SUPERCONDUCTING CONDENSATION ENERGY AND AN ANTIFERROMAGNETIC EXCHANGE-BASED PAIRING MECHANISM

For the traditional low-T-c superconductors, the superconducting conde nsation energy is proportional to the change in energy of the ionic la ttice between the normal and superconducting state, providing a clear link between pairing and the electron-ion interaction. Here, for the t -J model, we discuss an analogous relationship between the superconduc ting condensation energy and the change in the exchange energy between the normal and superconducting states. We point out the possibility o f measuring this using neutron scattering and note that such a measure ment, while certainly difficult, could provide important evidence for an exchange interaction-based pairing mechanism.