Pseudogap Isotope Effect as a Probe of Bipolaron Mechanism in High Temperature Superconductors

A theory of a pseudogap phase of high-temperature superconductors where current carriers are translation invariant bipolarons is developed. A temperature [Formula: see text] of a transition from a pseudogap phase to a normal one is calculated. For the temperature of a transition to the pseudogap phase, the isotope coefficient is found. It is shown that the results obtained, in particular, the possibility of negative values of the isotope coefficient, are consistent with the experiment. New experiments on the influence of the magnetic field on the isotope coefficient are proposed.