Diffusion of nonequilibrium quasi-particles in a cuprate superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gedik, N.; Orenstein, J.; Liang, Ruixing; Bonn, D.A.; Hardy, W.N.

2003-01-01

We report a transport study of nonequilibrium quasi-particles in a high-transition-temperature cuprate superconductor using the transient grating technique. Low-intensity laser excitation (at a photon energy of 1.5 electron volts) was used to introduce a spatially periodic density of quasi-particles into a high-quality untwinned single crystal of YBa2Cu3O6.5. Probing the evolution of the initial density through space and time yielded the quasi-particle diffusion coefficient and the inelastic and elastic scattering rates. The technique reported here is potentially applicable to precision measurements of quasi-particle dynamics not only in cuprate superconductors but in other electronic systems as well

Two-particle self-consistent analysis for the electron-hole asymmetry of superconductivity in cuprate superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogura, Daisuke; Kuroki, Kazuhiko [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka (Japan)

2017-06-15

In the hole-doped type cuprate superconductors, it is well-known that the superconducting transition temperature T{sub c} exhibits a dome-like structure against doping. On the other hand, recent experiments unveil that T{sub c} in the electron-doped compounds shows a monotonic increase with decreasing the doping, at least down to a very small doping rate. Our recent study for the three-band d-p model has unveiled that this asymmetric behavior can be explained as a combined effect of the intrinsic electron-hole asymmetry in systems comprising Cu3 d and O2 p orbitals and the band-filling-dependent vertex correction. In the present study, we study another compound Tl{sub 2} Ba{sub 2} CuO{sub 6} to show that this explanation can be applied to other cuprate superconductors with the small d{sub z{sup 2}} orbital mixture. By varying the d-p offset, we also study how the strength of the d-p hybridization controls the spin fluctuation and hence the pairing interaction. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Oxygen diffusion in cuprate superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Routbort, J.L.; Rothman, S.J.

1995-01-01

Superconducting properties of the cuprate superconductors depend on the oxygen content of the material; the diffusion of oxygen is thus an important process in the fabrication and application of these materials. This article reviews studies of the diffusion of oxygen in La{sub 2}{sub {minus}}{sub {times}}Sr{sub {times}}CuO{sub 4}, YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}{sub {minus}}{delta}, YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8}, and the Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub n}{sub {minus}}{sub 1}Cu{sub n}O{sub 2}{sub +}{sub 4} (n = 1, and 2) superconductors, and attempt to elucidate the atomic mechanisms responsible.

Tl Cuprate Superconductors Studied by XPS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasquez, R. P. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 (United States); Siegal, M. P. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1421 (United States); Overmyer, D. L. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1421 (United States); Ren, Z. F. [Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000 (United States); Lao, J. Y. [Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000 (United States); Wang, J. H. [Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-3000 (United States)

1999-07-01

XPS measurements on epitaxial thin films of the Tl cuprate superconductors Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8, Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10, and Tl0.78Bi0.22Ba0.4Sr1.6Ca2Cu3O9-{delta} are presented. These data, together with previous measurements in this lab on Tl2Ba2CuO6-{delta} and TlBa2CaCu2O7-{delta}, comprise a comprehensive data set for comparison of Tl cuprates in which the number of Tl-O and Cu-O layers, and hence the chemical and electronic properties, vary. (c) 2000 American Vacuum Society.

Tl Cuprate Superconductors Studied by XPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasquez, R. P.; Siegal, M. P.; Overmyer, D. L.; Ren, Z. F.; Lao, J. Y.; Wang, J. H.

1999-01-01

XPS measurements on epitaxial thin films of the Tl cuprate superconductors Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8, Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10, and Tl0.78Bi0.22Ba0.4Sr1.6Ca2Cu3O9-δ are presented. These data, together with previous measurements in this lab on Tl2Ba2CuO6-δ and TlBa2CaCu2O7-δ, comprise a comprehensive data set for comparison of Tl cuprates in which the number of Tl-O and Cu-O layers, and hence the chemical and electronic properties, vary. (c) 2000 American Vacuum Society

Renormalized modes in cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Anushri; Kumari, Anita; Verma, Sanjeev K.; Indu, B. D.

