Here we use a description of the electronic correlations contained in the Hubbard model on the square-lattice perturbed by very weak three-dimensional uniaxial anisotropy in terms of the residual interactions of charge $c$ fermions and spin-neutral composite two-spinon $s1$ fermions. Excellent quantitative agreement with the anisotropic linear-$ω$ one-electron scattering rate and normal-state linear-$T$ resistivity observed in experiments on hole-doped cuprates with critical concentrations $x_c\approx 0.05$ and $x_*\approx 0.27$ is achieved. Our results provide strong evidence that the normal-state linear-$T$ resistivity is a manifestation of low-temperature scale-invariant physics.
The resonance Wigner scattering of charged bosons (small bipolarons) in a random potential leads to logarithmically divergent low-temperature resistivity as observed in several cuprates. Unusual temperature dependence of resistivity of $La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}$ as well as of the Hall effect is quantitatively described in a wide temperature range providing an evidence for $2e$ charged Bose-liquid in high-$T_{c}$ cuprates.
We propose that the experimentally observed resistivity upturn of cuprates at low temperatures may be explained by properly accounting for the effects of disorder in a strongly correlated metallic host. Within a calculation of the DC conductivity using real-space diagonalization of a Hubbard model treated in an inhomogeneous unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation, we find that correlations induce magnetic droplets around impurities, and give rise to additional magnetic scattering which causes the resistivity upturn. A pseudogap in the density of states is shown to enhance both the disorder-in…
It is shown that a strong intraplanar incoherent scattering can effectively block the interplanar coherent tunneling between the weakly coupled planes of the highly anisotropic but clean (intrinsic) materials such as the optimally doped high-T_c layered cuprate superconductors. The calculated normal-state C-axis resistivity ρ_c(T) then follows the metal-like temperature dependence of the ab-plane resistivity ρ_{ab}(T) at high temperatures. At low enough temperatures, however, ρ_c(T) exhibits a non-metal like upturn even as ρ_{ab}(T) remains metallic. Moreover, in the metallic regime, ρ_c(T) is…
Recent experiments introducing controlled disorder into optimally doped cuprate superconductors by both electron irradiation and chemical substitution have found unusual behavior in the rate of suppression of the critical temperature Tc vs. increase in residual resistivity. We show here that the unexpected discovery that the rate of Tc suppression vs. resistivity is stronger for out-of-plane than for in-plane impurities may be explained by consistent calculation of both Tc and resistivity if the potential scattering is assumed to be nearly forward in nature. For realistic models of impurity po…
The high-temperature normal state of the unconventional cuprate superconductors has resistivity linear in temperature $T$, which persists to values well beyond the Mott-Ioffe-Regel upper bound. At low-temperature, within the pseudogap phase, the resistivity is instead quadratic in $T$, as would be expected from Fermi liquid theory. Developing an understanding of these normal phases of the cuprates is crucial to explain the unconventional superconductivity. We present a simple explanation for this behavior, in terms of umklapp scattering of electrons. This fits within the general picture emergi…
The perfectly linear temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity observed as $T \rightarrow$ 0 in a variety of metals close to a quantum critical point is a major puzzle of condensed matter physics . Here we show that $T$-linear resistivity as $T \rightarrow$ 0 is a generic property of cuprates, associated with a universal scattering rate. We measured the low-temperature resistivity of the bi-layer cuprate Bi2212 and found that it exhibits a $T$-linear dependence with the same slope as in the single-layer cuprates Bi2201, Nd-LSCO and LSCO, despite their very different Fermi surfaces a…
The resistivity as function of temperature of high temperature superconductors is very unusual and despite its importance lacks an unified theoretical explanation. It is linear with the temperature for overdoped compounds but it falls more quickly as the doping level decreases, and for weakly doped samples it has a minimum, increases like an insulator before it drops to zero at low temperatures. We show that this overall behavior can be explained by calculations using an electronic phase segregation into two main component phases with low and high densities. The total resistivity is calculated…
Semiconducting-like low-temperature in-plane resistivity indicates that there are no remnants of superconductivity above the resistive phase transition at T > Tc in underdoped cuprates. The model with the chemical potential pinned near the mobility edge inside the charge-transfer optical gap describes quantitatively the Nernst effect, thermopower, diamagnetism and the unusual low-temperature resistivity of underdoped cuprates as normal state phenomena above Tc.
