Evidence for Intra-Unit-Cell magnetic order in the pseudo-gap state of high-Tc cuprates
Y. Sidis, P. Bourges
备注：
11 pages, 4 figures
发表信息：
Journal of Physics: Conference Series , 10th International Conference on Materials and Mechanisms of Superconductivity (M2S-X), USA publication date: 2nd Quarter 2013
The existence of the mysterious pseudo-gap state in the phase diagram of copper oxide superconductors and its interplay with unconventional {\it d-wave} superconductivity has been a long standing issue for more than a decade. There is now a growing number of experimental indications that the pseudo-gap phase actually corresponds to a symmetry breaking state. In his theory for cuprates, C. M. Varma proposes that the pseudo-gap is a new state of matter associated with the spontaneous appearance of circulating current loops within $\rm CuO_2$ unit cell. This intra-unit-cell order breaks time reversal symmetry, but preserves lattice translation invariance. Polarized elastic neutron scattering measurements provide evidence for an intra-unit-cell magnetic order inside the pseudo-gap state. This order could be produced by the orbital-like magnetic moments induced by the circulating current loops. The magnetic order displays the same characteristic features in $\rm HgBa_2CuO_{4+δ}$, $\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x}$ and $\rm Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+δ}$ demonstrating that this genuine phase is ubiquitous of the pseudo-gap of high temperature copper oxide materials. We review the main properties characterizing this intra-unit-cell magnetic order and discuss its interplay or competition with other spin and charge instabilities.
The single-particle excitations, which initiate the pseudogap in the cuprate superconductors at some temperature T^*, relate to specific local spectral features of resonant pairing, where charge carriers get momentarily trapped on dynamically deformable molecular Cu-O-Cu clusters. We show how those local excitations evolve into dispersive branches with a characteristic "S"-like shape for three-peak structured ingap excitations in the cuprates' pseudogap phase, when we consider a lattice of such clusters. This feature should be detectable in "momentum distribution curve" ARPES analysis.
We report on a direct test of pairing fluctuations in the pseudogap regime of underdoped superconducting cuprates using a Josephson junction. In this experiment, the coupling between a rigid superconducting pair field and pairing fluctuations produces a strong specific signature in the current-voltage characteristics. Our results show that fluctuations survive only close to Tc (T-Tc<15K) and therefore cannot be responsible for the opening of the pseudogap at high temperature.
It is argued that the dominant feature of the phase diagram of the high $T_c$ cuprates is the crossover to the pseudogap phase in the energy (temperature) region $E (T^*)$. We argue that this scale is determined by the effective antiferromagnetic interaction which we calculate to be $J_{eff} = J_{\rm superexchange} - xt$ where $x$ is the hole percentage and $t$ the hopping integral.
We show by means of the theory of the order parameter phase fluctuations that the temperature of "closing" (or "opening") of the gap (and pseudogap) in the electron spectra of superconductors with anisotropic order parameter takes place within a finite temperature range. Every Fourier-component of the order parameter has its own critical temperature.
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.
Intra unit cell (IUC) magnetic order observed by polarized neutron diffraction (PND) is one of the hallmarks of the pseudogap state of high-temperature copper oxide superconductors. This experimental observation, usually interpreted as a result of loop currents, has been recently challenged based on lower statistics data. We here address the crucial issue of polarization inhomogeneities in the neutron beams showing that the original data had a much better reproducibilty. Within these technical limitations, we here propose a self-consistent analysis that potentially solves the controversy. We s…
One of the most essential aspects of cuprate superconductors is a large pseudogap coexisting with a superconducting gap, then some anomalous properties can be understood in terms of the formation of the pseudogap. Within the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism, the effect of the pseudogap on the infrared response of cuprate superconductors in the superconducting-state is studied. By considering the interplay between the superconducting gap and pseudogap, the electron current-current correlation function is evaluated based on the linear response approach and it then is employed to c…
The interplay between the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap in the bilayer cuprate superconductors is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the charge carrier interaction directly from the interlayer coherent hopping in the kinetic energy by exchanging spin excitations does not provide the contribution to the normal-state pseudogap in the particle-hole channel and superconducting gap in the particle-particle channel, while only the charge carrier interaction directly from the intralayer hopping in the kinetic energy by exchanging sp…
Motivated by a recent experiment by Bergeal et al., we reconsider incoherent pair tunneling in a cuprate junction formed from an optimally doped superconducting lead and an underdoped normal metallic lead. We study the impact of the pseudogap on the pair tunneling by describing fermions in the underdoped lead with a model self-energy that has been developed to reproduce photoemission data. We find that the pseudogap causes an additional temperature dependent suppression of the pair contribution to the tunneling current. We discuss consistency with available experimental data and propose future…
The evidence for the spin density wave (SDW) nature of the pseudogap in HTSC cuprates is presented from resistive and direct gap measurements (ARPES, tunneling experiments, etc.). Its d-wave symmetry mimics the symmetry of the order parameter measured in the SC state. The magnetic phase $H-T$ diagram for HTSC cuprates is formed. The possible influence of an additional (SDW) order parameter on the vortex structure in the applied magnetic field is analysed. The behavior is discussed in terms of itinerant electron systems with interplay between superconductivity and magnetism.
