Multiband model of high Tc superconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a multiband model for high Tc superconductors, incorporating metallic doping layers and their interactions with CuO2 planes, to explain experimental observations like penetration depth and node locations.

Contribution

The paper extends a previous model to include metallic doping layers in various high Tc compounds, predicting order parameter signs and node locations consistent with experiments.

Findings

The model accounts for low-temperature penetration depth in BSCCO.

It predicts non-45° node locations in BSCCO.

NMR data supports metallic character of doping bands.

Abstract

We propose an extension to other high T_{c } compounds of a model introduced earlier for YBCO. In the ''self-doped'' compounds we assume that the doping part (namely the BiO, HgO, TlO planes in BSCCO, HBCCO, TBCCO respectively) is metallic, which leads to a multiband model. This assumption is supported by band structure calculations. Taking a repulsive pairing interaction between these doping bands and the CuO_{2} bands leads to opposite signs for the order parameter on these bands and to nodes whenever the Fermi surfaces of these bands cross. We show that in BSCCO the low temperature dependence of the penetration depth is reasonably accounted for. In this case the nodes are not located near the 45^{o} direction, which makes the experimental determination of the node locations an important test for our model. The situation in HBCCO and TBCCO is rather analogous to BSCCO. We consider the indications given by NMR and find that they rather favor a metallic character for the doping bands. Finally we discuss the cases of NCCO and LSCO which are not ''self-doped'' and where our model does not give nodes.