Disordered-based theory of pseudogap, superconducting gap, and Fermi arc of cuprates

Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense - Niterói, RJ 24210-340, Brazil

^(a) evandro@if.uff.br

Received: 9 May 2012
Accepted: 3 July 2012

Abstract

A model for cuprate superconductors based on weakly coupled inhomogeneous electronic domains forming an array of Josephson junctions is studied. This approach provides physical insights to the most important properties of these materials like the pseudogap phase as forming by the onset of intradomains superconducting amplitudes and the zero resistivity critical temperature T_c due to phase coherence activated by Josephson coupling. The formation of the Fermi arcs and the dichotomy in k-space follow from the direction dependence of the junctions tunneling supercurrent and the quantum fluctuations of the d-wave order parameter symmetry on the CuO₂ planes. This procedure reproduces the details of the cuprate Bi2212 phase diagram.