Canonical transformation of the three-band Hubbard model and hole pairing

We propose a canonical tranformation approach to the effective interaction W-eff between two holes, based on the three-band Hubbard model but ready to include extra interactions as well. An effective two-body Hamiltonian can in principle be obtained including any kind of virtual intermediate states. We derive the closed-form analytic expression of the effective interaction including 4-body virtual states, describing the exchange of an electron-ho le pair to all orders. The resulting integral equation, valid for the full plane, leads to a Cooper-like instability of the Fermi liquid. The two-hole bound states generalize those reported earlier in cluster calculations by exact diagonalisation methods. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.