We show that a simple 2D electron system on a square lattice with hoping between more than nearest neighbors exhibits in the presence of electron spin exchange interaction properties strikingly similar to those observed in the underdoped cuprates It is a normal state pseudogap, its behaviour with doping and T, a form of the spectrum around (0,π) etc. The motor is the electronic topological transition which due to two-dimensionality gets new features with respect to well-studied 3D case.
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.
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 investigate the low-energy quasiparticle excitation spectra of cuprate superconductors by incorporating both superconductivity (SC) and competing orders (CO) in the bare Green's function and quantum phase fluctuations in the proper self-energy. Our approach provides consistent explanations for various empirical observations, including the excess subgap quasiparticle density of states, ``dichotomy'' in the momentum-dependent quasiparticle coherence and the temperature-dependent gap evolution, and the presence (absence) of the low-energy pseudogap in hole- (electron-) type cuprates depending …
We derive the fermionic contribution to the longitudinal and Hall conductivities within a Kubo formalism, using a phenomenological Greens function which has been previously developed to describe photoemission data in the pseudogap phase of the cuprates. We find that the in-plane electrical and thermal conductivities are metallic-like, showing a universal limit behavior characteristic of a d-wave spectrum as the scattering rate goes to zero. In contrast, the c-axis resistivity and the Hall number are insulating-like, being divergent in the same limit. The relation of these results to transport …
We propose a new approach to the pseudogap problem in cuprates. Hole-doped cuprates display a broad plateau in the susceptibility centered near $(π,π)$. Competition between the softening of different $q$-modes on this plateau leads to anomalously slow growth of magnetic correlations with reducing temperature -- i.e., extended ranges of short-range correlations. The plateau arises from competition between Fermi- surface nesting and a `hidden' Van Hove singularity (VHS) nesting, associated with a bulk contribution to the susceptibility. As such, the VHS contribution is not tied to the Fermi leve…
To understand the interplay of d-wave superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in the cuprates, we consider a two-dimensional extended Hubbard model with nearest neighbor attractive interaction. Free energy of the homogeneous (coexisting superconducting and antiferromagnetic) state calculated a s a function of the band filling shows a region of of phase separation. The phase separation caused by the intersite attractive force leads to novel insights into salient features of the pseudogap phase diagram. In particular, the upper crossover curve can be identified with the phase separation boundar…
A pairing gap and coherence are the two hallmarks of superconductivity. In a classical BCS superconductor they are established simultaneously at Tc. In the cuprates, however, an energy gap (pseudogap) extends above Tc. The origin of this gap is one of the central issues in high temperature superconductivity. Recent experimental evidence demonstrates that the pseudogap and the superconducting gap are associated with different energy scales. It is however not clear whether they coexist independently or compete. In order to understand the physics of cuprates and improve their superconducting prop…
We report low temperature muon spin relaxation (muSR) measurements of the high-transition-temperature (Tc) cuprate superconductors Bi{2+x}Sr{2-x}CaCu2O{8+δ} and YBa2Cu3O6.57, aimed at detecting the mysterious intra-unit cell (IUC) magnetic order that has been observed by spin polarized neutron scattering in the pseudogap phase of four different cuprate families. A lack of confirmation by local magnetic probe methods has raised the possibility that the magnetic order fluctuates slowly enough to appear static on the time scale of neutron scattering, but too fast to affect $μ$SR or nuclear magnet…
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…
Within a two component approach to high Tc copper oxides including polaronic couplings, we identify the pseudogap phase as the onset of polaron ordering. This ordering persists in the superconducting phase. A huge isotope effect on the pseudogap onset temperature is predicted and in agreement with experimental data. The anomalous temperature dependence of the mean square copper oxygen ion displacement observed above, at and below Tc stems from an s-wave superconducting component of the order parameter, whereas a pure d-wave order parameter alone can be excluded.
