J. Phys. France 51, 2229-2233 (1990)
DOI: 10.1051/jphys:0199000510200222900

Pairing of holes via vortex/antivortex attraction in doped La 2-x(Sr)xCuO4

Gerard Corsten¹, Cliff Liem¹, Raphaël Blumenfeld² et Naeem Jan<sup>1, 2

1</sup>  Physics Department, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, B2G 1CO, Canada
²  Cavendish Laboratory, Madingley Road, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 OHE, G.B.

Abstract
The consequences of delocalised magnetic frustration in the pure antiferromagnetic XY(n = 2) spin system are studied numerically. This frustration is found to enhance significantly the formation of vortex excitations, which tend to bind antivortices below the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature. We find a net attraction between frustrated plaquettes mediated by the attraction between the vortices. Applied to the understanding of high temperature superconducting materials, like La2-x(Sr)xCuO4, this can serve as a real space pairing mechanism with a high binding energy between the holes, induced by doping. There are common features between this pairing model and the "spinon-holon" picture, which may provide a link between these different approaches.

PACS
7425Q - Vortex lattices, flux pinning, flux creep.
7550E - Antiferromagnetics.
7425D - Superconductivity phase diagrams.

Key words
antiferromagnetic properties of substances -- flux line lattice -- high temperature superconductors -- lanthanum compounds -- magnetic superconductors -- strontium compounds -- X Y model