Generalizing the Cooper-pair instability to doped Mott insulators

Copper oxides become superconductors rapidly upon doping with electron holes, suggesting a fundamental pairing instability. The Cooper mechanism explains normal superconductivity as an instability of a fermi-liquid state, but high-temperature superconductors derive from a Mott-insulator normal state, not a fermi liquid. We show that precocity to pair condensation with doping is a natural property of competing antiferromagnetism and d-wave superconductivity on a singly-occupied lattice, thus generalizing the Cooper instability to doped Mott insulators, with significant implications for the high-temperature superconducting mechanism.     

Universal intrinsic doping behavior of in-plane dc conductivity for hole-doped high-temperature cuprate superconductors

Understanding the normal state transport properties in hole-doped high-temperature cuprate superconductors (HTCSs) is a challenging task which has been widely believed to be one of the key steps toward revealing the pairing mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. Here, we present a true intrinsic and universal doping dependence of in-plane dc conductivity for all underdoped HTCSs. The doping dependence of in-plane dc conductivity normalized to that at optimal doping can be represented by a simple exponential formula. The doping behavior of the square of the nodal Fermi velocity derived by the high-resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in the superconducting state follows reasonably well the universal intrinsic doping behavior. Our findings suggest a commonality of the low-energy quasiparticles both in the normal and superconducting states that place a true universal and stringent constraint on the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity for HTCSs.     

Workshop on fast structural changes

Copper-oxide (cuprate) high-temperature superconductors are doped Mott insulators. The undoped parent compounds are antiferromagnetic insulators, and superconductivity occurs only when an appropriate number of charge carriers (electrons or holes) are introduced by doping. All cuprate materials contain CuO₂ planes (Figure 1a) in their crystal structure; the doped carriers are believed to go into these CuO₂ planes, which are responsible for high-temperature superconductivity. High-temperature superconductors are characterized by their unusual physical properties, both in the superconducting state (below the superconducting transition temperature T_c) and in the normal state (above T_c). Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in 1986 [1], these unusual physical properties and the mechanism of superconductivity have been prominent issues in condensed matter physics [2].     

Crossover from a pseudogap state to a superconducting state

This paper deduces that the particular electronic structure of cuprate superconductors confines Cooper pairs to be first formed in the antinodal region which is far from the Fermi surface,and these pairs are incoherent and result in the pseudogap state.With the change of doping or temperature,some pairs are formed in the nodal region which locates the Fermi surface,and these pairs are coherent and lead to superconductivity.Thus the coexistence of the pseudogap and the superconducting gap is explained when the two kinds of gaps are not all on the Fermi surface.It also shows that the symmetry of the pseudogap and the superconducting gap are determined by the electronic structure,and non-s wave symmetry gap favours the high-temperature superconductivity.Why the high-temperature superconductivity occurs in the metal region near the Mott metal-insulator transition is also explained.     

高温超导体电子结构和超导机理的角分辨光电子能谱研究

超导是一种奇异的宏观量子现象.100多年来,已发现的超导体主要分为两类:以金属或者合金为代表的常规超导体以及以铜氧化物和铁基高温超导体为代表的非常规超导体.常规超导体的超导机理能被BCS超导理论完美解释,但高温超导体的超导机理至今仍未达成共识,已经成为凝聚态物理领域中长期争论且充满挑战的重大科学问题.从实验上揭示非常规超导材料的微观电子结构,是理解其奇异正常态和超导电性机理、建立新理论的前提和基础.角分辨光电子能谱技术,由于可以实现对材料中电子的能量、动量和自旋的直接测量,在高温超导研究中发挥了重要的作用.本文综述了我们利用角分辨光电子能谱技术在铜氧化物和铁基高温超导体电子结构和超导机理研究中取得的一些进展,主要包括母体的电子结构、正常态的非费米液体行为、超导态的能带和超导能隙结构以及多体相互作用等.这些结果为理解铜氧化物和铁基高温超导体的物性及超导机理提供了重要的信息.     

