Abstract
We postulate that the anisotropic normal-state gap seen recently in cuprates may be the result of pre-formed pairs and use a one-step Green function method to analyse a model in which the normal state consists of a non-degenerate system of such pairs. We observe that, for a completely localized pair band, an angularly independent peak is obtained with a width equal to the single-electron bandwidth. The peak, rather than corresponding to a point on the single-electron energy surface, is in fact a result of the collective contribution from all pairs and is mathematically similar to a Van Hove singularity. The relation of this calculation to the available angle resolved, photoemission spectroscopy data and proposals for further research are discussed.