On the interplay between Tc-inhomogeneities at long length scales and thermal fluctuations around the average superconducting transition in cuprates

Abstract

We review some aspects of the interplay between inhomogeneities at long length scales and the intrinsic fluctuations of Cooper pairs above Tc in HTSC. These inhomogeneities do not directly affect the thermal fluctuations, but they may affect the measured behaviour of any observable around Tc. The emphasis is centered on the role played by the presence of Tc-inhomogeneities on the in-plane transport properties. For completeness, we will also summarize some results on this interplay when various types of inhomogeneities (i.e., structural and stoichiometric, uniformly and non-uniformly distributed) are simultaneously present.

PDF file. 34 pages, including figures. Updated version of the article indicated in the "Journal-ref"