Isotope effects and possible pairing mechanism in optimally doped cuprate superconductors

Abstract

We have studied the oxygen-isotope effects on T_{c} and in-plane penetration depth λ_{ab}(0) in an optimally doped 3-layer cuprate Bi_{1.6}Pb_{0.4}Sr_{2}Ca_{2}Cu_{3}O_{10+y} (T_{c} \sim 107 K). We find a small oxygen-isotope effect on T_{c} (α_{O} = 0.019), and a substantial effect on λ_{ab} (0) (Δλ_{ab} (0)/λ_{ab} (0) = 2.5\pm0.5%). The present results along with the previously observed isotope effects in single-layer and double-layer cuprates indicate that the isotope exponent α_{O} in optimally doped cuprates is small while the isotope effect on the in-plane effective supercarrier mass is substantial and nearly independent of the number of the CuO_{2} layers. A plausible pairing mechanism is proposed to explain the isotope effects, high-T_{c} superconductivity and tunneling spectra in a consistent way.