This book is the first to give a comprehensive view on the polaron and bipolaron theory of high-temperature superconductivity, one of the most significant discoveries in physics in the past decade.

With the discovery of high-temperature superconductors, research into polarons and bipolarons has attracted much attention. It appears that carriers in some high-temperature superconductors are strongly correlated, both in the normal and in the superconducting states. In the strong-coupling limit the Fermi-liquid ground state may be destroyed by the formation of small polarons and bipolarons.

The experimental and theoretical study of such particles is a central issue in current research into high-temperature superconductivity.

Polarons and bipolarons have been observed previously in magnetic semiconductors and transition metal oxides. Thorough investigation of these non-superconducting materials has contributed greatly to the basic understanding of the physical properties of both polarons and bipolarons. This book contains a series of authoritative articles on the most advanced research on polarons and bipolarons in high-temperature superconductors and related materials.

This book will be of great interest to researchers in condensed matter physics, and especially to those working in the field of superconductivity.