We have studied the magnetic field dependence of the temperature derivative of the resistivity, dr(H,T)/dT, of a number of Y1-xCaxBa2(Cu1-yZny)3O7-d crystalline thin films over a wide range of sample compositions. From the analysis of the temperature derivative data we have been able to distinguish quite clearly between two characteristic temperature scales, (a) the onset of strong superconducting fluctuation temperature, Tscf and (b) the pseudogap temperature, TPG. Significantly different characteristic features of dr(H,T)/dT at Tscf and at TPG imply that Tscf and TPG have different physical …
The effects of planar hole concentration, p, and in-plane disorder, Zn (y), on the DC resistivity, r(T), of sintered samples of Y_{1-x}Ca_xBa_2(Cu_{1-y}Zn_y)_3O_{7-d} were investigated over a wide doping range by changing both the oxygen deficiency (d) and Ca content (x). From the r(T,p) data we extracted characteristic crossover temperatures on the underdoped and overdoped sides, T* and T_m respectively, above which r(T) is linear. We compare our results with a number of other polycrystalline, thin film and single crystal cuprate superconductors and find similar behavior in the p-dependence o…
We present the results of electrical transport measurements of La$_{1.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$Cu$_{1-y}$Ni$_{y}$O$_{4}$ thin single-crystal films at magnetic fields up to 9 T. Adding Ni impurity with strong Coulomb scattering potential to slightly underdoped cuprate makes the signs of resistivity saturation at $ρ_{sat}$ visible in the measurement temperature window up to 350 K. Employing the parallel-resistor formalism reveals that $ρ_{sat}$ is consistent with classical Ioffe-Regel-Mott limit and changes with carrier concentration $n$ as $ρ_{sat}\propto 1/\sqrt{n}$. Thermopower measurements show that N…
Low-temperature T$^{2}$ resistivity in the underdoped pseudogap phase versus T-linear resistivity in the overdoped strange-metal phase of cuprate superconductors
The normal-state Hall coefficient R_H and the in-plane resistivity ρ_{ab} are measured in La-doped Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CuO_{y} (T_c \simeq 13 K) single crystals and La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} thin films by suppressing superconductivity with 61-T pulsed magnetic fields. In contrast to data above T_c, the R_H below \sim 10 K shows little temperature dependence in all the samples measured, irrespective of whether ρ_{ab} exhibits insulating or metallic behavior. Thus, whatever physical mechanism gives rise to insulating behavior in the low-temperature normal state, it leaves the Hall conductivity relatively un…
Impurity-Scattering Assisted Umklapp Scattering as the Origin of Low-Temperature Resistivity in the Normal-State of Cuprate Superconductors
Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院物理研究所);College of Physics, Chongqing University(重庆大学物理学院);School of Physics, Beihang University(北京航空航天大学物理学院);School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University(北京师范大学物理与天文学院);Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai(北京师范大学珠海校区物理系)
High-temperature superconducting cuprates are distinguished by an enigmatic pseudogap which opens near optimal doping where the superconducting transition temperature is highest. Key questions concern its origin and whether it is essential in any way to superconductivity. Recent field-induced normal-state transport experiments on hole-doped cuprates have measured abrupt changes in the doping dependent Hall number and resistivity, consistent with a drop in carrier density from $1+p$ to $p$ holes per copper atom, on entering the pseudogap phase. In this work the change in resistivity is analyzed…
Planar normal state resistivity data taken from three families of cuprate superconductors are compared with theoretical calculations from the recent extremely correlated Fermi liquid theory (ECFL). The two hole doped cuprate materials $LSCO$ and $BSLCO$ and the electron doped material $LCCO$ have yielded rich data sets at several densities $δ$ and temperatures T, thereby enabling a systematic comparison with theory. The recent ECFL resistivity calculations for the highly correlated $t$-$t'$-$J$ model by us give the resistivity for a wide set of model parameters. After using X-ray diffraction a…
Overshadowing the superconducting dome in hole-doped cuprates, the pseudogap state is still one of the mysteries that no consensus can be achieved. It has been suggested that the rotational symmetry is broken in this state and may result in a nematic phase transition, whose temperature seems to coincide with the onset temperature of the pseudogap state $T^*$ around optimal doping level, raising the question whether the pseudogap results from the establishment of the nematic order. Here we report results of resistivity measurements under uniaxial pressure on several hole-doped cuprates, where t…
The thermal fluctuations of the electric field between the CuO_2 planes of layered cuprates are considered as an origin of the electrical resistivity. The model evaluation employs a set of separate plane capacitors each having area equal to the squared in-plane lattice constant a_0^2. It is shown that the scattering of charge carriers by the fluctuation of electric charge in the conducting CuO_2 planes gives rise to the in-plane electrical resistivity rho_ab. Such a mechanism can be viewed as an analog of the Rayleigh's blue-sky law---the charge carriers are scattered by thermal fluctuations o…
The behaviour of the Hall ratio $R_{H}(T)$ as a function of temperature is one of the most intriguing normal state properties of cuprate superconductors. One feature of all the data is a maximum of $R_{H}(T)$ in the normal state that broadens and shifts to temperatures well above $T_c$ with decreasing doping. We show that a model of preformed pairs-bipolarons provides a selfconsistent quantitative description of $R_{H}(T)$ together with in-plane resistivity and uniform magnetic susceptibility for a wide range of doping.
