Noninteracting Cooper pairs inside a pseudogap
- Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)
I present a simple analytical model describing the normal state of a superconductor with a pseudogap in the density of states, such as in underdoped cuprates. In nearly-two-dimensional systems, where the superconducting transition temperature is reduced from the mean-field BCS value, Cooper pairs may be present as slow fluctuations of the BCS pairing field. Using the self-consistent T-matrix (fluctuation exchange) approach I find that the fermion spectral weight exhibits two BCS-like peaks, broadened by fluctuations of the pairing-field amplitude. The density of states becomes suppressed near the Fermi energy, which allows for long-lived low-energy Cooper pairs that propagate as a soundlike mode with a mass. A self-consistency requirement, linking the width of the pseudogap to the intensity of the pairing field, determines the pair condensation temperature. In nearly-two-dimensional systems, it is proportional to the degeneracy temperature of the fermions, with a small prefactor that vanishes in two dimensions. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
- Research Organization:
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-92ER40699
- OSTI ID:
- 528104
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 56, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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