latex file, 2 eps figs

References in corpus (12)

• How to detect fluctuating order in the high-temperature superconductors
• An Intrinsic Bond-Centered Electronic Glass with Unidirectional Domains in Underdoped Cuprates
• Interplay of electron-lattice interactions and superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
• Evolution of the resonance and incommensurate spin fluctuations in superconducting YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6+x}$
• An unusual isotope effect in a high-transition-temperature superconductor
• The Ground State of the Pseudogap in Cuprate Superconductors
• Direct observation of the oxygen isotope effect on the in-plane magnetic field penetration depth in optimally doped YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{7-\delta }$
• Distinguishing Patterns of Charge Order: Stripes or Checkerboards
• Polaron formation as origin of unconventional isotope effects in cuprate superconductors
• Linear dependence of peak width in $χ(\bq, ω)$ vs T_c for YBCO superconductors
• Inhomogeneity-Induced Superconductivity?
• Oxygen isotope effect on the superconductivity and stripe phase in La${}_{1.6-x}$Nd${}_{0.4}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$