Stripes, vibrations, and superconductivity - art. no. 104509

We propose a model of a spatially modulated collective charge state (CCS) o f superconducting cuprates. [For a shorter version of this work, see A. H. Castro Nero, in Proceedings, of the MTSC 2000 [J. Supercond. 13, 913 (2000) ].] The regions of higher carrier density (stripes) are described in terms of one-dimensional (1D) interacting fermions and the regions of lower densi ty as a two-dimensional (2D) interacting bosonic gas of d(x)2(-y)2 hole pai rs. The interactions among the elementary excitations are repulsive and the transition to the superconducting state is driven by decay processes. Vibr ations of the CCS and the lattice, although not participating directly in t he binding mechanism, are fundamental for superconductivity. The superfluid density and the lattice have a strong tendency to modulation with wave vec tors (pi /a,0) and (0,pi /a) implying a still unobserved dimerized stripe p hase in cuprates. The phase diagram of the model has a crossover from ID to 2D behavior and a pseudogap, region where the amplitude of the order param eters are finite but phase coherence is not established. We discuss the nat ure of the spin fluctuations and the unusual isotope effect within the mode l.