No Arabic abstract
Despite immense efforts, the cuprate Fermi surface (FS) has been unambiguously determined in only two distinct, low-temperature regions of the phase diagram: a large hole-like FS at high doping, and a small electron-like pocket associated with charge-density-wave driven FS reconstruction at moderate doping. Moreover, there exists incomplete understanding of the reconstructed state, which is stabilized by high magnetic fields, and its connection with the normal state that consists of arc-like remnants of the large underlying FS. Part of the problem is that compound-specific idiosyncrasies, such as disorder effects and low structural symmetry, can obscure the fundamental properties of the quintessential CuO$_2$ planes. Here we present planar magnetotransport measurements for moderately-doped HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+{delta}}$ that enable a quantitative understanding of the phase transition between the normal and reconstructed states and of the charge transport in the latter, and that demonstrate that the quasiparticle scattering rate in both states is due to Umklapp scattering. Building on prior insights, we furthermore arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of the planar transport properties throughout the entire cuprate phase diagram.
A residual linear term is observed in the thermal conductivity of optimally-doped Bi-2212 at very low temperatures whose magnitude is in excellent agreement with the value expected from Fermi-liquid theory and the d-wave energy spectrum measured by photoemission spectroscopy, with no adjustable parameters. This solid basis allows us to make a quantitative analysis of thermodynamic properties at low temperature and establish that thermally-excited quasiparticles are a significant, perhaps even the dominant mechanism in suppressing the superfluid density in cuprate superconductors Bi-2212 and YBCO.
We have developed a generalized electronic phase separation model of high-temperature cuprate superconductors that links the two distinct energy scales of the superconducting (SC) and pseudogap (PG) phases via a charge-density-wave (CDW) state. We show that simulated electronic-density modulations resembling the charge order (CO) modulations detected in cuprates intertwine the SC and charge orders by localizing charge and providing the energy scale for a spatially periodic SC attractive potential. Bulk superconductivity is achieved with the inclusion of Josephson coupling between nanoscale domains of intertwined fluctuating CDW and SC orders, and local SC phase fluctuations give rise to the Fermi arcs along the nodal directions of the SC gap. We demonstrate the validity of the model by reproducing the hole-doping dependence of the PG onset temperature $T^*$, and the SC transition temperature $T_c$ of ${rm YBa_2Cu_3O_y}$ and ${rm Bi_{2-y}Pb_ySr_{2-z}La_zCuO_{6+delta}}$. The results show that the periodicity of the CDW order is controlled by the PG energy scale, and the hole-doping dependence of the SC energy gap is controlled by the charge ordering free energy.
Superconductivity research is like running a marathon. Three decades after the discovery of high-Tc cuprates, there have been mass data generated from transport measurements, which bring fruitful information. In this review, we give a brief summary of the intriguing phenomena reported in electron-doped cuprates from the aspect of electrical transport as well as the complementary thermal transport. We attempt to sort out common features of the electron-doped family, e.g. the strange metal, negative magnetoresistance, multiple sign reversals of Hall in mixed state, abnormal Nernst signal, complex quantum criticality. Most of them have been challenging the existing theories, nevertheless, a unified diagram certainly helps to approach the nature of electron-doped cuprates.
The spectral energy gap is an important signature that defines states of quantum matter: insulators, density waves, and superconductors have very different gap structures. The momentum resolved nature of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) makes it a powerful tool to characterize spectral gaps. ARPES has been instrumental in establishing the anisotropic d-wave structure of the superconducting gap in high-transition temperature (Tc) cuprates, which is different from the conventional isotropic s-wave superconducting gap. Shortly afterwards, ARPES demonstrated that an anomalous gap above Tc, often termed the pseudogap, follows a similar anisotropy. The nature of this poorly understood pseudogap and its relationship with superconductivity has since become the focal point of research in the field. To address this issue, the momentum, temperature, doping, and materials dependence of spectral gaps have been extensively examined with significantly improved instrumentation and carefully matched experiments in recent years. This article overviews the current understanding and unresolved issues of the basic phenomenology of gap hierarchy. We show how ARPES has been sensitive to phase transitions, has distinguished between orders having distinct broken electronic symmetries, and has uncovered rich momentum and temperature dependent fingerprints reflecting an intertwined & competing relationship between the ordered states and superconductivity that results in multiple phenomenologically-distinct ground states inside the superconducting dome. These results provide us with microscopic insights into the cuprate phase diagram.
We put forth a mechanism for enhancing the interlayer transport in cuprate superconductors, by optically driving plasmonic excitations along the $c$ axis with a frequency that is blue-detuned from the Higgs frequency. The plasmonic excitations induce a collective oscillation of the Higgs field which induces a parametric enhancement of the superconducting response, as we demonstrate with a minimal analytical model. Furthermore, we perform simulations of a particle-hole symmetric $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory and find good agreement with our analytical prediction. We map out the renormalization of the interlayer coupling as a function of the parameters of the optical field and demonstrate that the Higgs mode mediated enhancement can be larger than $50%$.