Doped Mott insulators have been shown to have a strong propensity to form patterns of holes and spins often referred to as stripes. In copper-oxides, doping also gives rise to the pseudogap state, which transforms into a high temperature superconductor with sufficient doping or by reducing the temperature. A long standing question has been the interplay between pseudogap, which is generic to all hole-doped cuprates, and stripes, whose static form occurs in only one family of cuprates over a narrow range of the phase diagram. Here we examine the spatial reorganization of electronic states with the onset of the pseudogap state at T* in the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x using spectroscopic mapping with the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). We find that the onset of the pseudogap phase coincides with the appearance of electronic patterns that have the predicted characteristics of fluctuating stripes. As expected, the stripe patterns are strongest when the hole concentration in the CuO2 planes is close to 1/8 (per Cu). While demonstrating that the fluctuating stripes emerge with the onset of the pseudogap state and occur over a large part of the cuprate phase diagram, our experiments indicate that they are a consequence of pseudogap behavior rather than its cause.
Underdoped cuprates exhibit a normal-state pseudogap, and their spins and doped carriers tend to spatially separate into 1- or 2-D stripes. Some view these as central to superconductivity, others as peripheral and merely competing. Using La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$Cu$_{1-y}$Zn$_y$O$_4$ we show that an oxygen isotope effect in $T_c$ and in the superfluid density can be used to distinguish between the roles of stripes and pseudogap and also to detect the presence of impurity scattering. We conclude that stripes and pseudogap are distinct, and both compete and coexist with superconductivity.
The electronic structure of the high-T_c cuprates is studied on the basis of both "large-U" and "small-U" orbitals. A striped structure is obtained, and three types of carriers: polaron-like "stripons" carrying charge, "quasielectrons'' carrying charge and spin, and "svivons" carrying spin and lattice distortion. Anomalous properties of the cuprates and specifically their transport properties are derived. Pairing is found to result from transitions between pair states of quasielectrons and stripons through the exchange of svivons. The pairing results in superconductivity when the stripons cond…
The observation of a large Nernst signal in cuprates above the superconducting transition temperature has attracted much attention. A potential explanation is that it originates from superconducting fluctuations. Although the Nernst signal is indeed consistent with gaussian fluctuations for overdoped cuprates, gaussian theory fails to describe the temperature dependence seen for underdoped cuprates. Here, we consider the vertex correction to gaussian theory resulting from the pseudogap. This yields a Nernst signal in good agreement with the data.
We briefly summarize two related calculations. First, we demonstrate that the instabilities (either nesting or pairing) associated with the high-T_c cuprates can be described by an SO(6) transformation group. There are two independent 6-dimensional representations (`superspins'). One superspin combines Zhang's 5-component superspin with a flux phase instability; the other involves a charge density wave, s-wave superconductivity, and an exotic spin current. The second calculation is a self-consistent slave boson calculation, which provides a good description of the doping dependence of the phot…
We study the static and dynamic behavior of charge ordering within a d-wave pair pseudogap (pg) scenario. This is addressed using a density-density correlation function derived from the standard pg self energy, $Σ$ and compatible with the longitudinal and transverse sum rules. The broadening factor $γ$ in $Σ$ reflects the breaking of pairs into constituent fermions. We apply this form for $Σ$ (derived elsewhere for high fields) to demonstrate the existence of quantum oscillations in a non-Fermi liquid pg state. Our conclusion is that the pseudogap-induced pairbreaking, via $γ$, allows the unde…
The individual k\parallel and k\perp stripe excitations in fluctuating spin-charge stripes have not been observed yet. In Raman scattering if we set, for example, incident and scattered light polarizations to two possible stripe directions, we can observe the fluctuating stripe as if it is static. Using the different symmetry selection rule between the B1g two-magnon scattering and the B1g and B2g isotropic electronic scattering, we succeeded to obtain the k\parallel and k\perp strip magnetic excitations separately in La2-xSrxCuO4. Only the k\perp stripe excitations appear in the wide-energy i…
