Quasiparticle Transport and Localization in High-Tc Superconductors

We present a theory of the effects of impurity scattering in dx22y2 superconductors and their quantum disordered counterparts, based on a nonlinear-sigma-model formulation. We show the existence, in a quasi-two-dimensional system, of a novel spin-metal phase with a nonzero spin diffusion constant at zero temperature. With decreasing interlayer coupling, the system undergoes a quantum phase transition (in a new universality class) to a localized spin insulator. Experimental implications for spin and thermal transport in the high-temperature superconductors are discussed. [S0031-9007(98)07710-2]