We propose a general theory for the critical and pseudogap temperatures Tc and T * dependence on the doping concentration for high-Tc oxides, taking into account the charge inhomogeneities in the CuO2 planes. Several recent experiments have revealed that the charge density ρ in a given compound (mostly underdoped) is intrinsic inhomogeneous with large spatial variations which leads to a local charge density ρ(r). These differences in the local charge concentration yield insulator and metallic regions, either in an intrinsic granular or in a stripe morphology. In the metallic region, the inhomogeneous charge density produces also spatial or local distributions which form Cooper pairs at a local superconducting critical temperatures Tc(r) and zero temperature gap ∆0(r). For a given compound, the measured onset of vanishing gap temperature is identified as the pseudogap temperature, that is, T * , which is the maximum of all Tc(r). Below T * , due to the distribution of Tc(r)'s, there are some superconducting regions surrounded by insulator or metallic medium. The transition to a coherent superconducting state corresponds to the percolation threshold among the superconducting regions with different Tc(r)'s. The charge inhomogeneities have been studied by recent STM/S experiments which provided a model for our phenomenological distribution. To make definite calculations and compare with the experimental results, we derive phase diagrams for the BSCO, LSCO and YBCO families, with a mean field theory for superconductivity using an extended Hubbard Hamiltonian. We show also that this novel approach provides new insights on several experimental features of high-Tc oxides.

Phase separation has been observed by several different experiments and it is believed to be closely related with the physics of cuprates but its exactly role is not yet well known. We propose that the onset of pseudogap phenomenon or the upper pseudogap temperature T * has its origin in a spontaneous phase separation transition at the temperature T ps = T * . In order to perform quantitative calculations, we use a Cahn-Hilliard (CH) differential equation originally proposed to the studies of alloys and on a spinodal decomposition mechanism. Solving numerically the CH equation it is possible to follow the time evolution of a coarse-grained order parameter which satisfies a Ginzburg-Landau free-energy functional commonly used to model superconductors. In this approach, we follow the process of charge segregation into two main equilibrium hole density branches and the energy gap normally attributed to the upper pseudogap arises as the free-energy potential barrier between these two equilibrium densities below T ps . This simulation provides quantitative results in agreement with the observed stripe and granular pattern of segregation. Furthermore, with a Bogoliubov-deGennes (BdG) local superconducting critical temperature calculation for the lower pseudogap or the onset of local superconductivity, it yields novel interpretation of several non-conventional measurements on cuprates.

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We perform calculations to obtain the H c2 curve of high temperature superconductors ͑HTSCs͒. We consider explicitly the fact that HTSCs possess intrinsic inhomogeneities by taking into account a nonuniform charge density (r). The transition to a coherent superconducting phase at a critical temperature T c corresponds to a percolation threshold among different superconducting regions, each one characterized by a given T c ((r)). Within this model we calculate the upper critical field H c2 by means of an average linearized Ginzburg-Landau equation modified to take into account the distribution of local superconducting temperatures T c ͓(r)͔. This approach explains some of the anomalies associated with H c2 and why several properties like the Meissner and Nernst effects are detected at temperatures much higher than T c .

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