Colloquium

How superconductivity arises from antiferromagnetism in high-transition temperature copper oxides

Pengcheng Dai  
University of Tennessee
ORNL
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Higgins 310, 4 pm

High-transition-temperature superconductivity arises in copper oxides when holes or electrons are doped into the CuO2 planes of their insulating parent compounds. The most difficult aspect of the high-Tc problem is proliferation of nearby alternative states when holes or electrons are doped into these materials. In this colloquium, I will summarize how one can use neutron as a probe to systematically track down these alternative states. I will try to convince you that antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are intimately related to superconductivity and may mediate electron pairing for superconductivity.