Topological states of matter are at the root of some of the most fascinating phenomena in condensed matter physics. Here we argue that skyrmions in the pseudo-spin space related to an emerging SU(2) symmetry enlighten many mysterious properties of the pseudogap phase in under-doped cuprates. We detail the role of the SU(2) symmetry in controlling the phase diagram of the cuprates, in particular how a cascade of phase transitions explains the arising of the pseudogap, superconducting and charge modulation phases seen at low temperature. We specify the structure of the charge modulations inside …
We introduce a mechanism in which coupling between fluctuating spin magnetic dipole moments and polar optical phonons leads to a non-zero ferroic ordering of quasi-static magnetoelectric multipoles. Using first-principles calculations within the LSDA$+U$ method of density functional theory, we calculate the magnitude of the effect for the prototypical cuprate superconductor, HgBa$_2$CuO$_4$. We show that our proposed mechanism is consistent, to our knowledge, with all experimental data for the onset of the pseudo-gap phase and therefore propose the quasi-static magnetoelectric multipole as a p…
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…
After providing a brief genealogy of our recently proposed model for High-Tc cuprates, we investigate the details of the microscopic mechanism that produces an attractive interaction between neighboring holes. We show that a peculiar arrangement of the $p_x$ and $p_y$ oxygen orbitals makes the mutual magnetic interaction of the holes with the localized copper ions to produce a net attractive interaction between themselves, which is responsible for the emergence of a superconducting phase. We also study the connection existing between the proposed pseudogap order parameter and the spectral dens…
In scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) conductance curves, the superconducting gap of cuprates is sometimes accompanied by small sub-gap structures at very low energy. This was documented early on near vortex cores and later at zero magnetic field. Using mean-field toy models of coexisting d-wave superconductivity ($d$SC), \emph{d}-form factor density wave ($d$FF-DW), and extended s-wave pair density wave ($s'$PDW), we find agreement with this phenomenon, with $s'$PDW playing a critical role. We explore the high variability of the gap structure with changes in band structure and density wave (…
Analysis of the resistivity data recently reported by Kondo et al. [1] for (Bi,Pb)2(Sr,La)2CuO{6-delta} (Bi2201) single-crystals has been performed within our model developed to study pseudogap (PG) in high-Tc superconductors (HTS's). The model is based on an assumption of the existence of local pairs in HTS's at temperatures well above Tc. Comparative analysis of our results and results of ARPES experiments reported by Kondo et al. suggests the local pairs to be one of the possible reason of the PG formation.
Perspective on S. Mukhopadhyay, et al. Evidence for a vestigial nematic state in the cuprate pseudogap phase, PNAS 116, 13249 (2019); arXiv:1904.00915.
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…
Experiments that have been interpreted as providing evidence that the pseudogap phase in cuprates is an electronic nematic are discussed from the point of view of lattice structure. We conclude that existing experiments are not sufficient to prove a nematic origin of the pseudogap in underdoped cuprates.
In this paper we deduce transport properties in the presence of a pseudogap associated with precursor superconductivity. Our theoretical analysis is based on the widely adopted self energy expression reflecting this normal state gap, which has appeared in interpretations of photoemission and in other experiments. Thus, it should be generally applicable. Here we address THz conductivity $σ(ω) = σ_1(ω) + i σ_2(ω)$ measurements in the underdoped high temperature superconductors and arrive at reasonable agreement between theory and recent experiment for both $σ_1$ and $σ_2$ above and below $T_c$.
The interplay between the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap in cuprate superconductors is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the interaction between charge carriers and spins directly from the kinetic energy by exchanging spin excitations in the higher power of the doping concentration induces the normal-state pseudogap state in the particle-hole channel and superconducting state in the particle-particle channel, therefore there is a coexistence of the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap in the whole superconducting do…
A consistent microscopic theory of pseudogap phenomena and novel Bose-liquid superconductivity (superfluidity) is presented, based on the fact that in high-$T_c$ cuprates and related systems the energy $\varepsilon_A$ of the effective attraction between fermions is comparable with their Fermi energy $\varepsilon_F$ and the bosonic Cooper pairs are formed above $T_c$ and then a part of such Cooper pairs condense into a Bose superfluid at $T_c$. High-$T_c$ cuprates and other systems with low Fermi energies ($\varepsilon_F\sim\varepsilon_A$) are bosonic superconductors/superfluids and exhibit pse…
We express the superconducting gap, $Δ(T)$, in terms of thermodynamic functions in both $s$- and d-wave symmetries. Applying to Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ and Y$_{0.8}$Ca$_{0.2}$Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ we find that for all dopings $Δ(T)$ persists, as a partial gap, high above $T_c$ due to strong superconducting fluctuations. Therefore in general two gaps are present above $T_c$, the superconducting gap and the pseudogap, effectively reconciling two highly polarized views concerning pseudogap physics.