The pseudogap phase of the underdoped cuprates is the host to a variety of novel electronic phenomenon. An example is the dc-resistivity which shows metallic behaviour in the ab-plane, while the c-axis response is insulating. We apply a model, originally formulated by Yang, Rice, and Zhang, to study the resistivity in the pseudogap phase. This model is able to reproduce the qualitative features of the resistivity, including the systematic deviations from linear behaviour for the in-plane conductivity, and the insulating behaviour along the c-axis. We compare this to the predictions of the arc …
The doping and temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient, RH, and ab-plane resistivity in the normal state down to 350mK is reported for oriented films of the electron-doped high-Tc superconductor Pr2-xCexCuO4+d. The doping dependence of b (r=r0+AT^b) and R_sub_H (at 350 mK) suggest a quantum phase transition at a critical doping near x=0.165.
We show that the resistivity in each phase of the High-Tc cuprates is a special case of a general expression derived from the Kubo formula. We obtain, in particular, the T-linear behavior in the strange metal (SM) and upper pseudogap (PG) phases, the pure $T^2$, Fermi liquid (FL) behavior observed in the strongly overdoped regime as well as the $T^{1+δ}$ behavior that interpolates both in the crossover. We calculate the coefficients: a) of $T$ in the linear regime and show that it is proportional to the PG temperature $T^*(x)$; b) of the $T^2$-term in the FL regime, without adjusting any param…
Absolute resistivity measurements as a function of temperature from optimally doped YBa_2Cu_3O_(7), La_(2-x)Sr_xCuO_4, Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_(8-x), and (Ca_0.1La_0.9)(Ba_1.65La_0.35)Cu_3O_y thin films are reported. Special attention is given to the measurement geometrical factors and the resistivity slope between Tc and T^{*}. The results are compared with a strong coupling theory for the resistivity derivative near T_c, which is based on hard core bosons (HCB), and with several weak coupling theories, which are BCS based. Surprisingly, our results agree with both paradigms. The implications of thes…
We propose that Resistivity Curvature Mapping (RCM) based on the in-plane resistivity data is a useful way to objectively draw an electronic phase diagrams of high-T_c cuprates, where various crossovers are important. In particular, the pseudogap crossover line can be conveniently determined by RCM. We show experimental phase diagrams obtained by RCM for Bi_{2}Sr_{2-z}La_{z}CuO_{6+δ}, La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}, and YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y}, and demonstrate the universal nature of the pseudogap crossover. Intriguingly, the electronic crossover near optimum doping depicted by RCM appears to occur rather a…
We report resistivity measurements in underdoped YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6.6} $and overdoped Tl$_{2}$Ba$_{2}$CuO$_{6+x}$ single crystals in which the concentration of defects in the CuO$_{2}$ planes is controlled by electron irradiation. Low $T$ upturns of the resistivity are observed in both cases for large defect content. In the Tl compound the decrease of conductivity scales as expected from weak localization theory. On the contrary in YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6.6}$ the much larger low T contribution to the resistivity is proportional to the defect content and might then be associated to a Kondo l…
From analysis of the in-plane resistivity $ρ_{ab}(T)$ of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, we show that normal state transport in overdoped cuprates can be delineated into two regimes in which the electrical resistivity varies approximately linearly with temperature. In the low temperature limit, the $T$-linear resistivity extends over a very wide doping range, in marked contrast to expectations from conventional quantum critical scenarios. The coefficient of this $T$-linear resistivity scales with the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$, implying that the interaction causing this anomalous sc…
The temperature, doping and field dependences of the magnetoresistance (MR) in Pr_(2-x)Ce_(x)CuO_(4-delta) films are reported. We distinguish between orbital MR, found when the magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the ab planes, and the nearly isotropic spin MR. The latter, the major MR effect in the superconducting samples, appears in the region of the doping-temperature phase diagram where d(rho)/dT<0, or an upturn in the resistivity appears. We conclude that the upturn originates from spin scattering processes.
