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Two energy scales and two distinct quasiparticle dynamics in the superconducting state of underdoped cuprates

Nature Physics volume 2, pages 537–543 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The superconducting temperature Tc of hole-doped high-temperature superconductors has a dome-like shape as a function of hole concentration, with a maximum Tc at ‘optimal’ doping. On the underdoped side, the superconducting state is often described in terms of one energy scale, associated with the maximum of the d-wave gap (at the antinodes), which increases as the doping decreases. Here, we report electronic Raman scattering experiments that show a second energy scale in the gap function: the slope of the gap at the nodes, which decreases with decreasing doping. Our measurements also reveal two distinct quasiparticle dynamics; electronic coherence persists down to low doping levels at the nodes, whereas antinodal quasiparticles become incoherent. Using a sum-rule, we find that the low-frequency Raman response and the temperature dependence of the superfluid density, both controlled by nodal excitations, behave in a qualitatively similar manner with doping variation.

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Figure 1: Raman responses in the nodal (B2g) and antinodal (B1g) regions as a function of doping.
Figure 2: Universal doping dependence of the ratios ωAN/Tcmax and ωN/Tcmax of the antinodal (B1g) and nodal (B2g) superconducting peaks (obtained from Hg-1201 (this work), Bi-2212 in refs 3 4, Y-123 in refs 4 5 and LSCO in ref. 4).
Figure 3: Normalized Raman response functions with respect to the sum rule.
Figure 4: Doping dependence of the low-energy slope α of the nodal (B2g) Raman response (α=(NF/vΔ)(ZΛ)N2), normalized to the optimal doping one (p=0.16).
Figure 5: Phenomenological description of the Raman response of underdoped cuprates.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to S. Biermann, N. Bontemps, S.V. Borisenko, P. Bourges, M. Cazayous, R. Combescot, L. ’de Medici, T.P. Devereaux, K. McElroy, P. Monod, M. Norman, Z.-X. Shen, and L. Taillefer for useful discussions. This research was supported by CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique and the ‘Chaire Blaise Pascal de la Fondation de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure et de la région Ile de France’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques (UMR 7162 CNRS), Université Paris 7, 2 place Jussieu, 75251, Paris, France

    M. Le Tacon & A. Sacuto

  2. Laboratoire de Physique du Solide, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231, Paris, France

    M. Le Tacon & A. Sacuto

  3. Centre de Physique Théorique, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau Cedex, France

    A. Georges & G. Kotliar

  4. Service de Physique Théorique, CEA-Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    G. Kotliar

  5. Serin Physics Laboratory, Rutgers University, USA

    G. Kotliar

  6. Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Columbia University New York, New York, 10027, USA

    Y. Gallais

  7. Service de Physique de l’Etat Condensé (CNRS URA 2464), DSM/DRECAM/SPEC, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

    D. Colson & A. Forget

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Le Tacon, M., Sacuto, A., Georges, A. et al. Two energy scales and two distinct quasiparticle dynamics in the superconducting state of underdoped cuprates. Nature Phys 2, 537–543 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys362

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