Superconductivity in CoO₂ layers and the resonating valence bond mean-field theory of the triangular lattice t-J model

Abstract

Motivated by the recent discovery of superconductivity in two-dimensional CoO₂ layers, we present some possibly useful results of the resonating valence bond mean-field theory applied to the triangular lattice. An interesting time reversal breaking superconducting state arises from strongly frustrated interactions. Away from half filling, the order parameter is found to be complex, and yields a fully gapped quasiparticle spectrum. The sign of the hopping plays a crucial role in the analysis, and we find that superconductivity is as fragile for one sign as it is robust for the other. Na_xCoO₂·yH₂O is argued to belong to the robust case, by comparing the local-density approximation fermi surface with an effective tight-binding model. The high-frequency Hall constant in this system is potentially interesting, since it is pointed out to increase linearly with temperature without saturation for T > T_degeneracy.