Abstract
THE temperature dependence of the nuclear spin relaxation rate l/T1 peaks sharply (the 'Hebel-Slichter' or 'coherence' peak) just below the transition temperature Tc of a superconductor1. Because the observation2 of this peak definitively confirmed BCS theory3, its absence4–6 in the high-Tc oxide superconductors is the best evidence against a BCS picture. Here we show that, to the contrary, an extended form of BCS theory gives a natural explanation. Using the extension by Migdal7 and Eliashberg8 to retarded interactions (for phonon coupling, the attraction between electrons propagates at the speed of sound, slower than the Fermi velocity of electrons), we predict unexpectedly strong damping effects in all dynamical properties when the temperature T is close to Tc. The origin of the damping (which suppresses the coherence peak) is numerous electron–phonon decay channels open to excitations because of the high Tc itself. This process still works even if another source of attraction beyond electron–phonon coupling causes the highTc. Thus our observations remove a barrier inhibiting conventional descriptions of high-Tc materials, but by no means force such an interpretation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
MacLaughlin, D. E. Solid St. Phys. 31, 1–69 (1977).
Hebel, L. C. & Slichter, C. S. Phys. Rev. 113, 1504–1519 (1959).
Bardeen, J., Cooper, L. N. & Schrieffer, J. R. Phys. Rev. 108, 1175–1204 (1957).
Pennington, C. H. & Slichter, C. P. in Physical Properties of High Temperature Superconductors Vol. II (ed. Ginsberg, D. M.) Ch. 5 (World Scientific, Singapore, 1990).
Hammel, P. C. Takigawa, M., Heffner, R. H., Fisk, Z. & Ott, K. C. Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 1992–1995 (1989).
Kitaoka, Y. et al. in Strong Correlation and Superconductivity (eds Fukuyama, H., Maekawa, S. & Malozemoff, A. P.) 262–273 (Springer, Berlin, 1989).
Migdal, A. B. Zh. eksp. teor. Fiz. 34, 1438–1446 (1958); Soviet Phys. JETP (Engl. trans.) 7, 996–1001 (1958).
Eliashberg, G. M. Zh. eksp. teor. Fiz. 38, 966–976 (1960); Soviet Phys. JETP (Engl. trans.) 11, 696–702 (1960).
Scalapino, D. J. in Superconductivity Vol. 1 (ed. Parks, R. D. ) Ch. 10 (Dekker, New York, 1969).
McMillan, W. L. & Rowell, J. M. in Superconductivity Vol. 1 (ed. Parks, R. D. ) Ch. 11 (Dekker, New York, 1969).
Carbotte, J. P. Rev. Mod. Phys. (in the press).
Dynes, R. C. Phys. Rev. B2, 644–656 (1970).
Dynes, R. C. & Rowell, J. M. Phys. Rev. B11, 1884–1894 (1975).
Vashishta, P. & Carbotte, J. P. Phys. Rev. B7, 1874–1880 (1973).
Dynes, R. C., Narayanamurti, V. & Garno, J. P. Phys. Rev. Lett. 41, 1509–1512 (1978).
Fibich, M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 14, 561–564, 621 (erratum) (1965).
Williamson, J. D. & MacLaughlin, D. E. Phys. Rev. B8, 125–132 (1973).
Dolgov, O. V., Golubov, A. A. & Koshelev, A. E. Solid St. Commun. 72, 81–83 (1989).
Coffey, L. Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 1071 (1990).
Kuroda, Y. & Varma, C. M. Phys. Rev. 42, 8619–8622 (1990).
Akis, R. & Carbotte, J. P. Solid St. Commun. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allen, P., Rainer, D. Phonon suppression of coherence peak in nuclear spin relaxation rate of superconductors. Nature 349, 396–398 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349396a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/349396a0
This article is cited by
-
Electrical conductivity and nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation rate of Eliashberg superconductors in the weak-coupling limit
Communications Physics (2023)
-
Exchange effects on electron-electron coupling in high-temperature superconductors
Journal of Superconductivity (1997)
-
Inelastic scattering and superconducting gap in high-T c oxides
Czechoslovak Journal of Physics (1996)
-
Localization effects on magnetic excitations, Coulomb repulsion, and critical temperature in a quasi-3D superconductor
Journal of Superconductivity (1996)
-
Solutions of Eliashberg equations for an electron-phonon coupling with a cutoff
Zeitschrift f�r Physik B Condensed Matter (1994)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.