A key unexplained feature of cuprate superconductors is the upturn in their normal state electrical resistivity $ρ(T)$ seen at low temperature inside the pseudogap phase. We examined this issue via measurements of the thermal conductivity $κ(T)$ down to 50 mK and in fields up to 17 T on the cuprate La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ at dopings $p = 0.13$, 0.136, 0.143 and 0.18. At $p$ = 0.136, 0.143, and 0.18, we observe an initial increase of the electronic thermal conductivity $κ_0/T$ as a function of field, as expected in a $d$-wave superconductor. For $p$ = 0.136 and 0.143, further increasing the fie…
We present a compared experimental investigation of the (a,b) plane vortex-state complex resistivity at 48 GHz in YBaCuO, SmBaCuO and BiSrCaCuO (2212). In YBaCuO and SmBaCuO the field dependence of the response can be consistently described by a combination of flux flow and strong pair breaking due to the presence of lines of nodes in the gap. In BiSrCaCuO (2212), by contrast, the data might be described by the pair breaking alone.
One of the prime manifestations of an anisotropic electronic state in underdoped cuprates is the in-plane resistivity anisotropy $Δρ\equiv(ρ_{a}-ρ_{b})/ρ_{b}$. Here we use a Boltzmann-equation approach to compute the contribution to $Δρ$ arising from scattering by anisotropic charge and spin fluctuations, which have been recently observed experimentally. While the anisotropy in the charge fluctuations is manifested in the correlation length, the anisotropy in the spin fluctuations emerges only in the structure factor. As a result, we find that spin fluctuations favor $Δρ>0$, whereas charge flu…
The strongly correlated electron fluids in high temperature cuprate superconductors demonstrate an anomalous linear temperature ($T$) dependent resistivity behavior, which persists to a wide temperature range without exhibiting saturation. As cooling down, those electron fluids lose the resistivity and condense into the superfluid. However, the origin of the linear-$T$ resistivity behavior and its relationship to the strongly correlated superconductivity remain a mystery. Here we report a universal relation $dρ/dT=(μ_0k_B/\hbar)λ^2_L$, which bridges the slope of the linear-$T$-dependent resist…
We report the free flux flow (FFF) resistivity associated with a purely viscous motion of the vortices in moderately clean d-wave superconductor Bi:2201 in the strongly overdoped regime (T_c=16K) for a wide range of the magnetic field in the vortex state. The FFF resistivity is obtained by measuring the microwave surface impedance at different microwave frequencies. It is found that the FFF resistivity is remarkably different from that of conventional s-wave superconductors. At low fields (H<0.2H_c2) the FFF resistivity increases linearly with H with a coefficient which is far larger than that…
The in-plane resistivity and out-of-plane resistivity of non-superconducting RBCO (R = Y, Tm) and Fe-doped Bi2212 single crystals are discussed. The comparison of electrical transport properties of the cuprates and quasi-one dimensional (1D) (TMTSF)2PF6 organic conductor suggests that RBCO and Bi2212 exhibit 1D transport properties, and the step rise at low temperatures in the resistivities of the cuprates and quasi-1D organic conductor is due to charge-density-wave ordering. We discuss also phonon-electron interactions in cuprates at low temperatures.
