Isotopic effect anomalies in high-temperature superconductors - Manifestation of the 'plasmon' mechanism of superconductivity

A mechanism is proposed, called the plasmon superconductivity mechanism, which explains the isotopic effect anomaly observed in superconducting copper metal-oxide compounds. The anomaly is expressed as a decrease in the isotopic shift with an increase in the critical temperature. It is suggested that the effect is caused by the Cooper pairing of 'light' current carriers in a broad two-dimensional zone by means of the exchange by virtual acoustic plasmons, which can easily hybridize with the dipole-active oxygen ions in the CuO2 layer.