Stripes and superconductivity in a one-dimensional self-consistent model

We show that many observable properties of high-temperature superconductors can be obtained in the framework of a one-dimensional self-consistent model with included superconducting correlations. Analytical solutions for spin, charge, and superconductivity order parameters are found. The ground state of the model at low hole doping is a spin-charge solitonic superstructure. Increased doping leads to a transition to the superconducting phase. There is a region of doping where superconductivity, spin density wave, and charged stripe structure coexist. The charge density modulation appears in the vicinity of vortices (kinks in the 1D model) in the superconducting state.     

铜氧化物超导体Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ 多体相互作用的超高能量分辨和时间分辨 角分辨光电子能谱研究

自发现30 多年来,铜氧化物的高温超导机理仍未得到解释。传统超导电性起源于电 子–声子相互作用形成的电子配对,研究传统超导体中的多体相互作用为BCS 理论提供了有 力的证据。目前已证实铜氧化物高温超导体中存在着电子配对,但是引起配对的机制仍不清 楚。因此,对铜氧化物高温超导体中的多体相互作用研究是揭示高温超导机理的关键。角分辨 光电子能谱是研究固体电子结构最直接的技术手段,随着其分辨率的不断提升,在研究高温超 导体的多体相互作用中日益发挥重要的作用。近年来兴起的时间分辨角分辨光电子能谱在常规 角分辨光电子能谱的基础上增加了独特的时间维度,从而成为研究多体相互作用动力学的有力 手段。本文详细地介绍了我们利用超高能量分辨和时间分辨角分辨光电子能谱在铜氧化物超导 体Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ 中多体相互作用的研究,包括在节点区域、反节点区域扭折的研究,多体 相互作用的动量依赖关系,配对电子自能的提取以及库珀对在激光泵浦下的受激辐射现象。     

Electrons in cuprates: A consistent ARPES view

Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been playing a crucial role in understanding of physics behind high-temperature superconductivity. Our ARPES investigation of superconducting cuprates, performed over a decade and accomplished by very recent results, suggests a consistent view of electronic interactions in cuprates which provides natural explanation of both the origin of the pseudogap state and the mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity. Within this scenario, the spin-fluctuations play a decisive role in formation of the fermionic excitation spectrum in the normal state and are sufficient to explain the high transition temperatures to the superconducting state while the pseudogap phenomenon is a consequence of a Peierls-type intrinsic instability of electronic system to formation of an incommensurate density wave. In view of these results and their projection to numerous other materials, two general questions are arising: is the normal state in 2D metals ever stable and how does this intrinsic instability interplay with superconductivity?     

Unconventional high-temperature superconductivity from repulsive interactions: theoretical constraints

Unconventional symmetries of the order parameter allowed some researchers to maintain that a purely repulsive interaction between electrons provides superconductivity without phonons in a number of high-temperature superconductors. It is shown that the Cooper pairing in p and d states is not possible with the realistic Coulomb repulsion between fermions at relevant temperatures in any dimension.     

自旋涨落与非常规超导配对

铜氧化物高温超导、铁基高温超导、重费米子超导和k-型层状有机超导等超导体的超导态都与磁性有序态相邻,且超导能隙在动量空间一般存在变号.因此,这些超导体的超导机理被认为有别于常规BCS超导中的电子交换声子导致的各向同性s-波配对.在这些非常规超导中,自旋涨落被认为是导致电子形成库珀对的主要起源之一.本文主要以铜基和铁基高温超导为例简要综述非常规超导中的自旋序和自旋涨落性质,二维哈伯徳模型中超导的起因及在解释铜基和铁基高温超导配对对称性的应用,以及与非常规超导紧密相关的中子自旋共振模性质和理论解释.我们认为,尽管磁性和超导性的相互影响已经过多年研究,但仍是当前一个富有挑战的活跃研究领域.     

