Observation of band renormalization effects in hole-doped high-Tc Superconductors

We report a systematic high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on high-T(c) superconductors Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(n-1)Cu(n)O(2n+4) (n=1-3) to study the origin of many-body interactions responsible for superconductivity. For n=2 and 3, a sudden change in the energy dispersion, so called "kink", becomes pronounced on approaching (pi,0) in the superconducting state, while a kink appears only around the nodal direction in the normal state. For n=1, the kink shows no significant temperature dependence even across T(c). This could suggest that the coupling of electrons with Q=(pi,pi) magnetic mode is dominant in the superconducting state for multilayered cuprates, while the interactions at the normal state and that of single-layered cuprates have a different origin.     

Laser based angle-resolved photoemission, the sudden approximation, and quasiparticle-like spectral peaks in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta)

A new low photon energy regime of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy is accessed with lasers and used to study the high T(C) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta). The low energy increases bulk sensitivity, reduces background, and improves resolution. With this we observe spectral peaks which are sharp on the scale of their binding energy--the clearest evidence yet for quasiparticles in the normal state. Crucial aspects of the data such as the dispersion, superconducting gaps, and the bosonic coupling kink are found to be robust to a possible breakdown of the sudden approximation.     

Many-body interactions in hole-doped high-Tc cuprates studied by high-resolution ARPES

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on hole-doped high-T_c cuprate superconductors (HTSCs) to study many-body interaction and the universality of low-energy excitation gap. In Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (Bi2212), we observed a kink in the dispersion in the off-nodal region in the superconducting state, which remarkably weakens on impurity substitution. We also find that the appearance of the kink in the off-nodal region is a common feature of Bi2212 and La_1.85Sr_0.15CuO₄ (LSCO), while the energy scale is remarkably different between two compounds (70 and 20 meV). We discuss universality of the kink in dispersion in the hole-doped HTSCs in terms of the coupling of electrons with spin fluctuations.     

High energy dispersion relations for the high temperature Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 superconductor from laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements have been carried out on the high energy electron dynamics in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 high temperature superconductor. Our superhigh resolution data, momentum-dependent measurements, and complete analysis provide important information to judge the nature of the high energy dispersion and kink. Our results rule out the possibility that the high energy dispersion from the momentum distribution curve (MDC) may represent the true bare band as believed in previous studies. We also rule out the possibility that the high energy kink represents electron coupling with some high energy modes as proposed before. Through detailed MDC and energy distribution curve analyses, we propose that the high energy MDC dispersion may not represent intrinsic band structure.     

Dispersion and damping of zone-boundary magnons in the noncentrosymmetric superconductor CePt3Si

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) is employed to study damped spin-wave excitations in the noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt3Si along the antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone boundary in the low-temperature magnetically ordered state. Measurements along the (1/2 1/2 L) and (H H 1/2 - H) reciprocal-space directions reveal deviations in the spin-wave dispersion from the previously reported model. The broad asymmetric shape of the peaks in energy signifies strong spin-wave damping by interactions with the particle-hole continuum. Their energy width exhibits no evident anomalies as a function of momentum along the (1/2 1/2 L) direction which could be attributed to Fermi surface nesting effects, implying the absence of pronounced commensurate nesting vectors at the magnetic zone boundary. In agreement with a previous study, we find no signatures of the superconducting transition in the magnetic excitation spectrum, such as a magnetic resonant mode or a superconducting spin gap, either at the magnetic ordering wavevector (0 0 1/2) or at the zone boundary. However, the low superconducting transition temperature in this material still leaves the possibility of such features being weak and therefore hidden below the incoherent background at energies ? 0.1 meV, precluding their detection by INS.     

Effective restoration of the U(A)(1) symmetry in the SU(3) linear sigma model

Motivated by neutron scattering data, we develop a model of electrons interacting with a magnetic resonance and use it to analyze angle resolved photoemission and tunneling data in the superconducting state of Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta). We not only can explain the peak-dip-hump structure observed near the (pi,0) point, and its particle-hole asymmetry as seen in superconductor-insulator-normal tunneling spectra, but also its evolution throughout the Brillouin zone, including a velocity "kink" near the d-wave node.     

Softening of Cu-O bond stretching phonons in tetragonal HgBa2CuO4+delta

Phonons in nearly optimally doped HgBa(2)CuO(4+delta) were studied by inelastic x-ray scattering. The dispersion of the low-energy modes is well described by a shell model, while the Cu-O bond stretching mode at high energy shows strong softening towards the zone boundary, which deviates strongly from the model. This seems to be common in the hole-doped high-T(c) superconducting cuprates, and, based on this work, not related to a lattice distortion specific to each material.     