2018-04-01

The renormalized mode frequencies are obtained with the help of quantum dynamical approach of many body phonon Green's function technique via a general Hamiltonian (excluding BCS Hamiltonian) including the effects of phonons and electrons, anharmonicities and electron-phonon interactions. The numerical estimates have been carried out to study the renormalized mode frequency of high temperature cuprate superconductor (HTS) YBa2Cu3O7-δ using modified Born-Mayer-Huggins interaction potential (MBMHP) best applicable to study the dynamical properties of all HTS.

Boundary conditions in Ginsburg Landau theory and critical temperature of high-T superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Lykov, A. N.

2008-06-01

New mixed boundary conditions to the Ginsburg-Landau equations are found to limit the critical temperature ( T) of high- T superconductors. Moreover, the value of the pseudogap in these superconductors can be explained by using the method. As a result, the macroscopic approach is proposed to increase T of cuprate superconductors.

Simulation of ion-beam induced defects in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dineva, M.; Marksteiner, M.; Lang, W.

2005-01-01

Full text: Heavy-ion irradiation of cuprate superconductors is well known to produce columnar defect tracks along which magnetic vortices can be pinned. Hence, this effect has a large potential for practical applications and can enhance the critical current of the high-temperature superconducting materials. On the other hand, little work has been devoted to light-ion irradiation of the new superconductors. Our previous experimental results have indicated a systematic change of electric transport properties when irradiating YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (YBCO) with 75 KEXV He + ions. The purpose of the present study is the investigation of the ion-target interactions with computer simulation programs based on the binary collision approximation. The program package SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) is widely used to simulate the impact of energetic ions (10 eV to 2 GeV) on a solid target using a quantum mechanical treatment of ion-atom collisions under the assumption of an unstructured target material. A similar program, MARLOWE, includes the exact crystalline structure of the target and, thus, is able to calculate ion channeling effects and angle dependences. Detailed results of the penetration range of ions into YBCO, scattering cascades, creation of vacancies and interstitials, are reported for various kinds of ions. One of the central results is that light ions with energy of about 80 KEXV can penetrate through thin films of the cuprate superconductors and create point defects, mainly by oxygen displacement. (author)

Stabilization of high T(sub c) phase in bismuth cuprate superconductor by lead doping

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Gupta, Ram. P.; Pachauri, J. P.; Khokle, W. S.; Nagpal, K. C.; Date, S. K.

1990-01-01

It has widely been ascertained that doping of lead in Bi:Sr:Ca:Cu:O systems promotes the growth of high T(sub c) (110 K) phase, improves critical current density, and lowers processing temperature. A systematic investigation is undertaken to determine optimum lead content and processing conditions to achieve these. A large number of samples with cationic compositions of Bi(2-x)Pb(x)Sr2Ca2Cu3 (x = 0.2 to 2.0) were prepared by conventional solid state reaction technique. Samples of all compositions were annealed together at a temperature and characterized through resistance-temperature (R-T) measurements and x ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the zero resistance temperature, T(sub c)(0) and to identify presence of phases, respectively. The annealing temperature was varied between 790 C to optimize processing parameters. Results are given. In brief, an optimum process is reported along with composition of leaded bismuth cuprate superconductor which yields nearly a high T(sub c) single phase with highly stable superconducting properties.

Enhancing critical current density of cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhari, Praveen

2015-06-16

The present invention concerns the enhancement of critical current densities in cuprate superconductors. Such enhancement of critical current densities include using wave function symmetry and restricting movement of Abrikosov (A) vortices, Josephson (J) vortices, or Abrikosov-Josephson (A-J) vortices by using the half integer vortices associated with d-wave symmetry present in the grain boundary.

Competing pseudogap and impurity effects on the normal-state specific heat properties of cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Dzhumanov, S.; Karimboev, E. X.

