Another Look at the Origin of High-Temperature Superconductivity

It has been 40 years since high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in the cuprates was discovered. Despite initial optimism, the microscopic origin of this remarkable phenomenon remains unknown. Meanwhile, advances in experimental and computational tools are shedding new light on longstanding questions. Here, we discuss an approach that differs from the conventional view and is based on lattice effects and electron correlation. In this approach, the lattice plays the main role in creating Cooper pairs in real space, while the effect of electron correlation on Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) contributes to HTSC.