The role of the pseudogap in cuprate superconductors revealed by the Hall effect

Abstract

Cuprate high-temperature superconductors are known to have a normal-state pseudogap but, after many years of intense research, its relation to the superconductivity is still a mystery. Similarly, the in-plane Hall coefficient $R_{\rm H}$ has a large temperature variation caused by changes in the carrier density which is also a long-standing puzzle. We approach both problems by a kinetic theory of phase separation that reproduces the charge density wave by a free energy array of potential wells. The charge modulation favors local hole-hole attraction yielding local superconducting pairs and a transition by long-range phase order at $T_{\rm c}$. As the temperature increases the modulations decrease and the charge density increases by thermal activation. This approach reproduces the $R_{\rm H}$ of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ compounds of $x = 0.0 - 0.25$ and clarifies the role of the pseudogap and the disorder in cuprates.