2014-07-01

In this paper, we show that the pseudogap in the excitation spectra of high-Tc cuprates together with the impurity phase and charge inhomogeneity plays key roles in determining the essential features of their anomalous specific heat properties observed above Tc. We consider the doped cuprate superconductor as a multi-carrier model system (which consists of intrinsic and extrinsic polarons and pre-formed bosonic Cooper pairs) and study the competing pseudogap and impurity effects on the normal-state electronic specific heat of high-Tc cuprates taking into account charge inhomogeneities. We argue that unconventional electron-phonon interactions are responsible for the precursor Cooper pairing in the polaronic band below a mean-field temperature T∗ and the existence of a pseudogap above Tc in the cuprates. The electronic specific heat Ce(T) of doped cuprates below T∗ is calculated taking into account three contributions coming from the excited components of Cooper pairs, the ideal Bose-gas of incoherent Cooper pairs and the unpaired carriers in the impurity band. Above T∗, two contributions to Ce(T) coming from the unpaired intrinsic and extrinsic polarons are calculated within the two-component degenerate Fermi-gas model. By comparing our results with the experimental Ce(T) data obtained for La- and Y-based cuprates, we find that the observed behaviors of Ce(T) (below and above T∗) are similar to the calculated results for Ce(T) and the BCS-type jumps of Ce(T) at T∗ may be depressed by the impurity effects and may become more or less pronounced BCS-type anomalies in Ce(T) .

Aspects of electron correlations in the cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenig, W.

1995-01-01

We review concepts and effects of electron correlations in the copper-oxide superconductors. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we provide an overview of results of various electron spectroscopies, Raman scattering and optical conductivity studies with a particular emphasis on experiments which identify the charge and spin correlations relevant to the cuprates. Second, we focus on microscopic theories of the single-particle excitations, and the charge and spin dynamics in the normal state of cuprates considering those models which incorporate strong electron correlations. The single-particle spectrum of the three-band Hubbard model is reviewed and related to results of electron spectroscopy. The carrier dynamics in the t-J model and the one-band Hubbard model at low doping is discussed in detail. We examine approaches which describe the single-particle excitations of correlated electron systems at finite doping. Theories of the static and dynamic magnetic correlations are considered and we speculate on the consequences of the spin dynamics for Raman scattering and the optical conductivity. Finally, selected phenomenological ideas are reviewed. ((orig.))

Temperature and carrier density dependence of anisotropy in supercurrent density in layered cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, M.P.; Tewari, B.S.; Ajay

2006-01-01

In the present work, we have studied the effect of temperature and carrier density on anisotropy in supercurrent density in bilayer cuprate superconductors. Here, we have considered a tight binding bilayered Hubbard Hamiltonian containing intra and interlayer attractive interactions. The situation considered here is similar to a SIS junction. We have got the expressions for the superconducting order parameters, carrier density and anisotropy in superconducting density (I ab /I c ) for such SIS junction. The numerical analysis show that the anisotropy in the supercurrent density depends on temperature and carrier density in layered high T c cuprates. (author)

Prediction of inorganic superconductors with quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkova, L M; Marinin, D V

2013-01-01

Models of superconductors having a quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure based on the convoluted into a tube Ginzburg sandwich, which comprises a layered dielectric–metal–dielectric structure, have been suggested. The critical crystal chemistry parameters of the Ginzburg sandwich determining the possibility of the emergence of superconductivity and the T c value in layered high-T c cuprates, which could have the same functions in quasi-one-dimensional fragments (sandwich-type tubes), have been examined. The crystal structures of known low-temperature superconductors, in which one can mark out similar quasi-one-dimensional fragments, have been analyzed. Five compounds with quasi-one-dimensional structures, which can be considered as potential parents of new superconductor families, possibly with high transition temperatures, have been suggested. The methods of doping and modification of these compounds are provided. (paper)

Pseudogap-generated a coexistence of Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Huaisong; Gao, Deheng; Feng, Shiping

2017-03-01

One of the most intriguing puzzle is why there is a coexistence of Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in the pseudogap phase of cuprate superconductors? This puzzle is calling for an explanation. Based on the t - J model in the fermion-spin representation, the coexistence of the Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in cuprate superconductors is studied by taking into account the pseudogap effect. It is shown that the pseudogap induces an energy band splitting, and then the poles of the electron Green's function at zero energy form two contours in momentum space, however, the electron spectral weight on these two contours around the antinodal region is gapped out by the pseudogap, leaving behind the low-energy electron spectral weight only located at the disconnected segments around the nodal region. In particular, the tips of these disconnected segments converge on the hot spots to form the closed Fermi pockets, generating a coexistence of the Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets. Moreover, the single-particle coherent weight is directly related to the pseudogap, and grows linearly with doping. The calculated result of the overall dispersion of the electron excitations is in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. The theory also predicts that the pseudogap-induced peak-dip-hump structure in the electron spectrum is absent from the hot-spot directions.

