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Is the problem of Cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductivity a solved problem?

Superconductivity 2022-11-03 v2 Statistical Mechanics Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract

The recent experimental verification of the charge-transfer superexchange mechanism as the microscopic pairing mechanism of high-TcT_c cuprate superconductivity by Seamus Davis and collaborators\cite{sea} is a tour de force! The correct model for cuprates is the three band Emery model in which oxygen p-orbitals are explicitly taken into account. The doped holes go into these oxygen p-orbitals where they undergo charge-transfer superexchange with unpaired electrons in copper d orbitals. This charge transfer superexchange is the key which leads to bound pairs and superconductivity. In the experimental verification\cite{sea}, the system chosen is Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+xBi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+x}. What is achieved is the direct functional dependence of the local electron pair density (nP(r)n_P(r)) on local charge transfer energy (\eppd(r)\ep_{pd}(r)) using state of the art single-electron and electron-pair (Josephson) scanning tunneling microscopy. The quantitative functional dependence of nP(r)n_P(r) on \eppd(r)\ep_{pd}(r) matches with that indicated and deduced by theory\cite{t1,t2,t3,t4,t5,t6,t7,t8,t9,t10}. The verdict of the experiment settles the debates on the microscopic mechanisms of the cuprate superconductivity in the clear favor of charge-transfer superexchange mechanism. We discuss this development in brief, and present a simple minded approach to the essence of cuprate superconductivity. We discuss what is settled now, and what is not settled yet. A "theoretical minimum" of the high-TcT_c problem is also discussed.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2211.00400,
  title  = {Is the problem of Cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductivity a solved problem?},
  author = {Navinder Singh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2211.00400},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

7 pages, 3 figures, minor typos corrected

R2 v1 2026-06-28T04:55:19.054Z