No Arabic abstract
The temperature dependence of the c-axis optical conductivity sigma(omega) of optimally and overdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_x (x=6.93 and 7) is reported in the far- (FIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) range. Below T_c we observe a transfer of spectral weight from the FIR not only to the condensate at omega = 0, but also to a new peak in the MIR. This peak is naturally explained as a transverse out-of-phase bilayer plasmon by a model for sigma(omega) which takes the layered crystal structure into account. With decreasing doping the plasmon shifts to lower frequencies and can be identified with the surprising and so far not understood FIR feature reported in underdoped bilayer cuprates.
The nature of superconductivity in heavy-fermion materials is a subject under intense debate, and controlling this many-body state is central for its eventual understanding. Here, we examine how proximity effects may change this phenomenon, by investigating the effects of an additional metallic layer on the top of a Kondo-lattice, and allowing for pairing in the former. We analyze a bilayer Kondo Lattice Model with an on-site Hubbard interaction, $-U$, on the additional layer, using a mean-field approach. For $U=0$, we notice a drastic change in the density-of-states due to multiple-orbital singlet resonating combinations. It destroys the well-known Kondo insulator at half filling, leading to a metallic ground state, which, in turn, enhances antiferromagnetism through the polarization of the conduction electrons. For $U eq 0$, a superconducting Kondo state sets in at zero temperature, with the occurrence of unconventional pairing amplitudes involving $f$-electrons. We establish that this remarkable feature is only possible due to the proximity effects of the additional layer. At finite temperatures we find that the critical superconducting temperature, $T_c$, decreases with the interlayer hybridization. We have also established that a zero temperature superconducting amplitude tracks $T_c$, which reminisces the BCS proportionality between the superconducting gap and $T_c$.
There is growing evidence that the unconventional spatial inhomogeneities in the doped high-Tc superconductors are accompanied by the pairing of electrons, subsequent quantum phase transitions (QPTs), and condensation in coherent states. We show that these superconducting states can be obtained from phase separation instabilities near the quantum critical points. We examine electron coherent and incoherent pairing instabilities using our results on exact diagonalization in pyramidal and octahedron Hubbard-like clusters under variation of chemical potential (or doping), interaction strength, temperature and magnetic field. We also evaluate the behavior of the energy gap in the vicinity of its sign change as a function of out-of-plane position of the apical oxygen atom, due to vibration of apical atom and variation of inter-site coupling. These results provide a simple microscopic explanation of (correlation induced) supermodulation of the coherent pairing gap observed recently in the scanning tunneling microscopy experiments at atomic scale in $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+delta}$. The existence of possible modulation of local charge density distribution in these materials is also discussed.
Electron Spin Resonance and optical reflectivity measurements demonstrate a metal-insulator transition in Na_2CsC_60 as the system passes from the low temperature simple cubic to the high temperature {it fcc} structure above 300 K. The non-conducting electronic state is especially unexpected in view of the metallic character of other, apparently isostructural fullerides, like K_3C_60. The occurence of this phase in Na_2CsC_60 suggests that alkali specific effects can not be neglected in the description of the electronic properties of alkali doped fullerides. We discuss the origin of the insulating state and the relevance of our results for the anomaly observed in the magnitude of the superconducting transition temperature of Na_2AC_60 fullerides.
Using neutron reflectometry and resonant x-ray techniques we studied the magnetic proximity effect (MPE) in superlattices composed of superconducting YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (YBCO) and ferromagnetic-metallic (FM-M) La$_{0.67}$Ca$_{0.33}$MnO$_{3}$ (LCMO) or ferromagnetic-insulating (FM-I) LaMnO$_{3+delta}$ (LMO). We find that the MPE strongly depends on the electronic state of the manganite layers, being pronounced for the FM-M LCMO and almost absent for FM-I LMO. We also detail the change of the magnetic depth profile due to the MPE and provide evidence for its intrinsic nature.
We report a persistent low-energy phonon broadening around $q_{B} sim 0.28$ r.l.u. along the Cu-O bond direction in the high-$T_c$ cuprate Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+delta}$ (Bi-2212). We show that such broadening exists both inside and outside the conventional charge density wave (CDW) phase, via temperature dependent measurements in both underdoped and heavily overdoped samples. Combining inelastic hard x-ray scattering, diffuse scattering, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and resonant soft x-ray scattering at the Cu $L_3$-edge, we exclude the presence of a CDW in the heavily overdoped Bi-2212 similar to that observed in the underdoped systems. Finally, we discuss the origin of such anisotropic low-energy phonon broadening, and its potential precursory role to the CDW phase in the underdoped region.