Kink in the dispersion of layered strontium ruthenates

We present detailed energy dispersions near the Fermi level along the high symmetry line GammaX on the monolayer and bilayer strontium ruthenates Sr2RuO4 and Sr3Ru2O7, determined by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. A kink in the dispersion is clearly shown for the both ruthenates. The energy position of the kink and the slope in the low-energy part near the Fermi level are almost identical between them, whereas the dispersion in the high-energy part varies, like the behavior of the kink for the cuprate superconductors.     

Feedback spin resonance in superconducting CeCu2Si2 and CeCoIn5

We show that the recently observed spin resonance modes in heavy-fermion superconductors CeCoIn5 and CeCu2Si2 are magnetic excitons originating from superconducting quasiparticles. The wave vector Q of the resonance state leads to a powerful criterion for the symmetry and node positions of the unconventional gap function. The detailed analysis of the superconducting feedback on magnetic excitations reveals that the symmetry of the superconducting gap corresponds to a singlet d_{x;{2}-y;{2}} state symmetry in both compounds. In particular this resolves the long-standing ambiguity of the gap symmetry in CeCoIn5. We demonstrate that in both superconductors the resonance peak shows a significant dispersion away from Q which can be checked experimentally. Our analysis reveals the similar origin of the resonance peaks in the two heavy-fermion superconductors and in layered cuprates.     

Quasiparticlelike peaks, kinks, and electron-phonon coupling at the (pi,0) regions in the CMR oxide La2-2x Sr1+2x Mn2 O7

Using angle-resolved photoemission, we have observed sharp quasiparticlelike peaks in the prototypical layered manganite La(2-2x)Sr(1+2x)Mn(2)O(7) (x=0.36,0.38). We focus on the (pi,0) regions of k space and study their electronic scattering rates and dispersion kinks, uncovering bilayer-split bands, the critical energy scales, momentum scales, and strengths of the interactions that renormalize the electrons. To identify these bosons, we measured phonon dispersions in the energy range of the kink by inelastic neutron scattering, finding a good match in both energy and momentum to the oxygen bond-stretching phonons.     

Coulomb repulsion-induced hyperbolic pairing as a mechanism of high-T c superconductivity

The hyperbolic metric of the dispersion law (the effective mass tensor components of carriers are opposite in sign) in the vicinity of the Fermi contour in high-T _c superconducting cuprates in the case of repulsive interaction gives rise to a superconducting state characterized by the condensate of pairs with a large total momentum (hyperbolic pairing). The gain in the energy of the superconducting state over the normal state is due to the fact that a change in the kinetic energy of pairs (because of the negative light component of the effective mass) dominates over the change in the potential energy (corresponding to energy loss). The shift of the chemical potential upon the transition to the superconducting phase is substantial in this case. With increasing repulsive interaction, the superconducting gap δ_K increases and the resulting gain in energy changes to an energy loss at a certain critical value of the repulsive potential. The low temperature T _c of the superconducting transition and the large value of δ _K in this region of potential values are the reasons for the high value of the 2δ_K/T _c ratio and for the developed quantum fluctuations that are observed in underdoped cuprate superconductors.     

Possible Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov inhomogeneous superconducting state in CeCoIn5

We present specific heat and thermal conductivity of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 in the vicinity of the superconducting critical fieldH _c2, measured with magnetic field in the plane of this quasi-2D compound and at temperatures down to 50 mK. The superconducting phase diagram and the first order nature of the superconducting phase transition at high fields close to a critical fieldH _c2 indicate the importance of the Pauli limiting effect in CeCoIn₅. In the same range of magnetic field we observe a second specific heat anomaly within the superconducting state, and interpret it as a signature of a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) inhomogeneous superconducting state. In addition, the thermal conductivity data as a function of field display a kink at a fieldH _k below the superconducting critical field, which closely coincides with the low temperature anomaly in specific heat tentatively identified with the appearance of the FFLO superconducting state. The enhancement of thermal conductivity within the FFLO state calls for further theoretical investigations of the real space structure of the order parameter (and in particular, the structure of vortices) and of the thermal transport within the inhomogeneous FFLO state.     

Evidence for two energy scales in the superconducting state of optimally doped (Bi,Pb)2(Sr,La)2CuO6+delta

We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the energy gap(s) in (Bi,Pb)2(Sr,La)2CuO6+delta. We find that the spectral gap has two components in the superconducting state: a superconducting gap and pseudogap. Differences in their momentum and temperature dependence suggest that they represent two separate energy scales. Spectra near the node reveal a sharp peak with a small gap below T(c) that closes at T(c). Near the antinode, spectra are broad with a large energy gap of approximately 40 meV above and below T(c). The latter spectral shape and gap magnitude are almost constant across T(c), indicating that the pseudogap state coexists with the superconducting state below T(c), and it dominates spectra around the antinode. We speculate that the pseudogap state competes with the superconductivity by diminishing spectral weight in antinodal regions, where the superconducting gap is largest.     

