arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R. F. Wood.
In this short review article, we consider some aspects of the spin-polaron concept as they relate to high-Tc superconductivity. The article is intended to be an overview in which a flavor of the research on spin polarons is given.
Recent first principles calculations of the phonon dispersion curves in MgB_2 have suggested the presence of anomalies in some of the curves, particularly in the longitudinal acoustical (LA) branch in the Gamma to A direction. Similar behavior has been observed in numerous other superconductors with T_c's higher than those of standard electron-phonon BCS superconductors. Phenomenological calculations of the Gamma->A LA dispersion based on both an acoustical plasmon and a ``resonant polarization'' mechanism are given here to emphasize the importance of these similarities.