Temperature dependence of the superconducting gap in high-Tc cuprates

TL;DR

This paper proposes a simple predictive model for the temperature dependence of the superconducting gap in high-Tc cuprates, linking it to the zero-temperature gap and critical temperature, supported by tunneling experiments and a stripe-based model.

Contribution

It introduces a model predicting the gap's temperature dependence from basic parameters, supported by experimental data and a stripe hypothesis-based framework.

Findings

Delta(Tc) remains non-zero if Delta(0)/Tc > 4

Experimental tunneling data support the model

Model aligns with stripe hypothesis-based theory

Abstract

It is proposed that (i) the temperature dependence of the superconducting gap Delta(T) in high-Tc cuprates can be predicted just from the knowledge of Delta(0) and the critical temperature Tc; and, in particular, (ii) Delta(0)/Tc > 4 implies that Delta(Tc) is not equal to zero, while Delta(0)/Tc < 4 corresponds to Delta(Tc) = 0. A number of tunneling experiments appear to support the above proposition, and, furthermore, show reasonable quantitative agreement with a model (cond-mat/0308428), which is based on the two-dimensional stripe hypothesis.