A real-space effective c-axis lattice constant theory of superconductivity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a real-space effective c-axis lattice constant theory to explain and predict the maximum superconducting transition temperatures in layered superconductors, emphasizing the role of lattice constants and vortex lattice stability.

Contribution

It proposes a unified formula relating the c-axis lattice constant to the maximum Tc and applies it to various superconductors, providing insights into their highest achievable transition temperatures.

Findings

Maximum Tc for iron-based superconductors estimated below 60K, 50K, and 40K for different series.

Copper-based superconductors could reach about 161K without external pressure.

The theory explains differences in Tc among similar cuprates and discusses why noble metals are not superconductors.

Abstract

Based on the recent developed real-space picture of superconductivity, we study the stability of the superconducting vortex lattices in layered superconductors. It is shown that the effective c-axis lattice constant play a significant role in promoting the superconducting transition temperature in these materials. An unified expression Tc(max)=10c*-28 can be applied to estimate the highest possible Tc(max) for a given layered superconductor with an effective c-axis lattice constant c*. For the newly discovered iron-based superconductors, our results suggest that their Tc cannot exceed 60K, 50K and 40K for the 1111, 21311 and 122 series, respectively. In the case of copper-based oxide superconductors, it seems that the highest Tc can reach about 161K without applying of the external pressure. In our theoretical framework, we could interpret the experimental results of the completely different superconducting transition temperatures obtained in two very similar cuprate superconductors (La{2-x}Ba{x}CuO{4} of 40K and Sr{2-x}Ba{x}CuO{3+\delta} of 98K). In addition, the physical reason why the superconductivity does not occur in noble metals (like gold, silver and copper) is discussed. Finally, we argue that the metallic hydrogen cannot exhibit superconductivity at room temperature, it even cannot be a superconductor at any low temperature.