Superconductivity-induced dynamic and static changes in q≠0 phonons of high-Tc oxides

Abstract

Superconductivity-induced self-energies of q≠0 phonons and changes in static local lattice properties are calculated for YBa2Cu3O7 using strong-coupling theory, the harmonic approximation for phonons in the normal state, and a recently introduced screened ionic model for the electron-phonon coupling. The main results are (i) dynamic changes in the frequency and the damping of phonons decrease with increasing momentum, however, they still should be observable for momentum transfers up to ‖q‖∼2kF and phonon frequencies near the gap and (ii) in spite of the low Fermi energy and a rather large average coupling constant λ of about 3, relative changes due to superconductivity in static quantities such as the Debye-Waller factor and the kinetic energy of an atom are very small and of the order of 10−3. Recently reported large changes in channeling rates and in the width of a Cu nuclear-absorption resonance near and below Tc thus remain unexplained within the present approach.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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