No Arabic abstract
Extensive research into high temperature superconducting cuprates is now focused upon identifying the relationship between the classic pseudogap phenomenon$^{1,2}$ and the more recently investigated density wave state$^{3-13}$. This state always exhibits wave vector $Q$ parallel to the planar Cu-O-Cu bonds$^{4-13}$ along with a predominantly $d$-symmetry form factor$^{14-17}$ (dFF-DW). Finding its microscopic mechanism has now become a key objective$^{18-30}$ of this field. To accomplish this, one must identify the momentum-space ($k$-space) states contributing to the dFF-DW spectral weight, determine their particle-hole phase relationship about the Fermi energy, establish whether they exhibit a characteristic energy gap, and understand the evolution of all these phenomena throughout the phase diagram. Here we use energy-resolved sublattice visualization$^{14}$ of electronic structure and show that the characteristic energy of the dFF-DW modulations is actually the pseudogap energy $Delta_{1}$. Moreover, we demonstrate that the dFF-DW modulations at $E=-Delta_{1}$ (filled states) occur with relative phase $pi$ compared to those at $E=Delta_{1}$ (empty states). Finally, we show that the dFF-DW $Q$ corresponds directly to scattering between the hot frontier regions of $k$-space beyond which Bogoliubov quasiparticles cease to exist$^{31,32,33}$. These data demonstrate that the dFF-DW state is consistent with particle-hole interactions focused at the pseudogap energy scale and between the four pairs of hot frontier regions in $k$-space where the pseudogap opens.
The defining characteristic of hole-doped cuprates is $d$-wave high temperature superconductivity. However, intense theoretical interest is now focused on whether a pair density wave state (PDW) could coexist with cuprate superconductivity (D. F. Agterberg et al., Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 11, 231 (2020)). Here, we use a strong-coupling mean-field theory of cuprates, to model the atomic-scale electronic structure of an eight-unit-cell periodic, $d$-symmetry form factor, pair density wave (PDW) state coexisting with $d$-wave superconductivity (DSC). From this PDW+DSC model, the atomically-resolved density of Bogoliubov quasiparticle states N(r,E) is predicted at the terminal BiO surface of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ and compared with high-precision electronic visualization experiments using spectroscopic imaging STM. The PDW+DSC model predictions include the intra-unit-cell structure and periodic modulations of N(r,E), the modulations of the coherence peak energy $Delta_p$ (r), and the characteristics of Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference in scattering-wavevector space (q-space). Consistency between all these predictions and the corresponding experiments indicates that lightly hole-doped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ does contain a PDW+DSC state. Moreover, in the model the PDW+DSC state becomes unstable to a pure DSC state at a critical hole density p*, with empirically equivalent phenomena occurring in the experiments. All these results are consistent with a picture in which the cuprate translational symmetry breaking state is a PDW, the observed charge modulations are its consequence, the antinodal pseudogap is that of the PDW state, and the cuprate critical point at p* ~ 19% occurs due to disappearance of this PDW.
Electronic Raman scattering with in and out of (ab) plane polarizations have been performed on HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+d in a slightly underdoped single crystal with a critical temperature Tc=122 K. We find that the d-wave pairing gap at the antinodes is higher in energy (14 kBTc) than in other cuprates and that it varies very slowly up to Tc. This hints at a strong coupling nature of the pairing mechanism. Interestingly, we reveal that the pairing-gap feature in the Raman response displays a complex peak-dip-hump structure, in a fashion reminiscent of what observed by angle resolved photo-emission spectroscopy in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi-2212). We detect two other distinct superconducting peaks at 5kBTc and 7kBTc when probing respectively around the nodes and on the whole Fermi surface. Finally we establish that the pairing gap at the antinodes is detected both for (ab) plane and for c-axis light polarizations. This shows that the quasiparticle dynamics along the c-axis is intimately connected to the antinodal one in the (ab) plane.
We present analytical and numerical results for the electronic spectra of wires of a d-wave superconductor on a square lattice. The spectra of Andreev and other quasiparticle states, as well as the spatial and particle-hole structures of their wave functions, depend on interference effects caused by the presence of the surfaces and are qualitatively different for half-filled wires with even or odd number of chains. For half-filled wires with an odd number of chains N at (110) orientation, spectra consist of N doubly degenerate branches. By contrast, for even N wires, these levels are split, and all quasiparticle states, even the ones lying above the maximal gap, have the characteristic properties of Andreev bound states. These Andreev states above the gap can be interpreted as a consequence of an infinite sequence of Andreev reflections experienced by quasiparticles along their trajectories bounded by the surfaces of the wire. Our microscopic results for the local density of states display atomic-scale Friedel oscillations due to the presence of the surfaces, which should be observable by scanning tunneling microscopy. For narrow wires the self-consistent treatment of the order parameter is found to play a crucial role. In particular, we find that for small wire widths the finite geometry may drive strong fluctuations or even stablilize exotic quasi-1D pair states with spin triplet character.
When very high magnetic fields suppress the superconductivity in underdoped cuprates, an exceptional new electronic phase appears. It supports remarkable and unexplained quantum oscillations and exhibits an unidentified density wave (DW) state. Although generally referred to as a charge density wave (CDW) because of the observed charge density modulations, theory indicates that this could actually be the far more elusive electron-pair density wave state (PDW). To search for evidence of a field-induced PDW in cuprates, we visualize the modulations in the density of electronic states $N(bf{r})$ within the halo surrounding Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ vortex cores. This reveals multiple signatures of a field-induced PDW, including two sets of $N(bf{r})$ modulations occurring at wavevectors $bf{Q}_P$ and $2bf{Q}_P$, both having predominantly $s$-symmetry form factors, the amplitude of the latter decaying twice as rapidly as the former, along with induced energy-gap modulations at $bf{Q}_P$ . Such a microscopic phenomenology is in detailed agreement with theory for a field-induced primary PDW that generates secondary CDWs within the vortex halo. These data indicate that the fundamental state generated by increasing magnetic fields from the underdoped cuprate superconducting phase is actually a PDW with approximately eight CuO$_2$ unit-cell periodicity ($lambda = 8a_0$) and predominantly $d$-symmetry form factor.
It was proposed that the $id_{x^2-y^2}$ density-wave state (DDW) may be responsible for the pseudogap behavior in the underdoped cuprates. Here we show that the admixture of a small $d_{xy}$ component to the DDW state breaks the symmetry between the counter-propagating orbital currents of the DDW state and, thus, violates the macroscopic time-reversal symmetry. This symmetry breaking results in a non-zero polar Kerr effect, which has recently been observed in the pseudogap phase.