We report extensive resistivity, Hall, and magnetoresistance measurements on thin films of the electron-doped cuprate \PCCO~(PCCO), as a function of doping, temperature and magnetic field. The doping dependence of the resistivity and Hall number at low temperatures are characteristic of a system near a quantum phase transition or a Fermi Surface Reconstruction (FSR) point. The spin magnetoresistance drops to zero near the critical point. The data presented in this paper were compiled during the 2004-2007 period but were never published in this comprehensive form. Because of the recent interest…
The optical conductivity and Drude weight of a Spin-Fermion model for cuprates are studied as a function of electronic density and temperature. This model develops stripes and robust D-wave pairing correlation upon hole doping, and it has the advantage that it can be numerically simulated without sign problems. Both static and dynamical information can be obtained. In this work it was possible to analyze up to 12x12 site clusters at low temperatures ranging between 0.01t and 0.1t (between 50K and 500K for a hopping amplitude $t \sim 0.5 eV$). As the temperature is reduced, spectral weight is t…
Correlation between the strength of low-temperature T-linear normal-state resistivity and $T_{\rm c}$ in overdoped electron-doped cuprate superconductors
本文在动能驱动超导框架内,揭示了过掺杂电子掺杂型铜氧化物超导体中由自旋激发同时介导的电子umklapp散射与电子配对,自然导致了低温T线性正常态电阻率强度与超导转变温度$T_{\ m c}$之间的内在关联。
We measured the magnetoresistance as a function of temperature down to 20mK and magnetic field for a set of underdoped PrCeCuO (x=0.12) thin films with controlled oxygen content. This allows us to access the edge of the superconducting dome on the underdoped side. The sheet resistance increases with increasing oxygen content whereas the superconducting transition temperature is steadily decreasing down to zero. Upon applying various magnetic fields to suppress superconductivity we found that the sheet resistance increases when the temperature is lowered. It saturates at very low temperatures. …
The highly anisotropic and qualitatively different nature of in- and out-of-plane charge dynamics in high-Tc cuprates cannot be accommodated within the conventional Boltzmann transport theory. The variation of in- and out-of-plane resistivities with temperature and hole content are also anomalous and cannot be explained by Fermi-liquid theory. In this study we have proposed a simple phenomenological model for the dc resistivity of cuprates by incorporating two firmly established generic features of all hole doped cuprate superconductors- (1) the pseudogap in the quasiparticle energy spectrum a…
Both "large-U" and "small-U" orbitals are used to study the electronic structure of the high-T_c cuprates. A striped structure with three types of carriers are induced, polaron-like "stripons" which carry charge, "quasielectrons" which carry both charge and spin, and "svivons" which carry spin and lattice distortion. Anomalous physical properties of the cuprates are derived, and specifically the systematic behavior of the resistivity, Hall constant, and thermoelectric power. Transitions between pair states of quasielectrons and stripons drive high-temperature superconductivity.
Starting from a recently proposed comprehensive theory for the high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates, we derive a general analytic expression for the planar resistivity, in the presence of an applied external magnetic field $\textbf{H}$ and explore its consequences in the different phases of these materials. As an initial probe of our result, we show it compares very well with experimental data for the resistivity of LSCO at different values of the applied field. We also apply our result to Bi2201 and show that the magnetoresistivity in the strange metal phase of this material, exhibits the $H…
Systematic analysis of the planar resistivity, Hall effect and cotangent of the Hall angle for the electron-doped cuprates reveals underlying Fermi-liquid behavior even deep in the antiferromagnetic part of the phase diagram. The transport scattering rate exhibits a quadratic temperature dependence, and is nearly independent of doping, compound and carrier type (electrons vs. holes), and hence universal. Our analysis moreover indicates that the material-specific resistivity upturn at low temperatures and low doping has the same origin in both electron- and hole-doped cuprates.
In cuprate superconductors, high magnetic fields have been used extensively to suppress superconductivity and expose the underlying normal state. Early measurements revealed insulating-like behavior in underdoped material versus temperature $T$, in which resistivity increases on cooling with a puzzling $\log(1/T)$ form. We instead use microwave measurements of flux-flow resistivity in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+y}$ and Tl$_2$Ba$_2$CuO$_{6+δ}$ to study charge transport deep inside the superconducting phase, in the low temperature and low field regime. Here, the transition from metallic low-temperature …
Superconductivity is observed in a new nontoxic cuprate system Ga-Ba-Ca-Cu-O, with Tc = 82K for GaBa2Ca5Cu6O14+δ (Ga-1256) and Tc = 116K probably for GaBa2Ca3Cu4O10+δ (Ga-1234) or GaBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ (Ga-1223), respectively. All compounds are fabricated by solid state reaction method under high pressure and high temperature. Samples are characterized by resistivity, magnetization and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The temperature dependence of magnetization measured in both zero-field-cooled and field-cooled processes on one sample (S1) shows two superconducting transitions at about 82K and…
An understanding of the normal state in the high-temperature superconducting cuprates is crucial to the ultimate understanding of the long-standing problem of the origin of the superconductivity itself. This so-called strange metal state is thought to be associated with a quantum critical point (QCP) hidden beneath the superconductivity(1,2). In electron-doped cuprates in contrast to hole-doped cuprates it is possible to access the normal state at very low temperatures and low magnetic fields to study this putative QCP and to probe the T~0 K state of these materials(3,4). We report measurement…
The Fermi-liquid-like (FL) resistivity recently observed in clean HgBa2CuO4 below the pseudogap temperature was related to carriers at the nodal points on the Fermi surface [4]. We show that this necessitates important implications for the electronic spectrum of underdoped (UD) cuprates in whole. Photoemission experiments picture the spectrum as of metallic arcs separated from each other by regions with large energy gaps. We solved the kinetic equation in such model rigorously. The Fermi arcs carriers contribute to FL resistivity, if scattering between the opposite nodal points admits the Umkl…
We report on resistivity and Hall measurements in thin films of the electron-doped superconducting cuprate Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4\pmδ}$. Comparisons between x = 0.17 samples subjected to either ion-irradiation or oxygenation demonstrate that changing the oxygen content has two separable effects: 1) a doping effect similar to that of cerium, and 2) a disorder effect. These results are consistent with prior speculations that apical oxygen removal is necessary to achieve superconductivity in this compound.