The effect of Zn substitution in the CuO2 plane on the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, was studied for the La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4 and YBa2(Cu1-yZny)3O7-d compounds over a wide range of hole concentration, p, and Zn content (y). Zn induced rate of suppression of Tc, dTc(p)/dy, was found to be strongly p-dependent and showed a monotonic variation with p, except in the vicinity of p ~ 0.125, i.e., near the so-called 1/8th anomaly where the charge/spin stripe correlations are at their strongest in hole doped cuprates. The magnitude of dTc(p)/dy decreased significantly around this hole conc…
We investigate the upper critical field in a stripe--phase and in the presence of a phenomenological pseudogap. Our results indicate that the formation of stripes affects the Landau orbits and results in an enhancement of $H_{c2}$. On the other hand, phenomenologically introduced pseudogap leads to a reduction of the upper critical field. This effect is of particular importance when the magnitude of the gap is of the order of the superconducting transition temperature. We have found that a suppression of the upper critical field takes place also for the gap that originates from the charge--den…
This article is devoted to a discussion of stripe and electron-nematic order and their connection to electronic properties in the pseudogap regime of copper-oxide superconductors. We review basic properties of these symmetry-breaking ordering phenomena as well as proposals which connect them to quantum-oscillation measurements. Experimental data indicate that these orders are unlikely to be the cause of the pseudogap phenomenon, implying that they occur on top of the pseudogap state which itself is of different origin. Specifically, we discuss the idea that the non-superconducting pseudogap gr…
Understanding the origin of the pseudogap is an essential step towards elucidating the pairing mechanism in the cuprate superconductors. Recently there has been strong experimental evidence showing that C4 symmetry breaking occurs on formation of the pseudogap. This form of symmetry breaking was predicted by the Fluctuating Bond Model (FBM), an empirical model based on a strong, local coupling of electrons to the square of the planar oxygen vibrator amplitudes. In this paper we approach the FBM theory from a new direction, starting from {\it ab initio} molecular dynamics simulations. The simul…
Doping dependence of the electronic structure of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (LSCO) has been systematically studied in a series of photoemission measurements. The unusual spectral features in the underdoped regime are attributed to the formation of dynamical stripes and the opening of large and small pseudogaps.
We study the electronic structure within a system of phase-decoupled one-dimensional superconductors coexisting with stripe spin and charge density wave order. This system has a nodal Fermi surface (Fermi arc) in the form of a hole pocket and an antinodal pseudogap. The spectral function in the antinodes is approximately particle-hole symmetric contrary to the gapped regions just outside the pocket. We find that states at the Fermi energy are extended whereas states near the pseudogap energy have localization lengths as short as the inter-stripe spacing. We consider pairing which has either lo…
We present a general scenario for high-temperature superconducting cuprates, based on the presence of dynamical charge density waves (CDWs) and to the occurrence of a CDW quantum critical point, which occurs, e.g., at doping p~0.16 in YBCO. In this framework, even the pseudogap temperature T* is interpreted in terms of a reduction of the density of states due to incipient CDW and, at lower temperature to the possible formation of incoherent superconducting pairs. The dynamically fluctuating character of CDW accounts for the different temperatures at which the pseudogap (T*), the CDW onset reve…
The mechanism of the high temperature hole-doped superconductivity was investigated by Raman scattering. The Raman selection rule is unique, so that anisotropic magnetic excitations in a fluctuating spin-charge stripe can be detected as if it is static. We use different Raman selection rules for two kinds of magnetic Raman scattering processes, two-magnon scattering and high-energy electronic scattering. In order to confirm the difference, the Raman spectra of striped La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) and non-striped Nd2-xCexCuO4 (NCCO) were compared. The main results in LSCO are (1) magnetic excitations ar…
We present a model for the combined nematic and `smectic' or stripe-like orders seen in recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments in cuprates. We model the stripe order as an electronic charge density wave with associated Peierls distortion -- a `Pomeranchuk wave'. Disorder restricts this primary order to nanoscale domains, while secondary coupling to strain generates nematic order with considerably longer range.
