Charge confinement effect in cuprate superconductors: an explanation for the normal-state resistivity and pseudogap

The fact that the stripe phase and pseudogap in the cuprate superconductors occur in the same doping regime is emphasized. A model based on charge confinement in self-organized nanometer-scale stripe fragments is proposed to understand various generic features of the normal-state energy gap including the magnitude of the gap, its anti-correlation with the superconducting gap, and the d-wave symmetry in its -dependence. This model also provides a basis for understanding other anomalous normal-state properties such as the linear temperature dependence of electrical resistivity. Received 7 December 1998     

Momentum dependence of quasiparticle spectrum and Bogoliubov angle in cuprate superconductors

The momentum dependence of the low energy quasiparticle spectrum and the related Bogoliubov angle in cuprate superconductors are studied within the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. By calculation of the ratio of the low energy quasiparticle spectra at positive and negative energies, it is shown that the Bogoliubov angle increases monotonically across the Fermi crossing point. The results also show that the superconducting coherence of the low energy quasiparticle peak is well described by a simple d-wave Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer formalism, although the pairing mechanism is driven by the kinetic energy by exchanging spin excitations.     

The high temperature superconductivity in cuprates: physics of the pseudogap region

We discuss the physics of the high temperature superconductivity in hole doped copperoxide ceramics in the pseudogap region. Starting from an effective reduced Hamiltonianrelevant to the dynamics of holes injected into the copper oxide layers proposed in aprevious paper, we determine the superconductive condensate wavefunction. We show that thelow-lying elementary condensate excitations are analogous to the rotons in superfluid⁴He. We arguethat the rotons-like excitations account for the specific heat anomaly at the criticaltemperature. We discuss and compare with experimental observations the London penetrationlength, the Abrikosov vortices, the upper and lower critical magnetic fields, and thecritical current density. We give arguments to explain the origin of the Fermi arcs andFermi pockets. We investigate the nodal gap in the cuprate superconductors and discussboth the doping and temperature dependence of the nodal gap. We suggest that the nodal gapis responsible for the doping dependence of the so-called nodal Fermi velocity detected inangle resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies. We discuss the thermodynamics of thenodal quasielectron liquid and their role in the low temperature specific heat. We proposethat the ubiquitous presence of charge density wave in hole doped cuprate superconductorsin the pseudogap region originates from instabilities of the nodal quasielectrons drivenby the interaction with the planar CuO₂ lattice. We investigate the doping dependence of thecharge density wave gap and the competition between charge order and superconductivity. Wediscuss the effects of external magnetic fields on the charge density wave gap andelucidate the interplay between charge density wave and Abrikosov vortices. Finally, weexamine the physics underlying quantum oscillations in the pseudogap region.     

Neutron-spin resonance in the optimally electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-delta

We use inelastic neutron scattering to probe magnetic excitations of an optimally electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-delta above and below its superconducting transition temperature Tc=25 K. In addition to gradually opening a spin pseudogap at the antiferromagnetic ordering wave vector Q=(1/2,1/2,0), the effect of superconductivity is to form a resonance centered also at Q=(1/2,1/2,0) but at energies above the spin pseudogap. The intensity of the resonance develops like a superconducting order parameter, similar to those for hole-doped superconductors and electron-doped Pr0.88LaCe0.12CuO4. The resonance is therefore a general phenomenon of cuprate superconductors, and must be fundamental to the mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity.     

Charge order driven by Fermi-arc instability and its connection with pseudogap in cuprate superconductors

The recently discovered charge order is a generic feature of cuprate superconductors, however, its microscopic origin remains debated. Within the framework of the fermion-spin theory, the nature of charge order in the pseudogap phase and its evolution with doping are studied by taking into account the electron self-energy (then the pseudogap) effect. It is shown that the antinodal region of the electron Fermi surface is suppressed by the electron self-energy, and then the low-energy electron excitations occupy the disconnected Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, the charge order state is driven by the Fermi-arc instability, with a characteristic wave vector corresponding to the hot spots of the Fermi arcs rather than the antinodal nesting vector. Moreover, although the Fermi arc increases its length as a function of doping, the charge order wave vector reduces almost linearity with the increase of doping. The theory also indicates that the Fermi arc, charge order and pseudogap in cuprate superconductors are intimately related to each other, and all of them emanates from the electron self-energy due to the interaction between electrons by the exchange of spin excitations.     

Cooper instability of nonlocal spin polarons in the CuO<Subscript>2</Subscript> plane of high-temperature superconductors

The energy structure of nonlocal spin polarons has been obtained for the real structure of the CuO₂ plane of cuprate superconductors in the ensemble of such Fermi quasiparticles. A nonlocal spin polaron is formed due to the exchange interaction of the spin of an oxygen hole with the spins of the two nearest copper ions. The scattering amplitude of nonlocal spin polarons in the cooper channel calculated using the diagrammatic technique indicates that the spin and charge degrees of freedom are strongly correlated.     

