No Arabic abstract
X-ray diffraction measurements show that the high-temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.54}$, with ortho-II oxygen order, has charge density wave order (CDW) in the absence of an applied magnetic field. The dominant wavevector of the CDW is $mathbf{q}_{mathrm{CDW}} = (0, 0.328(2), 0.5)$, with the in-plane component parallel to the $mathbf{b}$-axis (chain direction). It has a similar incommensurability to that observed in ortho-VIII and ortho-III samples, which have different dopings and oxygen orderings. Our results for ortho-II contrast with recent high-field NMR measurements, which suggest a commensurate wavevector along the $mathbf{a}$-axis. We discuss the relationship between spin and charge correlations in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{y}$, and recent high-field quantum oscillation, NMR and ultrasound experiments.
We report the results a comprehensive study of charge density wave (CDW) correlations in untwinned YBCO6+x single crystals with 0.4<x<0.99 using Cu-L3 edge resonant x-ray scattering (RXS). Evidence of CDW formation is found for 0.45<x<0.93, but not for samples with x<0.44 that exhibit incommensurate spin-density-wave order, and in slightly overdoped samples with x=0.99. This suggests the presence of two proximate zero-temperature CDW critical points at doping pc1~0.08 and pc2~0.18. The CDW reflections are observed at incommensurate in-plane wave vectors (d_a, 0) and (0, d_b). Both decrease linearly with increasing doping, in agreement with recent reports on Bi-based high-Tc superconductors, but in sharp contrast to the behavior of the 214 family. The CDW intensity and correlation length exhibit maxima at p~0.12, coincident with a plateau in the superconducting transition temperature Tc. The onset temperature of the CDW reflections depends non-monotonically on p, with a maximum of~160 K for p~0.12. The RXS reflections exhibit a uniaxial intensity anisotropy. We further observe a depression of CDW correlations upon cooling below Tc, and (for samples with p> 0.09) an enhancement of the signal when an external magnetic field up to 6 T is applied in the superconducting state. For samples with p~0.08, where prior work has revealed a field-enhancement of incommensurate magnetic order, the RXS signal is field-independent. This supports a previously suggested scenario in which incommensurate charge and spin orders compete against each other, in addition to individually competing against. We discuss the relationship of these results to stripe order 214, the pseudogap phenomenon, superconducting fluctuations, and quantum oscillations.
The competition between superconductivity and charge density wave (CDW) order in underdoped cuprates has now been widely reported, but the role of disorder in this competition has yet to be fully resolved. A central question is whether disorder sets the length scale of the CDW order, for instance by pinning charge density fluctuations or disrupting an otherwise long range order. Using resonant soft x-ray scattering, we investigate the sensitivity of CDW order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ (YBCO) to varying levels of oxygen disorder. We find that quench cooling YBCO$_{6.67}$ (YBCO$_{6.75}$) crystals to destroy their o-V and o-VIII (o-III) chains decreases the intensity of the CDW superlattice peak by a factor of 1.9 (1.3), but has little effect on the CDW correlation length, incommensurability, and temperature dependence. This reveals that while quenched oxygen disorder influences the CDW order parameter, the spatial extent of the CDW order is insensitive to the level of quenched oxygen disorder and may instead be a consequence of competition with superconductivity.
Polarized and unpolarized neutron diffraction has been used to search for magnetic order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ superconductors. Most of the measurements were made on a high quality crystal of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.6}$. It is shown that this crystal has highly ordered ortho-II chain order, and a sharp superconducting transition. Inelastic scattering measurements display a very clean spin-gap and pseudogap with any intensity at 10 meV being 50 times smaller than the resonance intensity. The crystal shows a complicated magnetic order that appears to have three components. A magnetic phase is found at high temperatures that seems to stem from an impurity with a moment that is in the $a$-$b$ plane, but disordered on the crystal lattice. A second ordering occurs near the pseudogap temperature that has a shorter correlation length than the high temperature phase and a moment direction that is at least partly along the c-axis of the crystal. Its moment direction, temperature dependence, and Bragg intensities suggest that it may stem from orbital ordering of the $d$-density wave (DDW) type. An additional intensity increase occurs below the superconducting transition. The magnetic intensity in these phases does not change noticeably in a 7 Tesla magnetic field aligned approximately along the c-axis. Searches for magnetic order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7}$ show no signal while a small magnetic intensity is found in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.45}$ that is consistent with c-axis directed magnetic order. The results are contrasted with other recent neutron measurements.
The application of large magnetic fields ($B sim B_{c2}$) to layered cuprates suppresses their high temperature superconducting behaviour and reveals competing ground states. In the widely-studied material YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ (YBCO), underdoped ($p sim 1/8$) samples show signatures of field-induced electronic and structural changes at low temperatures. However, the microscopic nature of the field-induced reconstruction and the high-field state are unclear. Here we report an x-ray study of the high-field charge density wave (CDW) in YBCO, for doping, $0.1 lesssim p lesssim 0.13$. For $p sim 0.123$, we find that a field ($B sim 10$~T) induces new CDW correlations along the CuO chain ($b$) direction only, leading to a 3-D ordered state along this direction at $B sim 15$~T. The CDW signal along the $a$-direction is also enhanced by field, but does not develop a new pattern of correlations. We find that field modifies the coupling between the CuO$_2$ bilayers in the YBCO structure, and causes the sudden appearance of 3D CDW order. The mirror symmetry of individual bilayers is broken by the CDW at low and high fields, allowing recently suggested Fermi surface reconstruction.
The polarized Raman scattering spectra from freshly cleaved $ab$, $ac$, and $bc$ surfaces of high quality twin free YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.5}$ (Ortho-II) single crystals ($T_c$=57.5 K and $Delta T = 0.6$ K) were studied between 80 and 300 K. All eleven $A_g$ Raman modes expected for the Ortho-II structure as well some modes of $B_{2g}$ and $B_{3g}$ symmetry were identified in close comparison with predictions of lattice dynamical calculations. The electronic scattering from the $ab$ planes is strongly anisotropic and decreases between 200 and 100 K within the temperature range of previously reported pseudogap opening. The coupling of phonons to Raman active electronic excitations manifested by asymmetric (Fano) profiles of several modes also decreases in the same range. Among the new findings that distinguish the Raman scattering of Ortho-II from that of Ortho-I phase is the unusual relationship ($alpha_{xx} approx -alpha_{yy}$) between the elements of the Raman tensor of the apex oxygen $A_g$ mode.