Quasi-particle interference (QPI) measurements have provided a powerful tool for determining the momentum dependence of the gap of unconventional superconductors. Here we examine the possibility of using such measurements to probe the frequency and m
omentum dependence of the electron self-energy. For illustration, we calculate the QPI response function for a cuprate-like Fermi surface with an electron self-energy from an RPA approximation. Then we try to reextract the self-energy from the dispersion of the peaks in the QPI response function using different approaches. We show that in principle it is possible to extract the self-energy from the QPI response for certain nested momentum directions. We discuss some of the limitations that one faces.
Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies of the overdoped cuprate superconductor La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ find only small changes in the near nodal electron self energy over a spectral range of several hundred meV as the doping increa
ses from x=0.2 to x=0.3 and the superconducting transition temperature T_c decreases from 32K to 0K. These measurements put constraints on the structure of the electron-electron interaction. Here we show that a spin-fluctuation interaction leads to behavior which is consistent with these experimental results.
