Cooper pairs without 'glue' in high-$T_c$ superconductors

Abstract

We address the origin of the Cooper pairs in high-$T_c$ cuprates and the unique nature of the superconducting (SC) condensate. Itinerant holes in an antiferromagnetic background form pairs spontaneously, without any `glue', defining a new quantum object the `pairon'. In the incoherent pseudogap phase, above $T_c$ or within the vortex core, the pairon binding energies are distributed statistically, forming a `Cooper-pair glass'. Contrary to conventional SC, it is the mutual pair-pair interaction that is responsable for the condensation. We give a natural explanation for the {\it ergodic rigidity} of the excitation gap, being uniquely determined by the carrier concentration $p$ and $J$. The phase diagram can be understood, without spin fluctuations, in terms of a single energy scale $\sim J$, the exchange energy at the metal-insulator transition.

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Model of charge triplets for high-T${}_c$ cuprates
• Cuprates phase diagram deduced from magnetic susceptibility: what is the `true' pseudogap line?
• How 'pairons' are revealed in the electronic specific heat of cuprates
• Origin of the Fermi arcs in cuprates: a dual role of quasiparticle and pair excitations
• The magnon-mediated attraction between two holes doped in a CuO${}_2$ layer
• Unraveling pairon excitations and the antiferromagnetic contributions in the cuprate specific heat
• Condensation mechanism of high-$T_c$ cuprates: the key role of pairon excitations