The high-temperature superconducting state in cuprates appears if charge carriers are doped into a Mott insulating parent compound. An unresolved puzzle is the unconventional nature of the normal state above the superconducting dome, and its connection to the superconducting instability. At weak hole-doping, a "pseudo-gap" metal state with signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking is observed, which near optimal doping changes into a "strange metal" with non-Fermi liquid properties. Qualitatively similar phase diagrams are found in multi-orbital systems, such as pnictides, where the unconventional metal states arise from a Hund coupling induced spin-freezing. Here, we show that the relevant model for cuprates, the single-orbital Hubbard model on the square lattice, can be mapped onto an effective multi-orbital problem with strong ferromagnetic Hund coupling. The spin-freezing physics of this multi-orbital system explains the phenomenology of cuprates, including the pseudo-gap, the strange metal, and the d-wave superconducting instability. Our analysis suggests that spin-freezing is the universal mechanism which controls the properties of unconventional superconductors.
The Mori's memory function approach to spin dynamics in doped antiferromagnetic insulator combined with the assumption of temperature independent static spin correlations and constant collective mode damping leads to w/T scaling in a broad range. The theory involving a nonuniversal scaling parameter is used to analyze recent inelastic neutron scattering results for underdoped cuprates. Adopting modified damping function also the emerging central peak in low-doped cuprates at low temperatures can be explained within the same framework.
The letter deals with the spin-freezing process observed by means of NMR-NQR relaxation or by muon spin rotation in underdoped cuprate superconductors. This phenomenon, sometimes referred as coexistence of antiferromagnetic and superconducting order parameters, is generally thought to result from randomly distributed magnetic moments related to charge inhomogeneities (possibly stripes) which exhibit slowing down of their fluctuations on cooling below T$_c$ . Instead, we describe the experimental findings as due to fluctuating, vortex-antivortex, orbital currents state coexisting with d-wave su…
The memory function approach to spin dynamics in doped antiferromagnetic insulator combined with the assumption of temperature independent static spin correlations and constant collective mode damping leads to omega/T scaling in a broad range. The theory involving a non universal scaling parameter is used to analyze recent inelastic neutron scattering results for underdoped cuprates. Adopting modified damping function also the emerging central peak in low-doped cuprates at low temperatures can be explained within the same framework.
We study the dynamical spin susceptibility of a correlated d-wave superconductor (dSC) in the presence of disorder, using an unrestricted Hartree-Fock approach. This model provides a concrete realization of the notion that disorder slows down spin fluctuations, which eventually "freeze out". The evolution of disorder-induced spectral weight transfer agrees qualitatively with experimental observations on underdoped cuprate superconductors. For sufficiently large disorder concentrations, static spin density wave (SDW) order is created when droplets of magnetism nucleated by impurities overlap. W…
We report nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) studies on the chain Cu sites of PrBa$_{2}$Cu$_{4}$O$_{8}$, a quasi-one-dimensional conductor with a nearly quarter-filled band. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_{1}$ shows a pronounced peak near 100 K caused by fluctuations of electric field gradient (EFG). Similar peak was observed for the spin-echo decay rate $1/T_{2}$, however, at a different temperature near 50 K. These results and broadening of the NQR spectrum at low temperatures indicate that slow charge fluctuations of either electronic or ionic origin freeze gradually at low t…
Superconductivity with a remarkably high $T_c$ has recently been found in Sr-doped NdNiO$_2$ thin films. While this system bears strong similarities to the cuprates, some differences, such as a weaker antiferromagnetic exchange coupling and possible high-spin moments on the doped Ni sites have been pointed out. Here, we investigate the effect of Hund coupling and crystal field splitting in a simple model system and argue that a multiorbital description of nickelate superconductors is warranted, especially in the strongly hole-doped regime. We then look at this system from the viewpoint of the …
High-$T_{\rm{c}}$ cuprate superconductors host spin, charge and lattice instabilities. In particular, in the antiferromagnetic glass phase, over a large doping range, lanthanum based cuprates display a glass-like spin freezing with antiferromagnetic correlations. Previously, sound velocity anomalies in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$ (LSCO) for hole doping $p\geq 0.145$ were reported and interpreted as arising from a coupling of the lattice to the magnetic glass [Frachet, Vinograd et al., Nat. Phys. 16, 1064-1068 (2020)]. Here we report both sound velocity and attenuation in LSCO $p=0.12$, i.e. at a…
A microscopic understanding of the strongly correlated physics of the cuprates must account for the translational and rotational symmetry breaking that is present across all cuprate families, commonly in the form of stripes. Here we investigate emergence of stripes in the Hubbard model, a minimal model believed to be relevant to the cuprate superconductors, using determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) simulations at finite temperatures and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) ground state calculations. By varying temperature, doping, and model parameters, we characterize the extent of s…
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 …
Through variational Monte Carlo calculation on Gutzwiller projected wave functions, we study the quasiparticle(qp) weight for adding and removing an electron from a high temperature superconductor. We find the qp weight is particle-hole symmetric at sufficiently low energy. We propose to use the tunneling asymmetry as a tool to study the mechanism of electron incoherence in high temperature superconductors.