A model of the T-dependent pseudogap and its competition with superconductivity in copper oxides

Results for pseudogaps are obtained from a band model, where the stability of the gap depends on the amplitudes of vibrational displacements, or magnetic moments, and their coupling to electrons. A one-particle gap is favored by normal thermal excitations of phonons or spin waves. Another gap can be generated by spontaneous waves at lower temperature, if the electronic energy gain overcomes the elastic/magnetic energy needed for increased amplitudes of the oscillations. This state is characterized by charge or spin density waves. The pseudogap has many features in common with the superconducting gap, and the model lends support to the interpretation that the pseudogap is a precursor of, and competes with, superconducting pairing.     

Fermi arc formation by chiral spin textures in high-temperature superconductors

In angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy pseudogap phenomenon in high-temperature superconductors is observed as Fermi arcs, or truncated Fermi surface. Here I argue that the hole induced chiral spin texture scenario naturally leads to Fermi arcs by including hole hopping processes. Disappearance of part of the Fermi surface is associated with the effect of the coherence factor. Suppressed spectral weight of the holes turns out to be an electron-like component which has weight near (π,0) only and has some charge instability.     

Renormalization group analysis of competing orders and the pairing symmetry in Fe-based superconductors

We analyze antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in novel Fe-based superconductors within the weak-coupling, itinerant model of electron and hole pockets near (0, 0) and (π, π) in the folded Brillouin zone. We discuss the interaction Hamiltonian, the nesting, the RG flow of the couplings at energies above and below the Fermi energy, and the interplay between SDW magnetism, superconductivity and charge orbital order. We argue that SDW antiferromagnetism wins at zero doping but looses to superconductivity upon doping. We show that the most likely symmetry of the superconducting gap is A_1g in the folded zone. This gap has no nodes on the Fermi surface but changes sign between hole and electron pockets. We also argue that at weak coupling, this pairing predominantly comes not from spin fluctuation exchange but from a direct pair hopping between hole and electron pockets.     

The effect of the superconducting–normal proximity on the Josephson tunneling of high-Tc superconductors

The Josephson coupling between two identical high-temperature superconductors was studied theoretically based on a superconducting–normal (SN) bilayer model with s+id-wave pairing in the S layer. It is indicated that due to the proximity effect between S and N layers as the interlayer hopping t_⊥ decreases, the product of the tunneling current through the junction and the normal-state resistance of the junction can be substantially reduced from the value described by the Ambegaokar–Baratoff (AB) theory. Our theoretical result is in good agreement with the experiments.     

Pseudogap formation and quantum phase transition in strongly-correlated electron systems

Pseudogap formation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in strongly-correlated superconductors, for example cuprates, heavy-fermion superconductors, and iron pnictides. As the system is cooled, an energy gap opens in the excitation spectrum before entering the superconducting phase. The origin of formation and the relevancy to the superconductivity remain unclear, which is the most challenging problem in condensed matter physics. Here, using the cuprate as a model, we demonstrate that the formation of pseudogap is due to a massive gauge interaction between electrons, where the mass of the gauge boson, determining the interaction length scale, is the consequence of the remnant antiferromagnetic fluctuation inherited from the parent compounds. Extracting from experimental data, we predict that there is a quantum phase transition belonging to the 2D XY universality class at the critical doping where pseudogap transition vanishes.     

In-plane conductivity of a layered large-bipolaron liquid

Distinctive normal-state properties of cuprate superconductors follow from their charge carriers forming a large-bipolaron liquid. The very weak scattering of the liquid’s slow-moving heavy-massed excitations by acoustic phonons yields a scattering rate that is less than the Debye frequency. The liquid’s moderate mobility, >1 cm²/V-sec at 300 K, results from its weak scattering compensating for its large mass. In resolution of a long-standing dilemma, the dc resistivity resulting from scattering by long-wavelength phonons remains nearly proportional to temperature to well below the Debye temperature. Above the Debye frequency, the frequency-dependent conductivity is dominated by excitation and photo-ionization of the liquid’s self-trapped electronic carriers. Below the Debye frequency, the frequency-dependent conductivity is dominated by the liquid’s Drude-like collective motion. The ‘gap’ between these two domains sharpens with decreasing temperature as phonon scattering of the liquid’s collective excitations diminishes. The high-frequency electronic excitations survive in the superconducting state.     

Superconducting coherence peak in the electronic excitations of a single-layer Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+delta cuprate superconductor

Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy study is reported on a high quality optimally doped Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+delta high-Tc superconductor. In the antinodal region with a maximal d-wave gap, the symbolic superconducting coherence peak, which has been widely observed in multi-CuO2-layer cuprate superconductors, is unambiguously observed in a single-layer system. The associated peak-dip separation is just about 19 meV, which is much smaller than its counterparts in multilayered compounds, but correlates with the energy scales of spin excitations in single-layer cuprates.     

