Nodes in an alternatively defined order parameter in HTSC

In a previous study the BCS wave function was generalized to include the motion of the center-of-mass of Cooper pairs. It was found that the Ginsburg-Landau order parameter could be identified with a wave function describing this motion. Here attention is focussed on the effects of replacing free electron orbitals by Bloch waves. In the copper oxides, where the Fermi surface lies contiguous to the Brillouin zone boundary, and with pairs coupled by soft phonon modes, limitations on the wave vectors associated with the center-of-mass coordinates are found. These limitations lead to nodes in the Fourier transform of the Ginsburg-Landau order parameter. Possible relevance of the nodes to the more recently discovered properties of high TC superconductors is discussed.