RESONANT-TUNNELING, PSEUDO-GAP, AND CHARGE DYNAMICS IN CUPRATE SUPERCONDUCTORS

The quasi-two-dimensional, metallic conduction in the CuO2 planes and activated out-of-plane conduction seem typical for most of the cuprate superconductors. The counteraction of overlap and charging energies D elta U yield the activated out-of-plane resonant tunneling in the nor mal state and the Josephson tunneling in the superconducting state whi ch is quantitatively described by accepted parameters for various cupr ate superconductors and oxygen contents. In addition, the localized, o ut-of-plane charge exchange obstructed by Delta U of states of the bl ocking layer may explain spectroscopic observations, like the tunnel o r the photoelectron pseudo-gap, or may scatter phonons and in-plane qu asi-particles. The latter relates Delta Usimilar or equal to kT* to t he in-plane pseudo-gap temperature T, where the scattering rate decre ases below T because of the obstructed out-of-plane exchange.