Image-charge-mediated pairing in oxide superconductors.

The interaction responsible for the pairing of charge carriers in oxide superconductors has not yet been identified. The usual phonon-exchange mechanism has been pretty well ruled out, and the various models that have been proposed or reexamined in this context, including the exchange of virtual plasmons, have not yet provided a satisfactory description. This paper sets forth a simple model and presents strong evidence that the mechanism responsible for superconductivity in the recently discovered oxides is virtual {ital remote} plasmon exchange, i.e., the interaction of charged carriers via two-dimensional plasmon exchange in conducting planes away from the charge.