RVB Contribution to Superconductivity in $MgB_2$

Abstract

We view $MgB_2$ as electronically equivalent to (non-staggered) graphite ($B^-$ layer) that has undergone a zero gap semiconductor to a superconductor phase transition by a large c-axis (chemical) pressure due to $Mg^{++}$ layers. Further, like the \ppi bonded planar organic molecules, graphite is an old resonating valence bond (RVB) system. The RVB's are the `preexisting cooper pairs' in the `parental' zero gap semiconducting $B^-$ (graphite) sheets that manifests themselves as a superconducting ground state of the transformed metal. Some consequences are pointed out.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure, RevTex. Based on a talk given at the Institute Seminar Week, IMSc, Madras (12-16, Feb. 2001