No Arabic abstract
Pair density waves, identified by Cooper pairs with finite center-of-mass momentum, have recently been observed in copper oxide based high T$_textrm{c}$ superconductors (cuprates). A charge density modulation or wave is also ubiquitously found in underdoped cuprates. Within a general mean-field one-band model we show that the coexistence of charge density waves and uniform superconductivity in $d$-wave superconductors like cuprates, generates an odd-frequency spin-singlet pair density wave, in addition to the even-frequency counterparts. The strength of the induced odd-frequency pair density wave depends on the modulation wave vector of the charge density wave, with the odd-frequency pair density waves even becoming comparable to the even-frequency ones in parts of the Brillouin zone. We show that a change in the modulation wave vector of the charge density wave from bi-axial to uni-axial, can enhance the odd-frequency component of the pair density waves. Such a coexistence of superconductivity and uni-axial charge density wave has already been experimentally verified at high magnetic fields in underdoped cuprates. We further discuss the possibility of an odd-frequency spin-triplet pair density wave generated in the coexistence regime of superconductivity and spin density waves, applicable to the iron-based superconductors. Our work thus presents a route to bulk odd-frequency superconductivity in high T$_c$ superconductors.
We investigate in underdoped cuprates possible coexistence of the superconducting (SC) order at zero momentum and pair density wave (PDW) at momentum ${bf Q}=(pi, pi)$ in the presence of a Neel order. By symmetry, the $d$-wave uniform singlet pairing $dS_0$ can coexist with the $d$-wave triplet PDW $dT_{bf Q}$, and the $p$-wave singlet PDW $pS_{bf Q}$ can coexist with the $p$-wave uniform triplet $pT_0$. At half filling, we find the novel $pS_{bf Q}+pT_0$ state is energetically more favorable than the $dS_0+dT_{bf Q}$ state. At finite doping, however, the $dS_0+dT_{bf Q}$ state is more favorable. In both types of states, the variational triplet parameters, $dT_{bf Q}$ and $pT_0$, are of secondary significance. Our results point to a fully symmetric $mathrm{Z_2}$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface in proximity to the Neel order at zero doping, and to intertwined $d$-wave triplet PDW fluctuations and spin moment fluctuations along with the dominant $d$-wave singlet SC at finite doping. The results are obtained by variational quantum Monte Carlo simulations.
Superconductivity often emerges in proximity of other symmetry-breaking ground states, such as antiferromagnetism or charge-density-wave (CDW) order. However, the subtle inter-relation of these phases remains poorly understood, and in some cases even the existence of short-range correlations for superconducting compositions is uncertain. In such circumstances, ultrafast experiments can provide new insights, by tracking the relaxation kinetics following excitation at frequencies related to the broken symmetry state. Here, we investigate the transient terahertz conductivity of BaPb1-xBixO3 - a material for which superconductivity is adjacent to a competing CDW phase - after optical excitation tuned to the CDW absorption band. In insulating BaBiO3 we observed an increase in conductivity and a subsequent relaxation, which are consistent with quasiparticles injection across a rigid semiconducting gap. In the doped compound BaPb0.72Bi0.28O3 (superconducting below Tc=7K), a similar response was also found immediately above Tc. This observation evidences the presence of a robust gap up to T=40 K, which is presumably associated with short-range CDW correlations. A qualitatively different behaviour was observed in the same material fo T>40 K. Here, the photo-conductivity was dominated by an enhancement in carrier mobility at constant density, suggestive of melting of the CDW correlations rather than excitation across an optical gap. The relaxation displayed a temperature dependent, Arrhenius-like kinetics, suggestive of the crossing of a free-energy barrier between two phases. These results support the existence of short-range CDW correlations above Tc in underdoped BaPb1-xBixO3, and provide new information on the dynamical interplay between superconductivity and charge order.
The pseudogap phase of high-$T_c$ cuprates is controversially attributed to preformed pairs or to a phase which coexists and competes with superconductivity. One of the challenges is to develop theoretical and experimental studies in order to distinguish between both proposals. Very recently, researchers at Stanford have reported [M. Hashimoto {it et al.}, Nat. Phys. {bf 6}, 414 (2010); R.-H. He {it et al.}, Science {bf 331}, 1579 (2011)] angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments on Pb-Bi2201 supporting the point of view that the pseudogap is distinct from superconductivity and associated to a spacial symmetry breaking without long-range order. In this paper we show that many features reported by these experiments can be described in the framework of the t-J model considering self-energy effects in the proximity to a d charge-density-wave instability.
Low temperature heat transport was used to investigate the ground state of high-purity single crystals of the lightly-doped cuprate YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6.33}$. Samples were measured on either side of the superconducting phase boundary, in both zero and applied magnetic field. We report the observation of delocalized fermionic excitations at zero energy in the non-superconducting state, which shows that the ground state of underdoped cuprates is metallic. Its low-energy spectrum appears to be similar to that of the d-wave superconductor, i.e. nodal. The insulating ground state observed in underdoped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$ is attributed to the competing spin-density-wave order present in that system.
The resonating valence bond spin liquid model for the underdoped cuprates has as an essential element, the emergence of a pseudogap. This new energy scale introduces asymmetry in the quasiparticle density of states because it is associated with the antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone. By contrast, superconductivity develops on the Fermi surface and this largely restores the particle-hole symmetry for energies below the superconducting energy gap scale. In the highly underdoped regime, these two scales can be separately identified in the density of states and also partial density of states for each fixed angle in the Brillouin zone. From the total density of states, we find that the pseudogap energy scale manifests itself differently as a function of doping for positive and negative bias. Furthermore, we find evidence from recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy data for asymmetry in the positive and negative bias of the extracted $Delta(theta)$ which is in qualitative agreement with this model. Likewise, the slope of the linear low energy density of states is nearly constant in the underdoped regime while it increases significantly with overdoping in agreement with the data.