A new model of high-T_c superconductivity (HTSC) has been developed by us which we find is able to explain almost all the HTSC properties, like high T_c, origin and nature of NSPG (normal state pseudogap), anomalous superconducting state (SS) energy gap (SSEG) properties, absence of NMR spin relaxation rate coherence peak, existence of NSPG below T_c, nature of high-T_c magnetic superconductivity, external magnetic field (H) dependence of the NSPG formation temperature T*, etc. The coexistence of NSPG and SS BCS energy gap (EG), below T_C, has been predicted by the model before its experimenta…
The effect of Zn substitution on the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, was investigated for the La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4 (Zn-LSCO) compounds over a wide range of hole concentration, p (= x), and Zn content (y) in the CuO2 plane. Zn induced rate of suppression of Tc, dTc/dy, was found to be strongly p-dependent and showed a systematic variation with hole concentration, except in the vicinity of p ~ 0.12, i.e., near the so-called 1/8th anomaly where the charge/spin stripe correlations are at its strongest in La2-xSrxCuO4. Near p ~ 0.12, the static striped charge ordering is widely believed t…
A quantum critical point in the single layer, hole-doped cuprate system La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (Nd-LSCO), near $x$ = 0.23 has been proposed as an organizing principle for understanding high temperature superconductivity. Our earlier neutron diffraction work on Nd-LSCO at optimal and high doping revealed static parallel spin stripes to exist out to the QCP and slightly beyond, at $x$ = 0.24 and 0.26. We examine more closely the parallel spin stripe order parameter in Nd-LSCO in both zero magnetic field and fields up to 8 T for H // c in these single crystals. In contrast to earlier…
The details of the pseudogap origin and other gap related properties discussed earlier for cuprates, in the framework of the paired cluster (PC) model, using three dimensional (3D) electronic density of states (DOS), are shown to remain valid even when a two dimensional (2D) cuprate electronic DOS is used. Similarly the stripe phase description is also shown to be similar for the 3D and 2D cases. These results confirm the PC model's capability in explaining the high-Tc superconductivity properties.
Slave boson calculations have been carried out in the three-band tJ model for the high-T_c cuprates, with the inclusion of coupling to oxygen breathing mode phonons. Phonon-induced Van Hove nesting leads to a phase separation between a hole-doped domain and a (magnetic) domain near half filling, with long-range Coulomb forces limiting the separation to a nanoscopic scale. Strong correlation effects pin the Fermi level close to, but not precisely at the Van Hove singularity (VHS), which can enhance the tendency to phase separation. The resulting dispersions have been calculated, both in the uni…
Using a phenomenological lattice model of coupled spin and charge modes, we determine the spin susceptibility in the presence of fluctuating stripe charge order. We assume the charge fluctuations to be slow compared to those of the spins, and combine Monte Carlo simulations for the charge order parameter with exact diagonalization of the spin sector. Our calculations unify the spin dynamics of both static and fluctuating stripe phases and support the notion of a universal spin excitation spectrum in doped cuprate superconductors.
We develop a theory of the rectification effect in a double-layer system where both layers are superconductors, or one of the layers is a normal metal. The Coulomb interaction is assumed to provide the dominant coupling between the layers. We find that superconducting fluctuations strongly enhance the drag conductivity, with rectification most pronounced when both layers are superconductors. In view of their distinct dependence on temperature near Tc and layer separation, drag measurements based on a Giaever transformer could distinguish whether rectification occurs due to fluctuating pairs or…
We report results of a muon spin relaxation study of slow magnetic fluctuations in the pseudogap phase of underdoped single-crystalline YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{y}$, $y = 6.77$ and 6.83. The dependence of the dynamic muon spin relaxation rate on applied magnetic field yields the rms magnitude~$B\mathrm{_{loc}^{rms}}$ and correlation time~$τ_c$ of fluctuating local fields at muon sites. The observed relaxation rates do not decrease with decreasing temperature~$T$ below the pseudogap onset at $T^\ast$, as would be expected for a conventional magnetic transition; both $B\mathrm{_{loc}^{rms}}$ and $τ_…
We have recently begun Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamics of stripe phases in the cuprates. A simple model of spinodal decomposition of the holes allows us to incorporate Coulomb repulsion and coherency strains. We find evidence for a possible stripe disordering transition, at a temperature below the pseudogap onset. Experimental searches for such a transition can provide constraints for models of stripe formation.