We investigate the dimensionality of inhomogeneous spin modulation patterns in the cuprate family of high-temperature superconductors with particular focus on 1/8-doped lanthanum cuprates. We compare one-dimensional stripe modulation pattern with two-dimensional checkerboard of spin vortices in the context of nuclear quadrupole resonance(NQR) and muon spin rotation(muSR) experiments. In addition, we also consider the third pattern, a two-dimensional superposition of spin spirals. Overall, we have found that none of the above patterns leads to a consistent interpretation of the two types of exp…
Optical experiments by Molegraaf et al reveal that the superconducting condensation energy of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+δ} originates in lowering of kinetic energy of the carriers. A perspective on the significance of these results is given.
Perspective on S. Mukhopadhyay, et al. Evidence for a vestigial nematic state in the cuprate pseudogap phase, PNAS 116, 13249 (2019); arXiv:1904.00915.
Although the vast majority of high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors are hole-doped, a small family of electron-doped compounds exists. Under investigated until recently, there has been tremendous recent progress in their characterization. A consistent view is being reached on a number of formerly contentious issues, such as their order parameter symmetry, phase diagram, and normal state electronic structure. Many other aspects have been revealed exhibiting both their similarities and differences with the hole-doped compounds. This review summarizes the current experimental status of these materia…
This article presents our perspective on STM measurements by Hoffman et al. (cond-mat/0201348) of the vortex lattice in BSCCO. We discuss implications of these measurements for various theories of the cuprate superconductors.
Insulating La1.95Sr0.05CuO4 shares with superconducting cuprates the same Fincher-Burke-like spin excitations, which usually are observed in itinerant antiferromagnets. The local spectral function satisfies omega/T scaling above ~16 K for this incommensurate insulating cuprate. Together with previous results in commensurate insulating and incommensurate superconducting cuprates, these results further support the general scaling prediction for square-lattice quantum spin S=1/2 systems. The width of incommensurate peaks in La1.95Sr0.05CuO4 scales to a similar finite value as at optimal doping, s…
This ``Perspective'' briefly reviews recent work showing that a class of organic superconductors have important similarities to the cuprate superconductors: (i) There is competition betweeen superconductivity and antiferromagnetism. (ii) Uncoventional metallic behavior is observed near the metal-insulator transition. A more detailed review and discussion of the appropriate strongly correlated electron model can be found in cond-mat/9802198.
Since the early days of the discovery of hole doped high-Tc cuprates, the variation of the oxygen isotope exponent (IE) with the number of doped holes, p, in the CuO2 planes has been a source of considerable debate. There is a growing acceptance in the high-Tc community that the mediating bosons leading to Cooper pairing have largely electronic character. At the same time there is an increasing acknowledgement that at some level the lattice-charge interactions might be important in cuprates. The experimentally observed substantially large IE over certain doping range always casts a shadow over…
Many puzzling properties of high-$T_c$ superconducting (HTSC) copper oxides have deep roots in the nature of the antinodal quasiparticles, the elementary excitations with wavevector parallel to the Cu-O bonds. These electronic states are most affected by the onset of antiferromagnetic correlations and charge instabilities and they host the maximum of the anisotropic superconducting gap and pseudogap. In this work, we use time-resolved extreme-ultra-violet (EUV) photoemission with proper photon energy (18 eV) and time-resolution (50 fs) to disclose the ultrafast dynamics of the antinodal states…
Stabilizing superconductivity at high temperatures and elucidating its mechanism have long been major challenges of materials research in condensed matter physics. Meanwhile, recent progress in nanostructuring offers unprecedented possibilities for designing novel functionalities. Above all, thin films of cuprate and iron-based high-temperature superconductors exhibit remarkably better superconducting characteristics (e.g. higher critical temperatures) than in the bulk, but the underlying mechanism is still not understood. Solving microscopic models suitable for cuprates, here, we demonstrate …
The interplay of charge orders with superconductivity in underdoped cuprates at high magnetic fields ($H$) is an open question, and even the value of the upper critical field ($H_{c2}$), a measure of the strength of superconductivity, has been the subject of a long-term debate. We combined three complementary transport techniques on underdoped La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ with a "striped" charge order and a low $H=0$ transition temperature $T_{c}^{0}$, to establish the $T-H$ phase diagram and reveal the ground states in CuO$_2$ planes: a superconductor, a wide regime of superconduct…
The experimental observations of stripes in superconducting cuprates and insulating nickelates clearly show the modulation in charge and spin density. However, these have proven to be rather insensitive to the harmonic structure and (site or bond) ordering. Using 139La NMR in La2NiO4.17, we show that in the 1/3 hole doped nickelate below the freezing temperature the stripes are strongly solitonic and site ordered with Ni3+ ions carrying S=1/2 in the domain walls and Ni2+ ions with S=1 in the domains.
