Toward a theory of high-temperature superconductivity in the antiferromagnetically correlated cuprate oxides

We show that the retarded interaction between quasiparticiles on a 2D square lattice induced by the exchange of antiferromagnetic paramagnons leads uniquely to a transition to a superconducting state with dₗ^2-y^2 symmetry. With a spin-excitation spectrum and a quasiparticle-paramagnon coupling determined by fits to normal-state experiments, we obtain high transition temperatures and energy-gap behaviors comparable to those measured for YBa₂Cu₃O₇, YBa₂Cu₃O₆. ₆₃, and La₁. ₈₅Sr₀. ₁₅CuO₄.