Resting on the gauge theory of topological quantum melting in 2+1 dimensions, we predict that a superconductor characterized by crystalline correlations on a length scale large compared to the lattice carries a new collective mode: the massive shear photon. This mode is visible in the electrodynamic response and the ramification of our theory is that electron energy loss spectroscopy can be employed to prove or disprove the existence of dynamical stripes in cuprate superconductors.
The phase diagram of superconducting copper oxides is calculated as a function of doping based on a theory of dynamic stripe induced superconductivity. The two major conclusions from the theory and the numerical analysis are that T* (the pseudogap onset) and Tc (superconductivity onset) are correlated through the pseudogap, which induces a gap in the single particle energies that persists into the superconducting state. By decreasing the doping the pseudogap Delta* increases and T* increases, but when Delta* exceeds a certain critical value the superconducting transition temperature Tc is supp…
We derive an effective Hamiltonian for spin dynamics of fluctuating smectic stripes from the t-J model in the weak coupling limit t >> J. Besides the modulation of spin magnitude, the high energy hopping term would induce a low-energy anti-ferromagnetic interaction between two neighboring ``blocks of spins". Based on the effective Hamiltonian, we applied the linear spin-wave theory and found that the spin-wave velocity is almost isotropic for La_{2-x}Sr_x CuO_4 unless the structural effect is considered. The intensity of the second harmonic mode is found to be about 10% to that of the fundamen…
ARPES measurements on underdoped cuprates above the superconducting transition temperature exhibit the unique phenomenon of Fermi arcs, gapless arcs of Fermi surface around the nodal points of the superconducting gap, which terminate before reaching the antinodes. We show that this phenomenon is easily explained (including its temperature dependence and observed hole-electron asymmetry) as the natural consequence of a time-fluctuating d-wave gap.
The Van Hove singularity (VHS) provides a paradigm for the study of the role of peaks in the density of states (dos) on electronic properties. More importantly, it appears to play a major role in the physics of the high-T_c superconductors, particularly since recent photoemission studies have found that the VHS is close to the Fermi level in most of the high-T_c cuprates near the composition of optimum T_c. This paper offers a comprehensive survey of the VHS model, describing both theoretical properties and experimental evidence for the picture. Special topics discussed include a survey of the…
We elaborate on several observable consequences of the Quantum-Critical-Point scenario. In particular we show that the strong k-dependent scattering of the quasiparticles with the quasi-critical charge and spin fluctuations reproduces the main features of the low-energy spectral weights and of the observed Fermi surfaces. In the underdoped cuprates the attractive k-dependent charge scattering drives the formation of the pseudogap at the M points below the crossover temperature T^*. In this context we discuss models for pseudogap formation with relevant scattering in the particle-particle and p…
Strongly correlated electron systems host a variety of poorly understood correlations in their high temperature normal state. Unlike ordered phases defined by order parameters, these normal state phases are often defined through unconventional properties such as strange metallic transport or spectroscopic pseudogaps. Characterizing the microscopic correlations in the normal state is necessary to elucidate mechanisms that lead to these properties and their connection to ground state orders. Here we establish the presence of intertwined charge and spin stripes in the strange metal normal state o…
We report $^{75}$As nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of single-crystalline Ca(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ ($x$ = 0.023, 0.028, 0.033, and 0.059) annealed at 350~$^{\circ}$C for 7 days. From the observation of a characteristic shape of $^{75}$As NMR spectra in the stripe-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) state, as in the case of $x$ = 0 ($T_{\rm N}$ = 170 K), clear evidence for the commensurate AFM phase transition with the concomitant structural phase transition is observed in $x$ = 0.023 ($T_{\rm N}$ = 106 K) and $x$ = 0.028 ($T_{\rm N}$ = 53 K). Through the temperature dependence of …
The carriers in the high-Tc cuprates are found to be polaron-like "stripons" carrying charge and located in stripe-like inhomogeneities, "quasi-electrons" carrying charge and spin, and "svivons" carrying spin and some lattice distortion. The anomalous spectroscopic and transport properties of the cuprates are understood. The stripe-like inhomogeneities result from the Bose condensation of the svivon field, and the speed of their dynamics is determined by the width of the double-svivon neutron-resonance peak. The connection of this peak to the peak-dip-hump gap structure observed below Tc emerg…
Using a scenario of a hybridized mixture of localized bipolarons and conduction electrons, we demonstrate for the latter the simultaneous appearance of a pseudogap and of strong incoherent contributions to their quasi-particle spectrum which arise from phonon shake-off effects. This can be traced back to temporarily fluctuating local lattice deformations, giving rise to a double-peak structure in the pair distribution function, which should be a key feature in testing the origin of these incoherent contributions, recently seen in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES).