Recent photoemission work on underdoped cuprates between Tc and T*, the pseudogap temperature, are interpreted within the framework of a previously developed negative-U scenario. From this exposition, incorporating a developed 2q diagonal striping model, detailed understanding follows of the ARPES results, together with certain STM and far infrared optical data. Identification of the origin of the magnetic circular dichroism and related effects exhibited by such materials below T* also appears to have been achieved.
The recent discovery of superconductivity in doped infinite-layer nickelates has stimulated intensive interest, especially for similarities and differences compared to that in cuprate superconductors. In contrast to cuprates, although earlier magnetization measurement reveals a Curie-Weiss-like behavior in undoped infinite-layer nickelates, there is no magnetic ordering observed by elastic neutron scattering down to liquid helium temperature. Until now, the nature of the magnetic ground state in undoped infinite-layer nickelates was still elusive. Here, we perform a nuclear magnetic resonance …
FeSe is employed as reference material to elucidate the observed high Tc superconducting behaviour of the related layered iron pnictides. The structural and ensuing semimetallic band structural forms are here rather unusual, with the resulting ground state details extremely sensitive to the precise shape of the Fe-X coordination unit. The superconductivity is presented as coming from a combination of Resonant Valence Bond (RVB) and Excitonic Insulator physics, and incorporating Boson-Fermion degeneracy. Although sourced in a very different fashion the latter leads to some similarites with the …
The correlated electronic structure of the infinite-layer compounds NdNiO$_2$ and SrCuO$_2$ at stoichiometry and with finite hole doping is compared. Key differences are elucidated from an advanced first-principles many-body perspective. Contrary to the charge-transfer insulating cuprate, the self-doped nickelate remains non-insulating even for large interaction strength, though the Ni-$d_{x^2-y^2}$ spectral weight is also gapped in that limit. Hybridization between Ni$(3d)$ and Nd$(5d)$ is crucial for the appearance of the self-doping band. Upon realistic hole doping, Sr$_{1-y}$CuO$_2$ shows …
This is a nontechnical Perspective Commentary on the recent developments in cuprate STM and their ramifications for the theories of the pseudogap state, focusing on the paper by Hanaguri et al. [Nature 430, 1001 (2004)].
The interplay of nearly degenerate orders in quantum materials can lead to a myriad of emergent phases. A prominent case is that of the high-Tc cuprates for which the relationship between superconductivity and a short-ranged, incommensurate charge density wave in the CuO2 planes involving the dx2-y2 orbitals (Cu-CDW) is a subject of great current interest. Strong modifications of the strength and coherence of this Cu-CDW have been achieved by applying large magnetic fields, uniaxial pressure, or via the interfacial coupling in cuprate/manganite multilayers. However, such modifications do not a…
The discovery of alternating superconducting and insulating ground-states in magic angle graphene has suggested an intriguing analogy with cuprate high-$T_c$ materials. Here we argue that the network states of small angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) afford a further perspective on the cuprates by emulating their stripe-ordered phases, as in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$. We show that the spin and valley quantum numbers of stripes in TBG graphene fractionalize, developing characteristic signatures in the tunneling density of states and the magnetic noise spectrum of impurity spins. By exam…
Disproportionation in 3d compounds can give rise to an unconventional electron-hole Bose liquid with a very rich phase diagram from a Bose metal, charge ordering insulator to an inhomogeneous Bose superfluid. Optimal conditions for the disproportionation driven high-T_c superconductivity are shown to realize only for several Jahn-Teller d^n configurations that permit the formation of well defined local composite bosons. These are the high-spin d^4, low-spin d^7, and d^9 configurations given the octahedral crystal field, and the d^1, high-spin d^6 configurations given the tetrahedral crystal fi…
We compute the Hall angle and the magnetoresistance of the spin-fermion model, which is a successful phenomenological theory to describe the physics of the cuprates and iron-based superconductors within a wide range of doping regimes. We investigate both the role of the spin-fermion interaction that couples the large-momentum antiferromagnetic fluctuations to the so-called "hot-spots" at the Fermi surface and also of an effective higher-order composite operator in the theory. The latter operator provides a scattering mechanism such that the momentum transfer for the fermions close to the Fermi…