Electronic bound states in parity-preserving QED{sub 3} applied to high-T{sub c} cuprate superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christiansen, H.R. [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao de Teoria de Campos e Particulas]. E-mail: hugo@cbpf.br; Cima, O.M. Del [Universidade Catolica de Petropolis, RJ (Brazil). Grupo de Fisica Teorica]. E-mail: delcima@gft.ucp.br; Ferreira Junior, M.M. [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao de Teoria de Campos e Particulas]|[Maranhao Univ., Sao Luis, MA (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica]. E-mail: manojr@cbpf.br; Helayel-Neto, J.A. [Universidade Catolica de Petropolis, RJ (Brazil). Grupo de Fisica Teorica]|[Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao de Teoria de Campos e Particulas]. E-mail: helayel@gft.ucp.br

2001-08-01

We consider a parity-preserving QED{sub 3} model with spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry as a framework for the evaluation of the electron-electron interaction potential underlying high-T{sub e} superconductivity. The fact that resulting potential, - C{sub s} K{sub o} (Mr), is non-confining and weak (in the sense of Kato) strongly suggests the mechanism of pair-condensation. This potential, compatible with an s-wave order parameters, is then applied to the Schrodinger equation for the sake of numerical calculations, thereby enforcing the existence of bound states. The results worked out by means of our theoretical framework are checked by considering a number of phenomenological data extracted from different copper oxide superconductors. The agreement may motivate a deeper analysis of our model viewing an application to quasi-planar cuprate superconductors. The data analyzed here suggest an energy scale of 1-10 meV for the breaking of the U(1)-symmetry. (author)

Half-integer flux quantum effect in cuprate superconductors - a probe of pairing symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuei, C.C.; Kirtley, J.R.; Gupta, A.; Sun, J.Z.; Moler, K.A.; Wang, J.H.

1996-01-01

Based on macroscopic quantum coherence effects arising from pair tunneling and flux quantization, a series of tricrystal experiments have been designed and carried out to test the order parameter symmetry in high-T c cuprate superconductors. By using a scanning SQUID microscope, we have directly and non-invasively observed the spontaneously generated half-integer flux quantum effect in controlled-orientation tricrystal cuprate superconducting systems. The presence or absence of the half-integer flux quantum effect as a function of the tricrystal geometry allows us to prove that the order parameter symmetry in the YBCO and Tl2201 systems is consistent with that of the d x 2 -y 2 pair state. (orig.)

Doping dependence of charge order in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Mou, Yingping; Feng, Shiping

2017-12-01

In the recent studies of the unconventional physics in cuprate superconductors, one of the central issues is the interplay between charge order and superconductivity. Here the mechanism of the charge-order formation in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is investigated based on the t-J model. The experimentally observed momentum dependence of the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is qualitatively reproduced, where the scattering rate is highly anisotropic in momentum space, and is intriguingly related to the charge-order gap. Although the scattering strength appears to be weakest at the hot spots, the scattering in the antinodal region is stronger than that in the nodal region, which leads to the original electron Fermi surface is broken up into the Fermi pockets and their coexistence with the Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, this electron Fermi surface instability drives the charge-order correlation, with the charge-order wave vector that matches well with the wave vector connecting the hot spots, as the charge-order correlation in the hole-doped counterparts. However, in a striking contrast to the hole-doped case, the charge-order wave vector in the electron-doped side increases in magnitude with the electron doping. The theory also shows the existence of a quantitative link between the single-electron fermiology and the collective response of the electron density.

Structure, stoichiometry and spectroscopy of oxide superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, C. N. R.

