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Rare-Earths as Probes of High-Temperature Superconductivity

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Abstract

Using only two principles: (i) high-temperature superconductivity requires hypercharged oxygen, and (ii) the superconducting condensates are located in those parts of the crystal structures where they are unaffected by magnetic pair breaking, we are able to explain why certain rare-earth ions R are compatible with superconductivity and others are not, in the compounds RBa2Cu3O7, RBa2Cu4O8, RBa2Cu2NbO8, R2 − z Ce z CuO4, and R2 − z Ce z Sr2Cu2NbO10. Various defects are proposed as having central roles in the superconductivity or the suppression of superconductivity in these compounds. Many experiments for testing this physical picture are suggested.

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 46556

    Howard A. Blackstead

  2. Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-1504

    John D. Dow

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Blackstead, H.A., Dow, J.D. Rare-Earths as Probes of High-Temperature Superconductivity. Journal of Superconductivity 11, 615–639 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022643531034

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