No Arabic abstract
Cuprate superconductors host a multitude of low-energy optical phonons. Using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we study coherent phonons in Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$Ca$_{0.92}$Y$_{0.08}$Cu$_{2}$O$_{8+delta}$. Sub-meV modulations of the electronic band structure are observed at frequencies of $3.94pm 0.01$ and $5.59pm 0.06$ THz. For the dominant mode at 3.94 THz, the amplitude of the band energy oscillation weakly increases as a function of momentum away from the node. Theoretical calculations allow identifying the observed modes as CuO$_{2}$-derived $A_{1g}$ phonons. The Bi- and Sr-derived $A_{1g}$ modes which dominate Raman spectra in the relevant frequency range are absent in our measurements. This highlights the mode-selectivity for phonons coupled to the near-Fermi-level electrons, which originate from CuO$_{2}$ planes and dictate thermodynamic properties.
Electron-boson coupling plays a key role in superconductivity for many systems. However, in copper-based high-temperature ($T_c$) superconductors, its relation to superconductivity remains controversial despite strong spectroscopic fingerprints. Here we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to find a striking correlation between the superconducting gap and the bosonic coupling strength near the Brillouin zone boundary in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+delta}$. The bosonic coupling strength rapidly increases from the overdoped Fermi-liquid regime to the optimally doped strange metal, concomitant with the quadrupled superconducting gap and the doubled gap-to-Tc ratio across the pseudogap boundary. This synchronized lattice and electronic response suggests that the effects of electronic interaction and the electron-phonon coupling become intimately entangled upon entering the strange metal regime, which may in turn drive a stronger superconductivity.
We outline a general mechanism for Orbital-selective Mott transition (OSMT), the coexistence of both itinerant and localized conduction electrons, and show how it can take place in a wide range of realistic situations, even for bands of identical width and correlation, provided a crystal field splits the energy levels in manifolds with different degeneracies and the exchange coupling is large enough to reduce orbital fluctuations. The mechanism relies on the different kinetic energy in manifolds with different degeneracy. This phase has Curie-Weiss susceptibility and non Fermi-liquid behavior, which disappear at a critical doping, all of which is reminiscent of the physics of the pnictides.
High-$T_c$ superconductors with CuO$_2$ layers, manganites La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$, and cobaltites LaCoO$_3$ present several mysteries in their physical properties. Most of them are believed to come from the strongly-correlated nature of these materials. From the theoretical viewpoint, there are many hidden rocks in making the consistent description of the band structure and low-energy physics starting from the Fermi-liquid approach. Here we discuss the alternative method -- multielectron approach to the electronic structure calculations for the Mott insulators -- called LDA+GTB (local density approximation + generalized tight-binding) method. Its origin is a straightforward generalization of the Hubbard perturbation theory in the atomic limit and the multiband $p-d$ Hamiltonian with the parameters calculated within LDA. We briefly discuss the method and focus on its applications to cuprates, manganites, and cobaltites.
The electronic interlayer transport of the lightly doped antiferromagnet La1.79Eu0.2Sr0.01CuO4 has been studied by means of magneto-resistance measurements. The central problem addressed concerns the differences between the electronic interlayer coupling in the tetragonal low-temperature (LTT) phase and the orthorhombic low-temperature (LTO) phase. The key observation is that the spin-flip induced drop in the c-axis magneto-resistance of the LTO phase, which is characteristic for pure La2-xSrxCuO4, dramatically decreases in the LTT phase. The results show that the transition from orthorhombic to tetragonal symmetry and from collinear to non-collinear antiferromagnetic spin structure eliminates the strain dependent anisotropic interlayer hopping as well as the concomitant spin-valve type transport channel. Implications for the stripe ordered LTT phase of La2-xBaxCuO4 are briefly discussed.
The electronic structure of a new charge-density-wave/ superconductor system, 1T-CuxTiSe2, has been studied by photoemission spectroscopy. A correlated semiconductor band structure is revealed for the undoped case. With Cu doping, the charge density wave is suppressed by the raising of the chemical potential, while the superconductivity is enhanced by the enhancement of the density of states. Moreover, the strong scattering at high doping might be responsible for the suppression of superconductivity in that regime.