Bogoliubov angle and visualization of particle-hole mixture in superconductors

Superconducting excitations—Bogoliubov quasiparticles—are the quantum mechanical mixture of negatively charged electron (−e) and positively charged hole (+e). Depending on the applied voltage bias in scanning tunneling microscope (STM) one can sample the particle and hole content of such a superconducting excitation. Recent STM experiments offer a unique insight into the inner workings of the superconducting state of superconductors. We propose a new observable quantity for STM studies that is the manifestation of the particle-hole dualism of the quasiparticles. We call it a Bogoliubov angle. This angle measures the relative weight of particle and hole amplitude in the superconducting (Bogoliubov) quasiparticle. We propose that this quantity can be measured locally by comparing the ratio of tunneling currents at positive and negative biases locally. This Bogoliubov angle allows one to measure directly the energy and position dependent particle-hole admixture and therefore visualize robustness of superconducting state locally. It may also allow one to measure the particle-hole admixture of excitations in normal state above critical temperature and thus may be used to measure superconducting correlations in pseudogap state.     

Condensation energy of the superconducting bilayer cuprates

In the present work, we report the interplay of single particle and Cooper pair tunnelings on the superconducting state of layered high-T _c cuprate superconductors. For this we have considered a model Hamiltonian incorporating the intra-planar interactions and the contributions arising due to the coupling between the planes. The interplanar interactions include the single particle tunneling as well as the Josephson tunneling of Cooper pairs between the two layers. The expression of the out-of-plane correlation parameter which describes the hopping of a particle from one layer to another layer in the superconducting state is obtained within a Bardeen-Cooper-Schriefer (BCS) formalism using the Green’s function technique. This correlation is found to be sensitive to the various parameter of the model Hamiltonian. We have calculated the out-of-plane contribution to the superconducting condensation energy. The calculated values of condensation energy are in agreement with those obtained from the specific heat and the c-axis penetration depth measurements on bilayer cuprates.     

铜氧化物超导体两能隙问题的电子拉曼散射理论研究

电子拉曼实验表明在空穴型掺杂的铜氧化物超导体中存在两能隙行为,即在欠掺杂区,随着掺杂浓度的降低,一个能隙逐渐增大而且在超导转变温度以上仍然存在,而另一个能隙逐渐减小且在DDW态依然存在.解释两能隙行为非常重要因为它与赝能隙的机理密切相关.本文计算了超导序和d-density-wave(DDW)序竞争机理下相图上不同区域的电子拉曼谱,发现欠掺杂区能隙表现出两能隙行为,与实验一致.特别地,本文发现B_1g峰对应能量由超导和DDW序共同决定,且随着掺杂浓度的降低而增大,在D 关键词： 两能隙 电子拉曼散射 竞争序     

Andreev and single-particle tunneling spectra of underdoped cuprate superconductors

We study tunneling spectroscopy between a normal metal and an underdoped cuprate superconductor modeled by a phenomenological theory in which the pseudogap is a precursor to the undoped Mott insulator. In the low barrier tunneling limit, the spectra are enhanced by Andreev reflection only within a voltage region of the small superconducting energy gap. In the high barrier tunneling limit, the spectra show a large energy pseudogap associated with single particle tunneling. Our theory semiquantitatively describes the two gap behavior observed in tunneling experiments.     

Competing energy scales in high‐temperature superconductors: Ultrafast pump–probe studies

We present a review of photoexcited quasiparticle dynamics of cuprate and pnictide high‐temperature superconductors in regimes (temperature, doping) where different phases such as superconductivity, spin‐density‐wave (SDW) and pseudogap phases coexist or compete with one another. We start with the overdoped cuprate superconductor Y_1–xCa_x Ba₂Cu₃O_7–δ, where the superconducting gap and pseudogap coexist in the superconducting state. In another cuprate Tl₂Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O_y, we ob‐ serve a competition between SDW and superconducting orders deep in the superconducting state. Finally, in the underdoped iron pnictide superconductor (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂, SDW order forms at 85 K, followed by superconductivity at 28 K. We also find the emergence of a normal‐state order that suppresses SDW at a temperature T * ～ 60 K and argue that this normal‐state order is a precursor to superconductivity. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Pseudogap formation in copper oxide superconductors with inclusion of spin and charge fluctuations

The influence of spin and charge fluctuations on the pseudogap formation in cuprate superconductors has been studied using the diagram technique for Hubbard operators. It has been shown that the joint inclusion of the spin and charge fluctuations leads to the formation of “shadow” bands with a strong modulation of the spectral intensity and to a decrease in the density of electronic states at the Fermi level.