铁基超导体系基于电子关联强度的统一相图

铁基超导和铜基超导具有诸多相似性,这为建立统一的高温超导机理图像提供了可能性.然而,对铁基超导体系中无论是进行电荷掺杂、还是等价掺杂来改变化学压力,都能产生定性上类似、而细节上纷繁复杂的相图,这对建立统一的图像造成了困难.研究化学掺杂效应如何在微观上影响电子结构和超导电性,区分主导超导电性演化的主要因素和次要因素,对建立统一图像和揭示高温超导机理至关重要.本文综述了对铁基超导体系中化学掺杂效应的一系列角分辨光电子能谱研究,涵盖了基于FeAs和FeSe面的多种代表性铁基超导体系,包括异价掺杂、等价掺杂、在元胞不同位置的化学掺杂,及其对电子体系在费米面结构、杂质散射、电子关联强度等方面的影响.实验结果表明：电子关联性或能带宽度是多个铁基超导相图背后的普适参数,不同的晶格和杂质散射效应导致了并不重要的复杂细节,而费米面拓扑结构与超导电性的关联并不强.这些结果对弱耦合机理图像提出了挑战,并促使人们通过局域反铁磁交换作用配对图像在带宽演化层面上统一地理解铁基超导.     

铁基高温超导体电子结构的角分辨光电子能谱研究

铜氧化物超导体和铁基超导体是人类相继发现的两类高温超导家族,它们的高温超导机理是凝聚态物理领域中长期争论但悬而未决的重大问题.对铁基超导体广泛而深入的研究,以及与铜氧化物高温超导体的对比,对于发展新的量子固体理论、解决高温超导机理、探索新的超导体以及超导实际应用都具有重要意义.固体材料的宏观物性由其微观电子结构所决定,揭示高温超导材料的微观电子结构是理解高温超导电性的前提和基础.由于角分辨光电子能谱技术具有独特的同时对能量、动量甚至自旋的分辨能力,已成为探测材料微观电子结构的最直接、最有力的实验手段,在高温超导体的研究中发挥了重要作用.本文综述了在不同体系铁基超导体中费米面拓扑结构、超导能隙大小和对称性、轨道三维性和选择性、电子耦合模式等的揭示和发现,为甄别和提出铁基超导新理论、解决高温超导机理问题提供重要依据.     

Superconductivity Mechanism of Non-Cuprate Superconductors

Based on the mechanism of charge fluctuation, the effective Hamiltonian is, derived to discuss the superconductivity for the non-cuprate compound BaPb_1-xBi_xO₃. The desired T_c versus δ curve is obtained. It is shown that the explanation of superconductivity for non-cuprate superconductors is the same as that of cuprate ones. Furthermore, that the non-cuprate superconductors have no ferromagnetism and anti-ferromagnetism can be explained, and the superconductivity windaw is due to the Cooper pairirtg in coordinate space.     

Structure,charge transfer,and superconductivity of M-doped phenanthrene(M = Al,Ga, and In): A comparative study of K-doped cases

Aromatic hydrocarbons doped with K have been shown to be potential high-temperature superconductors. To investigate the doping effects of trivalent metals(Al, Ga, and In) that have a smaller radii than K, we studied the crystal structure, stability,charge transfer, band structure, and superconductivity of trivalent metal-doped phenanthrene via first-principles calculations.Doping with Al/Ga/In considerably differs from doping with K and cannot be simply regarded as a linear developmental change in the structural and electronic characteristics caused by a change in the valence electron numbers. Al/Ga/In atoms are difficult to dope into the intralayer region, and the charge transfer is close to zero, which is far less than the effect of K doping. We found that the metallization of the Al/Ga/In-doped system originates from the formation of gap states instead of charge transfer. The weak superconductivity obtained in the Al/Ga/In-doped system is also different from the K-doped system. These results are helpful in terms of understanding the structure and superconductivity of metal-doped aromatic superconductors.     

Role of a fermion condensate in the structure of high-temperature pairing in cuprates

The anomalous properties of a pairing gap in cuprate superconductors have been explained under the assumption that their electron systems in the normal phase exhibit a fermion condensate, i.e., a set of dispersionless states close to the nominal Fermi surface. It has been shown that exactly the fermion condensate is responsible for D-state pairing in cuprates. More specifically, the effective Coulomb repulsion in the Cooper channel, which prevents the existence of superconductivity in normal metals in the S channel, makes it high-temperature in the D channel.     

Superconductivity and spin fluctuations

In the conventional superconductors, the Cooper pairs are mediated by phonons, which is a process where only the correlations between the phonons and the charge properties of the electrons are needed. However, superconductivity can also be derived from other types of elementary excitations. The spin fluctuations are arguably the most promising candidate that can mediate such unconventional superconductivity. In some of the important systems such as cuprates, Fe-based superconductors and heavy-fermion superconductors, spin fluctuations play a key role in the mechanism of their superconductivity although there are still many debates. In this paper, we will give a brief review on the correlation between the spin fluctuations and superconductivity.     