A recent zero-field (ZF) and longitudinal-field (LF) muon spin relaxation ($μ$SR) study of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ [Jian~Zhang {\it et al.}, arXiv:1709.06799] claims to have detected critical slowing down of magnetic fluctuations near the pseudogap temperature $T^*$, and attribute this to the onset of slow fluctuating domains of intra-unit-cell magnetic order. Here it is argued that the relaxation data displayed in this study are misleading due to an improper account of the nuclear dipole contribution and a failure to acknowledge the occurrence of muon diffusion.
We combine neutron scattering (INS) and NMR/NQR nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate data to deduce the existence of a new contribution to the magnetic response (dynamic susceptibility) in cuprate superconductors. This contribution, which has yet to be observed with INS, is shown to embody the magnetic pseudogap effects. As such, it explains the long-standing puzzle of pseudogap effects missing from cuprate INS data, dominated by stripe fluctuations, for the dynamic susceptibility at low energies. For La_(1.86)Sr_(0.14)CuO_(4) and YBa_(2)Ba_(3)O_(6.5), the new term is the chief contributor to …
We analyze non - Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior of fluctuating gap model (FGM) of pseudogap behavior in both 1D and 2D. We discuss in detail quasiparticle renormalization (Z - factor), demonstrating a kind of "marginal" Fermi liquid or Luttinger liquid behavior and topological stability of the "bare" Fermi surface (Luttinger theorem). In 2D case we discuss effective picture of Fermi surface "destruction" both in "hot spots" model of dielectric (AFM, CDW) pseudogap fluctuations, as well as for qualitatively different case of superconducting d - wave fluctuations, reflecting NFL spectral density be…
The smooth evolution of the tunneling gap of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 with doping from a pseudogap state in the underdoped cuprates to a superconducting state at optimal and overdoping reflects an underlying SO(6) instability structure of the (pi,0) saddle points. The pseudogap is probably not associated with superconductivity, but is related to competing nesting instabilities, which are responsible for the stripe phases. We earlier introduced a simple Ansatz of this competition in terms of a pinned Balseiro-Falicov (pBF) model of competing charge density wave and (s-wave) superconductivity. This mod…
We present studies of the electronic structure of La2-xBaxCuO4, a system where the superconductivity is strongly suppressed as static spin and charge orders or "stripes" develop near the doping level of x=1/8. Using angle-resolved photoemission and scanning tunneling microscopy, we detect an energy gap at the Fermi surface with magnitude consistent with d-wave symmetry and with linear density of states, vanishing only at four nodal points, even when superconductivity disappears at x=1/8. Thus, the non-superconducting, "striped" state at x=1/8 is consistent with a phase incoherent d-wave superc…
Considering both "large-U" and "small-U" orbitals it is found that the high-Tc cuprates are characterized by a striped structure, and three types of carriers: polaron-like "stripons" carrying charge, "quasielectrons" carrying charge and spin, and "svivons" carrying spin and lattice distortion. It is shown that this electronic structure leads to the anomalous physical properties of the cuprates, and specifically the systematic behavior of the resistivity, Hall constant, and thermoelectric power. High-Tc pairing results from transitions between pair states of quasielectrons and stripons through …
We calculate for La2CuO4 the phonon-induced redistribution of the electronic charge density in the insulating, the underdoped pseudogap and the more conventional metallic state as obtained for optimal and overdoping, respectively. The investigation is performed for the anomalous high-frequency-oxygen-bond stretching modes (OBSM) which experimentally are known to display a strong softening of the frequencies upon doping in the cuprates. This most likely generic anomalous behaviour of the OBSM has been shown to be due to a strong nonlocal electron-phonon interaction (EPI) mediated by charge fluc…
