Anharmonic phonons and electronic correlations in high-Tc superconductors: a quantum Monte Carlo study

We study a model for high-T(c) superconductors describing both the strong correlations and the coupling of the CUO2-plane carriers to local anharmonic phononic degrees of freedom. Quantum Monte Carlo ( QMC ) calculations have been performed to investigate ground state properties. The model exhibits superconductivity as characterized by the occurrence of off-diagonal long range order ( ODLRO ). Several features of the high-T(c) materials can be understood. The present calculations have implications in the context of electron-phonon coupling in correlated electron systems in general.