BCS-like Bogoliubov quasiparticles in high-T(c) superconductors observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on triple-layered high-T(c) cuprate Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(10+delta). We have observed the full energy dispersion (electron and hole branches) of Bogoliubov quasiparticles and determined the coherence factors above and below E(F) as a function of momentum from the spectral intensity as well as from the energy dispersion based on BCS theory. The good quantitative agreement between the experiment and the theoretical prediction suggests the basic validity of BCS formalism in describing the superconducting state of cuprates.     

Bond stretching phonon softening and kinks in the angle-resolved photoemission spectra of optimally doped Bi2Sr1.6La0.4Cu2O6+delta superconductors

We report the first measurement of the Cu-O bond stretching phonon dispersion in optimally doped Bi2Sr1.6La0.4Cu2O6+delta using inelastic x-ray scattering. We found a softening of this phonon at q=( approximately 0.25,0,0) from 76 to 60 meV, similar to the one reported in other cuprates. A comparison with angle-resolved photoemission data on the same sample revealed an excellent agreement in terms of energy and momentum between the angle-resolved photoemission nodal kink and the soft part of the bond stretching phonon. Indeed, we find that the momentum space where a 63+/-5 meV kink is observed can be connected with a vector q=(xi,0,0) with xi > or =0.22, corresponding exactly to the soft part of the bond stretching phonon.     

Gaplike excitations in the superconducting state of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 studied by resonant Raman scattering

We report on the response of the electronic continuum from inelastic light-scattering experiments over an extended energy range between 1.970 and 4.504 eV in the superconducting state of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. The formation of a substantial Raman feature at shifts below twice the superconducting gap as well as the additional weight above this energy are found to be strongly dependent on the incident photon energy. For excitation wavelengths observed in ultraviolet, we find an enhancement of the integrated spectral weight below T(c). The resulting composite feature shows three distinct resonances at 2.5, 3.3, and 3.8 eV. We strongly suggest that the superconductivity-induced changes are the result of both the opening of a superconducting gap and the appearance of a collective mode.     

Energy scales and quasiparticle properties in an extended Hubbard model for HTC

By means of a strong-coupling approach, developed in previous works, we study the quasiparticle properties in an extended Hubbard model in presence of critical charge fluctuations near a stripe-quantum critical-point. We show that the quasiparticle dispersion has a kink along the diagonal Brillouin zone at the energy of the order 50 meV, for realistic values of the parameters. The energy and momentum distribution curves (EDC, MDC) along the diagonal are also analyzed. The results for the EDC derived quasiparticle width reveals an anomalous drop in the low-energy scattering rate at the same energy of the kink. This drop corresponds to a new energy scale in the system that reflects the interaction between the quasiparticles and the critical charge fluctuations. The results offer a possible interpretation of the ARPES and photoemission experiments on Bi2212.Received: 17 November 2003, Published online: 19 February 2004PACS: 71.10.Fd Lattice fermion models (Hubbard model, etc.) - 71.10.Hf Non-Fermi-liquid ground states, electron phase diagrams and phase transitions in model systems     

Electronic structure of the trilayer cuprate superconductor Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(10+delta)

The low-energy electronic structure of the nearly optimally doped trilayer cuprate superconductor Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(10+delta) is investigated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The normal state quasiparticle dispersion and Fermi surface and the superconducting d-wave gap and coherence peak are observed and compared with those of single- and bilayer systems. We find that both the superconducting gap magnitude and the relative coherence-peak intensity scale linearly with T(c) for various optimally doped materials.     

Low energy excitations in graphite: The role of dimensionality and lattice defects

In this paper, we present a high resolution angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of the electronic properties of graphite. We found that the nature of the low energy excitations in graphite is particularly sensitive to interlayer coupling as well as lattice disorder. As a consequence of the interlayer coupling, we observed for the first time the splitting of the π bands by ≈0.7 eV near the Brillouin zone corner K. At low binding energy, we observed signatures of massless Dirac fermions with linear dispersion (as in the case of graphene), coexisting with quasiparticles characterized by parabolic dispersion and finite effective mass. We also report the first ARPES signatures of electron-phonon interaction in graphite: a kink in the dispersion and a sudden increase in the scattering rate. Moreover, the lattice disorder strongly affects the low energy excitations, giving rise to new localized states near the Fermi level. These results provide new insights on the unusual nature of the electronic and transport properties of graphite.     

Magnetic field induced incommensurate resonance in cuprate superconductors

The influence of a uniform external magnetic field on the dynamical spin response of cuprate superconductors in the superconducting state is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the magnetic scattering around low and intermediate energies is dramatically changed with a modest external magnetic field. With increasing the external magnetic field, although the incommensurate magnetic scattering from both low and high energies is rather robust, the commensurate magnetic resonance scattering peak is broadened. The part of the spin excitation dispersion seems to be an hourglass-like dispersion, which breaks down at the heavily low energy regime. The theory also predicts that the commensurate resonance scattering at zero external magnetic field is induced into the incommensurate resonance scattering by applying an external magnetic field large enough.