Pairing Theory of High and Low Temperature Superconductors

Abstract

A scenario which can account for all observed features of both high-$T_c$ superconductors (HTS) and low-$T_c$ superconductors (LTS) is discussed. This scenario is based on the fact that a finite pairing interaction energy range $T_d$ is required to have a finite value of $T_c$ and that not all carriers participate in pairings, yielding multiconnected superconductors (MS). A new density of states, derived by keeping the order parameter zero outside of $T_d$, is shown to account for the observed low energy states in HTS and for the temperature dependences in the specific heat, the penetration depth, the optical conductivity, and the tunneling conductance data. I argue that the notion of MS can account for the tunneling data along the a(or b)-, ab-, and c-axis, and the 1/2 flux quantum observed in HTS. The region occupied by unpaired carriers can be considered as a vortex with a fluxoid quantum number equal to 1 (VF), 0 (VZF), or -1 (VAF) when the magnetic flux around the vortex is greater than, equal to, or less than the effective flux produced by the supercurrent, respectively. The Hall anomaly depends on the relative strengths of the contributions via VF and VAF. The fact that the present scenario can account for all observed features of HTS and LTS suggests that the symmetry of the order parameter in HTS may not be different from one in LTS.