In the new oxide superconductors, structure and oxygen stoichiometry play the most crucial role. Thus, all the high-temperature oxide superconductors are orthorhombic perovskites with low-dimensional features. Oxygen stoichiometry in YBa2Cu3O7-δ has an important bearing on the structure as well as superconductivity. This is equally true in the La3-xBa3+xCu 6O14+δ system of which only the 123 oxide (x = 1) with the orthorhombic structure shows high Tc. Orthorhombicity though not essential, is generally found ; it is necessary for the formation of twins. The nature of oxygen and copper in the cuprates has been examined by electron spectroscopy. Copper in these cuprates is only in 1 + and 2 + states. It seems likely that oxygen holes are responsible for superconductivity of the cuprates as well as Ba(Bi, Pb)O3. High Tc superconductivity is also found in oxides of the Bi-(Ca, Sr)-Cu-O and related oxides possessing Cu-O sheets. Dans les nouveaux oxydes supraconducteurs, la structure et la stoechiométrie de l'oxygène jouent un rôle absolument crucial. Ainsi, tous les oxydes supraconducteurs à haute température critique sont des pérovskites orthorhombiques possédant des propriétés de basse dimensionnalité. La stoechiométrie de l'oxygène dans YBa2Cu3O7- δ a une influence importante tant sur la structure que sur la supraconductibilité. Ceci est également valable pour les composés du type La3 -xBa3 + xCu 6O14 + δ parmi lesquels seul l'oxyde 123 (x = 1) à structure orthorhombique présente un grand T. Bien que ce ne soit pas essentiel, cette orthorhombicité est fréquente ; elle est nécessaire à la formation de macles. La nature de l'oxygène et du cuivre a été observée par spectroscopie électronique... Dans ces cuprates, le cuivre est dans les seuls états de valence + 1 et + 2. Vraisemblablement, les trous logés sur l'oxygène sont responsables de la supraconductibilité des cuprates comme de Ba(Bi, Pb)O3. La supraconductibilité existe aussi

Positron Annihilation Studies of the Electronic Structure of Selected High-Temperature Cuprate and Organic Superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Lie Ping

The understanding of the electronic structure of the high-T_{c} superconductors could be important for a full theoretical description of the mechanism behind superconductivity in these materials. In this thesis, we present our measurements of the positron -electron momentum distributions of the cuprate superconductors Bi_2Sr_2CaCu _2O_8, Tl _2Ba_2Ca _2Cu_3O_ {10}, and the organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT)_2Cu(NCS) _2. We use the positron Two-dimensional Angular Correlation of Annihilation Radiation technique to make the measurements on single crystals and compare our high-statistics data with band structure calculations to determine the existence and nature of the respective Fermi surfaces. The spectra from unannealed Bi _2Sr_2CaCu _2O_8 exhibit effects of the superlattice modulation in the BiO_2 layers, and a theoretical understanding of the modulation effects on the electronic band structure is required to interpret these spectra. Since the present theory does not consider the modulation, we have developed a technique to remove the modulation effects from our spectra, and the resultant data when compared with the positron -electron momentum distribution calculation, yield features consistent with the predicted CuO_2 and BiO_2 Fermi surfaces. In the data from unannealed Tl_2Ba _2Ca_2Cu_3 O_{10}, we only observe indications of the TlO Fermi surfaces, and attribute the absence of the predicted CuO_2 Fermi surfaces to the poor sample quality. In the absence of positron-electron momentum calculations for kappa-(BEDT)_2Cu(NCS) _2, we compare our data to electronic band structure calculations, and observed features suggestive of the predicted Fermi surface contributions from the BEDT cation layers. A complete positron-electron calculation for kappa-(BEDT)_2 Cu(NCS)_2 is required to understand the positron wavefunction effects in this material.

Theory of antiferromagnetic pairing in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plakida, N.M.

2006-01-01

A review of the antiferromagnetic exchange and spin-fluctuation pairing theory in the cuprate superconductors is given. We briefly discuss a phenomenological approach and a theory in the limit of weak Coulomb correlations. A microscopic theory in the strong correlation limit is presented in more detail. In particular, results of our recently developed theory for the effective p-d Hubbard model and the reduced t-J model are given. We have proved that retardation effects for the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction are unimportant that results in pairing of all charge carriers in the conduction band and high Tc proportional to the Fermi energy. The spin-fluctuation interaction caused by kinematic interaction gives an additional contribution to the d-wave pairing. Dependence of Tc on the hole concentration and the lattice constant (or pressure) and an oxygen isotope shift are discussed

Excess Oxygen Defects in Layered Cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Lightfoot, P.; Pei, S. Y.; Jorgensen, J. D.; Manthiram, A.; Tang, X. X.; Goodenough, J. B.