In-plane resistivity ρ_{ab}, Hall coefficient, and magnetoresistance (MR) are measured in a series of high-quality Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6} crystals with various carrier concentrations, from underdope to overdope. Our crystals show the highest T_c (33 K) and the smallest residual resistivity ever reported for Bi-2201 at optimum doping. It is found that the temperature dependence of the Hall angle obeys a power law T^n with n systematically decreasing with increasing doping, which questions the universality of the Fermi-liquid-like T^2 dependence of the "Hall scattering rate". In particular,…
We present a comparative study of Nernst effect and resistivity in underdoped samples of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CuO$_{6+δ}$ and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$. The Nernst effect presents a peak in a region of the H-T diagram where resistivity shows a non-metallic temperature dependence. Our results illustrate that the mechanism of dissipation in the mixed state of underdoped cuprates is poorly understood. Large quantum superconducting fluctuations and vanishing vortex viscosity are among suggested explanations for an enhanced Nernst signal close to the superconductor-insulator boundary.
Recently we had proposed a mechanism for the normal-state C-axis resistivity of the high-T$_c$ layered cuprates that involved blocking of the single-particle tunneling between the weakly coupled planes by strong intra-planar electron-electron scattering. This gave a C-axis resistivity that tracks the ab-plane T-linear resistivity, as observed in the high-temperature limit. In this work this mechanism is examined further for its implication for the ground-state energy and superconductivity of the layered cuprates. It is now argued that, unlike the single-particle tunneling, the tunneling of a b…
We report measurements of the magnetic-field induced microwave complex resistivity in REBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films, with RE = Y, Sm. Measurements are performed at 48 GHz by means of a resonant cavity in the end-wall-replacement configuration. The magnetic field dependence is investigated by applying a moderate (0.8 T) magnetic field along the c-axis. The measured vortex state complex resistivity in YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ and SmBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ is analyzed within the well-known models for vortex dynamics. It is shown that attributing the observed response to vortex motion…
Superconductivity in cuprates peaks in the doping regime between a metal at high p and an insulator at low p. Understanding how the material evolves from metal to insulator is a fundamental and open question. Early studies in high magnetic fields revealed that below some critical doping an insulator-like upturn appears in the resistivity of cuprates at low temperature, but its origin has remained a puzzle. Here we propose that this 'metal-to-insulator crossover' is due to a drop in carrier density n associated with the onset of the pseudogap phase at a critical doping p*. We use high-field res…
With simple but exactly solvable model, we investigate the supercurrent transferring through the c-axis cuprate superconductor-normal metal-superconductor junctions with the clean normal metal much thicker than its coherence length. It is shown that the supercurrent as a function of thickness of the normal metal decreases much slower than the exponential decaying expected by the proximity effect. The present result may account for the giant proximity effect observed in the c-axis cuprate SNS junctions.
Among all experimental observations of cuprate physics, the metal-insulator-crossover (MIC), seen in the pseudogap (PG) region of the temperature-doping phase diagram of copper-oxides under a strong magnetic field, when the superconductivity is suppressed, is most likely the most intriguing one. Since it was expected that the PG-normal state for these materials, as for conventional superconductors, is conducting. This MIC, revealed in such phenomena as heat conductivity downturn, anomalous Lorentz ratio, insulator resistivity boundary, nonlinear entropy, resistivity temperature upturn, insulat…
We propose a microscopic explanation of the pseudogap features discovered in the normal state specific heat and magnetic susceptibility of cuprates. In the framework of the bipolaron theory of high-Tc superconductors we explain the magnitude of the carrier specific heat and susceptibility as well as their universal scaling with temperature over a wide range of doping.