Essence of Pseudogap and Oscillation in High-Temperature Cuprate Superconductor Junction of Pseudogap State

This paper gives methods to calculate the pairing temperature T*,at which a pseudogap is opened,and the superconducting temperature Tc,at which superconductivity appears,in the high-Tc cuprates,and demonstrates directly that at Tc ＜ T ＜ T* the pseudogap is the gap of Cooper pair without long-range phase coherence,and at T ＜ Tc there is long-range phase coherence between Cooper pairs.Based on the above clear physical picture on the pseudogap state and our mechanism for the ac Josephson effect,this paper proposes that there should be a novel oscillatory current in P-I-P junction,induced by a constant bias on the junction.Here,P represents the high-Tc curates in the pseudogap state,where Cooper pairs do not have long-range phase coherence,and I represents the thin insulating barrier.This paper conjectures that there is a possible high-temperature superconductivity in the heavily underdoped high-Tc cuprates.     

高压下富氢高温超导体的研究进展

近年来,高压强极端条件下的富氢化合物成为高温超导体研究的热点目标材料体系.该领域目前取得了两个标志性重要进展,先后发现了共价型H3S富氢超导体(Tc=200 K)和以LaH10(Tc=260 K,–13℃),YH6,YH9等为代表的一类氢笼合物结构的离子型富氢超导体,先后刷新了超导温度的新纪录.这些研究工作燃发了人们在高压下富氢化合物中发现室温超导体的希望.本文重点介绍高压下富氢高温超导体的相关研究进展,讨论富氢化合物产生高温超导电性的物理机理,展望未来在富氢化合物中发现室温超导体的可能性并提出多元富氢化合物候选体系.     

利用单轴压强下的电阻变化研究铁基超导体中的向列涨落

铁基超导体中普遍存在着反铁磁、超导和向列相,因此研究向列相的性质及其与反铁磁、超导的关系对于理解铁基超导体的低能物理及高温超导电性具有非常重要的作用.所谓向列相是指电子态自发破缺了晶格的面内四重旋转对称性而形成的有序态,从而导致样品的某些物理性质出现了两重的各向异性.我们通过自主研发的单轴压强装置,可以在低温下原位改变压强,测量电阻的变化,从而得到向列极化率.本文介绍了我们利用该装置在最近几年研究铁基超导体的向列相和向列涨落所取得的一些成果,包括详细研究了BaFe_(2-x)Ni_xAs_2体系中的向列量子临界点及其量子临界涨落,并提出了基于向列涨落强弱调节的铁基超导体统一相图.这些结果表明,向列相及其涨落与反铁磁和超导均有很强的耦合,对于理解铁基超导体中磁性和超导电性非常关键.     

铁基超导体的输运性质

在铁基超导体中存在着多种有序态,例如电子向列相和自旋密度波等,从而呈现出丰富的物理现象.输运性质的测量能为认识铁基超导体的低能激发提供极为有用的信息.铁砷超导体由于其电子结构的多能带特性,其电阻率和霍尔系数与温度的关系出现多样性的变化,但在正常态并没有看到有类似铜氧化物超导体的赝能隙打开等奇异行为.在空穴型掺杂的铁基超导体中观测到霍尔系数在低温下变号,对应温区的电阻率上出现一个很宽的鼓包等,可能是从非相干到相干态的转变.热电势行为也表现出与铜氧化物超导体的明显差异,比如铁基超导体的正常态热电势的绝对值反而在最佳掺杂区是最大的,这也许跟强的带间散射有关.能斯特效应表明铁基超导体在Tc以上的超导位相涨落并不明显,与铜氧化物超导体存在明显差别.在铁基超导体上所显示出来的这些反常热电性质,并没有在类似结构的镍基超导体(如LaNiAsO)上观测到,镍基超导体表现得更像一个通常的金属.这些均说明铁基超导体的奇异输运性质与其高温超导电性存在内在的关联,这些因素是建立其超导机理时需要考虑进去的.