No Arabic abstract
The superconducting state is achieved by the condensation of Cooper pairs and is protected by the superconducting gap. The pairing interaction between the two electrons of a Cooper pair determines the superconducting gap function. Thus, it is very pivotal to detect the gap structure for understanding the mechanism of superconductivity. In cuprate superconductors, it has been well established that the superconducting gap may have a d-wave function {Delta} = {Delta}_0cos2{theta}. This gap function has an alternative sign change by every pi/2 in the momentum space when the in-plane azimuthal angle theta is scanned. It is very hard to visualize this sign change. Early experiments for recommending or proving this d-wave gap function were accomplished by the specially designed phase sensitive measurements based on the Josephson effect. Here we report the measurements of scanning tunneling spectroscopy in one of the model cuprate system Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{delta} and conduct the analysis of phase-referenced quasiparticle interference (QPI). Due to the unique quasiparticle excitations in the superconducting state of cuprate, we have seen the seven basic scattering vectors that connect each pair of the terminals of the banana-shaped contour of constant quasiparticle energy (CCE). The phase-referenced QPI clearly visualizes the sign change of the d-wave gap. Our results illustrate a very effective way for determining the sign change of unconventional superconductors.
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d reveals weak, incommensurate, spatial modulations in the tunneling conductance. Images of these energy-dependent modulations are Fourier analyzed to yield the dispersion of their wavevectors. Comparison of the dispersions with photoemission spectroscopy data indicates that quasiparticle interference, due to elastic scattering between characteristic regions of momentum-space, provides a consistent explanation for the conductance modulations, without appeal to another order parameter. These results refocus attention on quasiparticle scattering processes as potential explanations for other incommensurate phenomena in the cuprates. The momentum-resolved tunneling spectroscopy demonstrated here also provides a new technique with which to study quasiparticles in correlated materials.
Using a realistic ten-orbital tight-binding model Hamiltonian fitted to the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data on LiFeAs, we analyze the temperature, frequency, and momentum dependencies of quasiparticle interference (QPI) to identify gap sign changes in a qualitative way, following our original proposal [Phys. Rev. B 92, 184513 (2015)]. We show that all features present for the simple two-band model for the sign-changing $s_{+-}$-wave superconducting gap employed previously are still present in the realistic tight-binding approximation and gap values observed experimentally. We discuss various superconducting gap structures proposed for LiFeAs, and identify various features of these superconducting gaps functions in the quasiparticle interference patterns. On the other hand, we show that it will be difficult to identify the more complicated possible sign structures of the hole pocket gaps in LiFeAs, due to the smallness of the pockets and the near proximity of two of the gap energies.
Phase-sensitive measurements of the superconducting gap in Fe-based superconductors have proven more difficult than originally anticipated. While quasiparticle interference (QPI) measurements based on scanning tunneling spectroscopy are often proposed as defnitive tests of gap structure, the analysis typically relies on details of the model employed. Here we point out that the temperature dependence of momentum-integrated QPI data can be used to identify gap sign changes in a qualitative way, and present an illustration for $s_{pm}$ and $s_{++}$ states in a system with typical Fe-pnictide Fermi surface.
Quasiparticle interference (QPI) by means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and multi-orbital tight bind- ing calculations are used to investigate the band structure and superconducting order parameter of LiFeAs. Using this combination we identify intra- and interband scattering vectors between the hole (h) and electron (e) bands in the QPI maps. Discrepancies in the band dispersions inferred from previous ARPES and STM/STS are reconciled by recognizing a difference in the $k_z$ sensitivity for the two probes. The observation of both h-h and e-h scattering is exploited using phase-sensitive scattering selection rules for Bogoliubov quasiparticles. From this we infer an s$_pm$ gap structure, where a sign change occurs in the superconducting order parameter between the e and h bands.
A new low photon energy regime of angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy is accessed with lasers and used to study the superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+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 and associated weight transfer are robust to a possible breakdown of the sudden approximation.