The pseudogap phase of high-$T_c$ cuprates is controversially attributed to preformed pairs or to a phase which coexists and competes with superconductivity. One of the challenges is to develop theoretical and experimental studies in order to distinguish between both proposals. Very recently, researchers at Stanford have reported [M. Hashimoto {\it et al.}, Nat. Phys. {\bf 6}, 414 (2010); R.-H. He {\it et al.}, Science {\bf 331}, 1579 (2011)] angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments on Pb-Bi2201 supporting the point of view that the pseudogap is distinct from superconductivity and…
A model incorporating simultaneous superconducting and lattice instabilities has been studied in detail to estimate the nature of coupling and inter-play between them. The phase diagram is obtained in the temperature-filling plane at different values of the parameters of the model. It is found that a pseudogap develops in the distorted phase that inhibits the appearance of the superconducting transition. The superconducting instability is strongest for the regime of filling where the van Hove singularity in the 2D density of states is close to the chemical potential. The pseudogap, developed i…
In the above mentioned letter by Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett, 95, 247002 (2005)], magnetization measurements on two Bi_2Sr_2caCu_2O_8+delta samples are reported. They claim that these experimental results support the vortex scenario for the loss of phase coherence at Tc. On the contrary, we show in this comment that they can be explained by means of the Ginzburg Landau theory (under a total-enery cutoff) for the superconducting fluctuations above Tc.
A possible explanation for the existence of the cuprate "pseudogap" state is that it is a d-wave superconductor without quantum phase rigidity. Transport and thermodynamic studies provide compelling evidence that supports this proposal, but few spectroscopic explorations of it have been made. One spectroscopic signature of d-wave superconductivity is the particle-hole symmetric "octet" of dispersive Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference modulations. Here we report on this octet's evolution from low temperatures to well into the underdoped pseudogap regime. No pronounced changes occur in the oc…
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)…
Recent advances in the development of Josephson scanning tunneling spectroscopy (JSTS) have opened a new path for the exploration of unconventional superconductors. We demonstrate that the critical current, $I_c$, measured via JSTS, images the spatial form of the superconducting order parameter in $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconductors around defects and in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state. Moreover, we show that $I_c$ probes the existence of phase-incoherent superconducting correlations in the pseudo-gap region of the cuprate superconductors, thus providing unprecedented insight into it…
The appearance of the Fermi arcs or gapless regions at the nodes of the Fermi surface just above the critical temperature is described through self-consistent calculations in an electronic disordered medium. We develop a model for cuprate superconductors based on an array of Josephson junctions formed by grains of inhomogeneous electronic density derived from a phase separation transition. This approach provides physical insights to the most important properties of these materials like the pseudogap phase as forming by the onset of local (intragrain) superconducting amplitudes and the zero res…
The pseudogap (PG) excitations in the framework of multiband superconductivity are analysed. Calculations for the doping phase diagram of electron-doped cuprate superconductors have been made. A nonrigid multiband model has been used. The interband pairing acts between the upper Hubbard band (UHB) and midgap states created (and shifted upwards) by doping. The appearance of two PG and two phase diagram critical points (CP) is suggested. The larger antinodal PG reflects the destruction of the long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) order. The second, smaller PG is a near-nodal event with exposed dopin…
A proposal to test the proposed time-reversal and inversion breaking phase in the Pseudogap region of the Cuprate compounds through the variation of Second-harmonic generation intensity with temperature and polarization and angle of incidence is presented.
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.We here show that antiparallel magnetic order can be reasonably and naturally predicted in hole-doped CuO2 planes by starting from the ground state of a weakly doped antiferromagnetic insulator, where a Skyrmion-type three-dimensional spin texture is created around the doped hole. The superconducting transition temperature Tc can be understood in…
We propose a novel chiral order parameter to explain the unusual polar Kerr effect in underdoped cuprates. It is based on the loop-current model by Varma, which is characterized by the in-plane anapole moment N and exhibits the magnetoelectric effect. We propose a helical structure where the vector N^(n) in the layer n is twisted by the angle pi/2 relative to N^(n-1), thus breaking inversion symmetry. We show that coupling between magnetoelectric terms in the neighboring layers for this structure produces optical gyrotropy, which results in circular dichroism and the polar Kerr effect.
