Breathers in cuprate-like lattices

All high-T-c superconductors have a layered structure, but the importance o f this remains unclear. Some of these layers have chains of atoms with a lo cal symmetry, which facilitates quasi-one-dimensional effects. We describe numerical simulations which suggest that lattice nonlinearities allow the t ransport of strongly localized and robust packets of vibrational energy (di screte breathers) along these chains. The results support previous studies which correlated these particular structural properties with superconductiv ity in these cuprates. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.