  The planar oxygen isotope effect coefficient measured as a function of hole
doping in the Pr- and La-doped YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and the Ni-doped
La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO) superconductors quantitatively and qualitatively
follows the form originally proposed by Kresin and Wolf, which was derived for
polarons perpendicular to the superconducting planes. Interestingly, the
inverse oxygen isotope effect coefficient at the pseudogap temperature also
follows the same formula. These findings allow the conclusion that the
superconductivity in YBCO and LSCO results from polarons or rather bipolarons
in the CuO2 plane. The original formula, proposed for the perpendicular
direction only, is obviously more generally valid and accounts for the
superconductivity in the CuO2 planes.