1990-09-01

Neutron powder diffraction has been used to study the oxygen defect chemistry of two non-superconducting layered cuprates, La{sub 1. 25}Dy{sub 0.75}Cu{sub 3.75}F{sub 0.5}, having a T{sup {asterisk}}- related structure, and La{sub 1.85}Sr{sub 1.15}Cu{sub 2}O{sub 6.25}, having a structure related to that of the newly discovered double-layer superconductor La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 6}. The role played by oxygen defects in determining the superconducting properties of layered cuprates is discussed.

Quantum critical scaling at the edge of Fermi liquid stability in a cuprate superconductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Butch, Nicholas P; Jin, Kui; Kirshenbaum, Kevin; Greene, Richard L; Paglione, Johnpierre

2012-05-29

In the high-temperature cuprate superconductors, the pervasiveness of anomalous electronic transport properties suggests that violation of conventional Fermi liquid behavior is closely tied to superconductivity. In other classes of unconventional superconductors, atypical transport is well correlated with proximity to a quantum critical point, but the relative importance of quantum criticality in the cuprates remains uncertain. Here, we identify quantum critical scaling in the electron-doped cuprate material La(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4) with a line of quantum critical points that surrounds the superconducting phase as a function of magnetic field and charge doping. This zero-temperature phase boundary, which delineates a metallic Fermi liquid regime from an extended non-Fermi liquid ground state, closely follows the upper critical field of the overdoped superconducting phase and gives rise to an expanse of distinct non-Fermi liquid behavior at finite temperatures. Together with signatures of two distinct flavors of quantum fluctuations, these facts suggest that quantum criticality plays a significant role in shaping the anomalous properties of the cuprate phase diagram.

The Origin of Tc Enhancement in Heterostructure Cuprate Superconductors

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Doron L. Bergman

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Recent experiments on heterostructures composed of two or more films of cuprate superconductors of different oxygen doping levels have shown a remarkable Tc enhancement (up to 50% relative to single compound films. We provide a simple explanation of the enhancement which arises naturally from a collection of experimental works. We show that the enhancement could be caused by a structural change in the lattice, namely an increase in the distance of the apical oxygen from the copper-oxygen plane. This increase modifies the effective off-site interaction in the plane which in turn enhances the d-wave superconductivity order parameter. To illustrate this point we study the extended Hubbard model using the fluctuation exchange approximation.

Considerations for improved polycrystalline cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shinde, S.L.; Shaw, T.M.

1990-01-01

Polycrystalline cuprate superconductors exhibit two-stage superconducting transitions, that are characteristic of granular systems. This behaviour suggests approaches involving improvements in intra and inter-grain properties in order to improve the technologically important superconducting properties such as the magnetic remanent moment and transport critical current density. This paper reports results of our studies on oxygenation, twin density control through grain size and changes in flux pinning within the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ matrix with Ag substitution under the heading of intra-grain properties and the detrimental effect of grain boundary phases and the effect of Ag substitution on grain boundary pinning under the heading of inter-grain properties

Spectroscopic Imaging Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies of Electronic Structure in the Superconducting and Pseudogap Phases of Cuprate High-Tc Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, Kazuhiro; Schmidt, Andrew R.; Kim, Eun-Ah; Lawler, Michael J.; Lee, Dung Hai; Davis, J. C.; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Uchida, Shin-ichi

