Copper oxide superconductors: A distinguishable thermodynamic state

Large-bipolaron liquids in cuprate superconductors

Uniquely, large-bipolarons' self-trapped holes occupy superoxygens, each comprising four oxygens circumscribed by four coppers in a CuO2 plane, formed as oxygens relax inward and coppers relax outward. Critically, concomitant oxygen-to-copper electron transfer eliminates copper spins. The d-symmetry of superoxygens' ground state molecular orbital tracks the superoxygens' predominant zero-point radial vibrations. These large bipolarons' distinctive charge transport, absorption, magnetism, local atomic vibrations, condensation into a liquid, and subsequent superconductivity are consistent with cuprate superconductors' long-established unusual properties.

Thermopower and specific heat of the organic molecular salt (TMTSF)(2)ClO(4): observation of the narrow band response

Measurements of thermopower S(a)(T) along the highly conducting a axis and specific heat of the Bechgaard salts (TMTSF)(2)ClO(4) for various cooling rates through the anion ordering temperature T(a) = 24 K were carried out. Sign reversal in S(a)(T) is found below T(a) and it decreases with increasing cooling rate, which is attributed to the change of a narrow band filling level as the temperature and the cooling rates change. The crossover from 2D to 3D in S(a)(T) is observed around 15 K. The onset temperature of anion ordering in S(a)(T) decreases from 29.8 to 24.2 K as the cooling rate increases. Meanwhile, the electronic specific heat coefficient γ has a pronounced change within this temperature region, giving strong evidence for a narrow band contribution. The difference in the specific heat between the quenched and relaxed states follows a T-cubic law from 5 to 24 K, implying a lattice distortion by the ordered anion only. The entropy estimated from the specific heat peak between 28 and 15 K is Rln (4/3) lower than the value Rln2, consistent with the thermopower result that some anions have been ordered far above T(a) for the relaxed state.

Oxygen Diffusion in La2-xSrxCuO4-δ: Molecular Dynamics Study

The oxygen mobility in La2-xSrxCuO4-δ (x=0.15; 0.6; 1) was studied by the Molecular Dynamics (MD) technique. The parent layered La2CuO4 crystal structure has been shown to give rise to a strong anisotropy of oxygen diffusion coefficient in the lattice. Equatorial oxygen sites in(CuO2) layers were found to provide the paths of the fast oxygen transport in the structure, while the axial ones in (La2O2) blocks were substantially less mobile. The influence of the dopant concentration on structural properties and energetic characteristics of the oxygen migration are discussed. Analysis of the ion trajectories obtained during the simulation allowed explaining the observed dependence of the oxygen diffusion activation energies on the strontium content and provided further insight into the mechanism of oxygen diffusion in the oxides.

Nernst effect in poor conductors and in the cuprate superconductors

We calculate the Nernst signal in disordered conductors with the chemical potential near the mobility edge. The Nernst effect originates from the interference of itinerant and localized-carrier contributions to the thermomagnetic transport. It reveals a strong temperature and magnetic field dependence, which describes quantitatively the anomalous Nernst signal in high-Tc cuprates.