We have studied the momentum dependence of the energy gap of Bi2(Sr,R)2CuOy by angleresolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), particularly focusing on the difference between R=La and Eu. By comparing the gap function and characteristic temperatures between the two sets of samples, we show that there exist three distinct energy scales, Δpg, Δsc0, and Δeff sc0, which correspond to T* (pseudogap temperature), Tonset (onset temperature of fluctuating superconductivity), and Tc (critical temperature of coherent superconductivity). The results not only support the existence of a pseudogap state b…
In a recent paper Saini et al. have reported evidence for a pseudogap around (pi,0) at room temperature in the optimally doped superconductor Bi2212. This result is in contradiction with previous ARPES measurements. Furthermore they observed at certain points on the Fermi surface hot spots of high spectral intensity which they relate to the existence of stripes in the CuO planes. They also claim to have identified a new electronic band along Gamma-M1 whose one dimensional character provides further evidence for stripes. We demonstrate in this Comment that all the measured features can be simpl…
We investigate the microscopic origin of the pseudogap in the weakly doped 2D Hubbard model using Quantum Monte Carlo within the dynamical cluster approximation. We compare our results with proposed scenarios for the pseudogap. All our numerical evidence is in favor of spin-charge separation as described in the resonating valence bond picture as the cause of the pseudogap behavior. Scenarios of "preformed pairs", the coupling of quasiparticles to antiferromagnetic spin-fluctuations and stripes are inconsistent with our results.
We study the physical property of pair density wave (PDW) and fluctuating PDW, and use it to build an effective theory of the strongly interacting pseudogap phase in cuprate high temperature superconductors. In Chapter2, we study how Fulde-Ferrell state, the simplest form of PDW, responds to incident light. The collective motion of the condensate plays a key role; gauge invariance guides us to the correct result. From Chapter 3 to Chapter 7, we construct a pseudogap metallic state by considering quantum fluctuating PDW. We analyze a recent scanning tunneling microscope (STM) discovery of perio…
Recently we have used spectroscopic mapping with the scanning tunneling microscope to probe modulations of the electronic density of states in single crystals of the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi-2212) as a function of temperature [C. V. Parker et al., Nature (London) 468, 677 (2010)]. These measurements showed Cu-O bond-oriented modulations that form below the pseudogap temperature with a temperature-dependent energy dispersion displaying different behaviors in the superconducting and pseudogap states. Here we demonstrate that quasiparticle scattering off impurities does…
A further discussion of the vortex fluid in the cuprate high Tc superconductors is presented. The crucial property of incompressibility towards the addition of net vorticity, leading to the marked nonlinearity of the response functions, is justified from first principles. We also discuss the Fermi Arc phenomenon of Campuzano as a consequence of the time-fluctuating phase in the vortex fluid.
Unveiling the nature of the pseudogap and its relation to both superconductivity and antiferromagnetic Mott insulators, the pairing mechanism, and a non-Fermi liquid phase is a key issue for understanding high temperature superconductivity in cuprates. A number of experimental results gathered especially in recently years have revealed an unexpected inhomogeneous nature of cuprates at the nanoscale, indicating the fundamental inapplicability of the conventional theories based on homogeneous systems. Here we show a microscopic model of pseudogap and pairing mechanisms on the basis of the consid…
We have measured the transport properties of a series of underdoped YBa2Cu3O7 nanowires fabricated with widths of 100-250 nm. We observe large telegraph-like fluctuations in the resistance between the pseudogap temperature T* and the superconducting transition temperature Tc, consistent with the formation and dynamics of a domain structure such as that created by charge stripes. We also find anomalous hysteretic steps in the current-voltage characteristics well below Tc.
