Lorenz number in high T(c) superconductors: evidence for bipolarons

Thermal Conductivity of Polymers and Their Nanocomposites

Polymers are usually considered as thermal insulators, and their applications are limited by their low thermal conductivity. However, recent studies have shown that certain polymers have surprisingly high thermal conductivity, some of which are comparable to that in poor metals or even silicon. Here, the experimental achievements and theoretical progress of thermal transport in polymers and their nanocomposites are outlined. The open questions and challenges of existing theories are discussed. Special attention is given to the mechanism of thermal transport, the enhancement of thermal conductivity in polymer nanocomposites/fibers, and their potential application as thermal interface materials.

Diamagnetism of real-space pairs above T(c) in hole doped cuprates

The nonlinear normal state diamagnetism reported by Li et al (2010 Phys. Rev. B 81 054510) is shown to be incompatible with a claimed Cooper pairing and vortex liquid above the resistive critical temperature. However, it is perfectly compatible with the normal state Landau diamagnetism of real-space composed bosons, which provides a description of the nonlinear magnetization curves of the less anisotropic cuprates La-Sr-Cu-O (LSCO) and Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) as well as for strongly anisotropic bismuth-based cuprates over the whole range of available magnetic fields.

The Possibility of a Liquid Superconductor

All superconductors are solids in their superconducting state, this canonical electronic state of matter presently having only been observed well below the melting temperature of the solid. The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates has widened significantly our horizons of the theoretical understanding of the physical phenomenon. A number of observations point to the possibility that superconductors with a high superconducting transition temperature may not be conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductors, but rather derive from the Bose-Einstein condensation of real-space pairs. While BCS superconductors exist in the solid state (probably with the exception of metallic liquid hydrogen at ultrahigh pressures), we argue here that a superconducting charged Bose liquid may be found in a true liquid state of condensed matter at ambient pressure. An experimental scenario is outlined in fluid metal-ammonia solutions for stabilizing and observing a high-temperature superconducting liquid (ca. 230 K) or at least a vitreous superconductor in the corresponding quenched solutions (ca. 160 K).

Bipolaron in different configuration of quantum confinement

The authors used Landau-Pekar variational method to investigate a strong-coupling singlet optical bipolaron in different configuration of quantum confinement. Numerical and analytical results showed that when configuration changes from quantum dot and wire to well, confinement shows different effect on the formation of a bipolaron. In contrast to a bipolaron in a quantum dot or wire, the binding energy of a bipolaron in a quantum well increases with increasing confinement, indicating that confinement favors bipolaron formation in a quantum well.