We report systematic 17O-NMR measurements on the high-Tc cuprate (Ca_xLa_{1-x})(Ba_{1.75 - x}La_{0.25 + x})Cu_3O_y, for four different families (different x). Using Knight shift data, we show that the pseudogap lines for all families are inconsistent
with a quantum critical point inside the superconducting dome. In addition, at constant doping the pseudogap temperature does not vary with x, in contrast to Tc. We therefore argue that pseudogap and superconductivity are separate phenomena in these cuprates. Using Knight shift data, we show that the pseudogap opening temperature T* is much higher than Tc near optimal doping, unlike structurally similar YBCO. In addition, at constant doping the pseudogap temperature does not vary with x, in contrast to Tc. This puts constraints on the nature of the pseudogap and position of the quantum critical point inside the superconducting dome.
Microwave absorption measurements in magnetic fields from zero up to 16 T were used to determine the temperature range of superconducting fluctuations above the superconducting critical temperature T_c in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-delta}. Measurements were perfo
rmed on deeply underdoped, slightly underdoped, and overdoped single crystals. The temperature range of the superconducting fluctuations above T_c is determined by an experimental method which is free from arbitrary assumptions about subtracting the nonsuperconducting contributions to the total measured signal, and/or theoretical models to extract the unknown parameters. The superconducting fluctuations are detected in the ab-plane, and c-axis conductivity, by identifying the onset temperature T. Within the sensitivity of the method, this fluctuation regime is found only within a fairly narrow region above T_c. Its width increases from 7 K in the overdoped sample (T_c = 89 K), to at most 23 K in the deeply underdoped sample (T_c = 57 K), so that T falls well below the pseudogap temperature T*. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of other experimental probes of superconducting fluctuations in the cuprates.
Ru{1-x}Sn{x}Sr2EuCu2O8 and Ru{1-x}Sn{x}Sr2GdCu2O8 have been comprehensively studied by microwave and dc resistivity and magnetoresistivity and by the dc Hall measurements. The magnetic ordering temperature T_m is considerably reduced with increasing
Sn content. However, doping with Sn leads to only slight reduction of the superconducting critical temperature T_c accompanied with the increase of the upper critical field B_c2, indicating an increased disorder in the system and a reduced scattering length of the conducting holes in CuO2 layers. In spite of the increased scattering rate, the normal state resistivity and the Hall resistivity are reduced with respect to the pure compound, due to the increased number of itinerant holes in CuO2 layers, which represent the main conductivity channel. Most of the electrons in RuO2 layers are presumably localized, but the observed negative magnetoresistance and the extraordinary Hall effect lead to the conclusion that there exists a small number of itinerant electrons in RuO$_2$ layers that exhibit colossal magnetoresistance.