The Nernst effect has recently proven a sensitive probe for detecting unusual normal state properties of unconventional superconductors. In particular, it may sensitively detect Fermi surface reconstructions which are connected to a charge or spin density wave (SDW) ordered state, and even fluctuating forms of such a state. Here we summarize recent results for the Nernst effect of the iron pnictide superconductor $\rm LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs$, whose ground state evolves upon doping from an itinerant SDW to a superconducting state, and the cuprate superconductor $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ which…
By using high magnetic field data to estimate the background conductivity, Rullier-Albenque and coworkers have recently published [Phys.Rev.B 84, 014522 (2011)] experimental evidence that the in-plane paraconductivity in cuprates is almost independent of doping. In this Comment we also show that, in contrast with their claims, these useful data may be explained at a quantitative level in terms of the Gaussian-Ginzburg-Landau approach for layered superconductors, extended by Carballeira and coworkers to high reduced-temperatures by introducing a total-energy cutoff [Phys.Rev.B 63, 144515 (2001)…
A d-wave superconductor, its phase coherence progressively destroyed by unbinding of vortex-antivortex pairs, suffers an instability related to chiral symmetry breaking in two-flavor QED$_3$. The chiral manifold exhibits large degeneracy spanned by physical states acting as inherent ``competitors'' of d-wave superconductivity. Two of these states are associated with antiferromagnetic insulator and ``stripe'' phases, known to be stable in the pseudogap regime of cuprates near half-filling. The theory also predicts additional, yet unobserved state: a d+ip phase-incoherent superconductor.
We propose a model of a spatially modulated collective charge state of superconducting cuprates. The regions of higher carrier density (stripes) are described in terms of Luttinger liquids and the regions of lower density as a two-dimensional interacting bosonic gas of d_{x^2-y^2} hole pairs. The interactions among the elementary excitations are repulsive and the transition to the superconducting state is driven by decay processes. Vibrations of the CCS and the lattice, although not participating directly in the binding mechanism, are fundamental for superconductivity. The superfluid density a…
The origin of the pseudogap (PG) phase and superconducting behaviors in high-Tc superconductors is proposed, based on the picture of Euclidean Q-balls formation, that carry Cooper/local-pair condensates inside their volumes. Unlike the baryonic Q-balls in supersymmetric standard model, the Euclidean Q-balls describe spin-/charge densities, that oscillate in Matsubara time, and are found in the 'nested' repulsive Hubbard model of high-Tc superconductors. Euclidean Q-balls arise due to global invariance of the effective theory under the phase rotation of the Fourier amplitudes of spin-/charge fl…
We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering to investigate charge-stripe correlations in La$_{1.675}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$. By differentiating elastic from inelastic scattering, it is demonstrated that charge-stripe correlations precede both the structural low-temperature tetragonal phase and the transport-defined pseudogap onset. The scattering peak amplitude from charge stripes decays approximately as $T^{-2}$ towards our detection limit. The in-plane integrated intensity, however, remains roughly temperature independent. Therefore, although the incommensurability shows a remarkably l…
We describe the spectral properties of underdoped cuprates as resulting from a momentum-dependent pseudogap in the normal state spectrum. Such a model accounts, within a BCS approach, for the doping dependence of the critical temperature and for the two-parameter leading-edge shift observed in the cuprates. By introducing a phenomenological temperature dependence of the pseudogap, which finds a natural interpretation within the stripe quantum-critical-point scenario for high-T_c superconductors, we reproduce also the T_c-T^* bifurcation near optimum doping. Finally, we briefly discuss the diff…
Combining the results of tunneling, photoemission and thermodynamic studies, the pseudogap is unambiguously demonstrated to be caused by Van Hove nesting: a splitting of the density of states peak at $(π, 0)$. The fact that the splitting remains symmetric about the Fermi level over an extended doping range indicates that the Van Hove singularity is pinned to the Fermi level. Despite these positive results, an ambiguity remains as to what instability causes the pseudogap. Charge or spin density waves, superconducting fluctuations, and flux phases all remain viable possibilities. This ambiguity …
Orbital currents, either fluctuating or static, have emerged as promising candidates for a description of the pseudogap state in underdoped cuprates. I shall review the evolution of these ideas and describe some experiments which have been proposed to test the existence of orbital currents.