We study the coexisting smectic modulations and intra-unit-cell nematicity in the pseudogap states of underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. By visualizing their spatial components separately, we identified 2πtopological defects throughout the phase-fluctuating smectic states. Imaging the locations of large numbers of these topological defects simultaneously with the fluctuations in the intra-unit-cell nematicity revealed strong empirical evidence for a coupling between them. From these observations, we propose a Ginzburg-Landau functional describing this coupling and demonstrate how it can explain the c…
Irrespective of the class they belong to, all the hole doped high-Tc cuprate superconductors show an anti-correlation between the superconducting transition temperature and the characteristic pseudogap energy in the underdoped region. The doping dependent pseudogap in the quasiparticle spectral density is believed to remove low-energy electronic states and thereby reduce the superconducting condensate. Impurities within the CuO2 plane, on the other hand, break Cooper pairs in the unitarity limit and diminish superfluid density. Both pseudogap in pure cuprates and impurity scattering in disorde…
A method is proposed to test for the nature of the pseudogap phase in cuprates using the recently developed technique of Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We show that the observed quasiparticle interference patterns depend critically on the quasiparticle coherence factors, making it possible to distinguish between the pseudogap dominated by superconducting fluctuations and by various particle-hole condensates.
During the last decade, translational and rotational symmetry-breaking phases -- density wave order and electronic nematicity -- have been established as generic and distinct features of many correlated electron systems, including pnictide and cuprate superconductors. However, in cuprates, the relationship between these electronic symmetry-breaking phases and the enigmatic pseudogap phase remains unclear. Here, we employ resonant x-ray scattering in a cuprate high-temperature superconductor La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ (Nd-LSCO) to navigate the cuprate phase diagram, probing the rel…
In the course of seeking the microscopic mechanism of superconductivity in cuprate high temperature superconductors, the pseudogap phase\textemdash the very abnormal 'normal' state on the hole-doped side\textemdash has proven to be as big of a quandary as superconductivity itself. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is a powerful tool for assessing the momentum-dependent phenomenology of the pseudogap, and recent technological developments have permitted a more detailed understanding. This report reviews recent progress in understanding the relationship between superconductivity …
We consider the scenario where a 4-lattice constant, rotationally symmetric charge density wave (CDW) is present in the underdoped cuprates. We prove a theorem that puts strong constraint on the possible form factor of such a CDW. We demonstrate, within mean-field theory, that a particular form factor within the allowed class describes the angle-resolved photoemission and scan tunneling spectroscopy well. We conjecture that the ``large pseudogap'' in cuprates is the consequence of this type of charge density wave.
We develop a theory of normal-metal - superconductor (NS) and superconductor - superconductor (SS) tunnelling in bosonic superconductors with strong attractive correlations taking into account coherence effects in single-particle excitation spectrum and disorder. The theory accounts for the existence of two energy scales, their temperature and doping dependencies, asymmetry and inhomogeneity of tunnelling spectra of underdoped cuprate superconductors.
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…
We have studied the novel isotope effects on the pairing pseudogap in underdoped and optimally doped cuprates within the large-polaron model and two non-standard BCS-like approaches. We have shown that in the intermediate-coupling regime the precursor pairing of large polarons occurs at a mean-field temperature $T^{\ast}>T_{c}$ and the near-absent, sizable and very large oxygen and copper isotope effects on $T^{\ast}$ exist in cuprates with small and large Fermi surfaces. Our results for $T^{\ast}$, isotope shifts and exponents in slightly underdoped and optimally doped cuprates are in quantit…
The Josephson coupling between optimally cuprate superconductors separated by a spacer with a finite energy cooperon excitation which contributes to the Josephson coupling strength, is examined. For an underdoped cuprate barrier in its normal state, the YRZ model gives a good description of the temperature dependent enhanced Josephson coupling. A detailed examination of origin of the enhancement shows a significant contribution from the cooperon excitation which is comparable to that from nodal quasiparticles.
The unclear relationship between cuprate superconductivity and the pseudogap state remains an impediment to understanding the high transition temperature (Tc) superconducting mechanism. Here we employ magnetic-field-dependent scanning tunneling microscopy to provide phase-sensitive proof that d-wave superconductivity coexists with the pseudogap on the antinodal Fermi surface of an overdoped cuprate. Furthermore, by tracking the hole doping (p) dependence of the quasiparticle interference pattern within a single Bi-based cuprate family, we observe a Fermi surface reconstruction slightly below o…
We analyze pseudogap phenomena widely observed in the underdoped cuprates. We assume the existence of a strong d-wave pairing force competing with antiferromagnetic(AFM) fluctuations and the formation of flat and damped dispersion around the $(π,0)$ and $(0,π)$ region as two important elements caused by the proximity from the Mott insulator. Using the mode-mode coupling theory for the d-wave superconducting(dSC) and AFM fluctuations, we reproduce basic properties of the pseudogap seen in the magnetic resonance, neutron scattering, angle resolved photoemission and tunneling measurements in the …