2012-01-01

One of the key motivations for the development of atomically resolved spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM) has been to probe the electronic structure of cuprate high temperature superconductors. In both the d-wave superconducting (dSC) and the pseudogap (PG) phases of underdoped cuprates, two distinct classes of electronic states are observed using SI-STM. The first class consists of the dispersive Bogoliubov quasiparticles of a homogeneous d-wave superconductor. These are detected below a lower energy scale |E|=Δ0 and only upon a momentum space (k-space) arc which terminates near the lines connecting k=±(π/a0,0) to k=±(0,π/a0). Below optimal doping, this ``nodal'' arc shrinks continuously with decreasing hole density. In both the dSC and PG phases, the only broken symmetries detected in the |E|≤Δ0 states are those of a d-wave superconductor. The second class of states occurs at energies near the pseudogap energy scale |E|˜ Δ1 which is associated conventionally with the ``antinodal'' states near k=±(π/a0,0) and k=±(0,π/a0). We find that these states break the expected 90°-rotational (C4) symmetry of electronic structure within CuO2 unit cells, at least down to 180°-rotational (C2) symmetry (nematic) but in a spatially disordered fashion. This intra-unit-cell C4 symmetry breaking coexists at |E|˜Δ1 with incommensurate conductance modulations locally breaking both rotational and translational symmetries (smectic). The characteristic wavevector Q of the latter is determined, empirically, by the k-space points where Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference terminates, and therefore evolves continuously with doping. The properties of these two classes of |E|˜Δ1 states are indistinguishable in the dSC and PG phases. To explain this segregation of k-space into the two regimes distinguished by the symmetries of their electronic states and their energy scales |E|˜Δ1 and |E|≤Δ0, and to understand how this impacts the electronic

Observation of magnetooptical effects in several high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dillon, J.F. Jr; Lyons, K.B.

1992-01-01

Recent so called 'anyon' theories of high temperature superconductivity in layer structure materials suggested that at some temperature T TP ≥T c there is a symmetry breaking transition below which these materials may be in either of two distinct states related to each other by time reversal. The study of magneto-optical effects in superconductors reviewed here was undertaken to explore time reversal symmetry of these materials. Using novel technique with rotating λ/2 plate at 525 nm, 'circular dichroism' was observed on reflection from epitaxial films and single crystals of cuprate superconductor with layer structures. The onset of dichroism was at temperatures of ∼ 180K to ∼ 300K. These results appear to support the 'anyon' theories. However, circular dichroism was also seen in films and single crystals of bismuthate superconductors with cubic structure, to which the theories seem inapplicable. In sharp contrast, Spielman et al., at Stanford in a very sensitive experiment at 1060 nm have seen no evidence of non-reciprocal circular birefringence in epitaxial cuprate superconducting films. Weber et al. at Dortmund have recently reported the observation at 633 nm of non-reciprocal magneto-optical effects on single crystals of cuprate superconductors, but none on films. (author). 15 refs., 5 figs

Inequivalence of single-particle and population lifetimes in a cuprate superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Shuolong [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Sobota, J. A. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Leuenberger, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); He, Y. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Hashimoto, M. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lu, D. H. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Eisaki, H. [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki (Japan); Kirchmann, P. S. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Shen, Z. -X. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)

2015-06-15

We study optimally doped Bi-2212 (T_c=96 K) using femtosecond time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Energy-resolved population lifetimes are extracted and compared with single-particle lifetimes measured by equilibrium photoemission. The population lifetimes deviate from the single-particle lifetimes in the low excitation limit by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Fundamental considerations of electron scattering unveil that these two lifetimes are in general distinct, yet for systems with only electron-phonon scattering they should converge in the low-temperature, low-fluence limit. As a result, the qualitative disparity in our data, even in this limit, suggests that scattering channels beyond electron-phonon interactions play a significant role in the electron dynamics of cuprate superconductors.

Effects of magnetic field on the cuprate high-Tc superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lake, B.; Aeppli, G.; Christensen, N.B.

2004-01-01

This article discusses neutron scattering measurements on the cuprate, high transition temperature superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) in an applied magnetic field. LSCO is a type-II superconductor and magnetic flux can penetrate the material via the formation of vorticies. Phase coherent...

Multilayered cuprate superconductor Ba2Ca5Cu6O12(O1-x,Fx) 2 studied by temperature-dependent scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Sugimoto, Akira; Ekino, Toshikazu; Gabovich, Alexander M.; Sekine, Ryotaro; Tanabe, Kenji; Tokiwa, Kazuyasu

2017-05-01

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements were carried out on a multilayered cuprate superconductor Ba2Ca5Cu6O12 (O1 -x,Fx )2. STM topography revealed random spot structures with the characteristic length ≤0.5 nm. The conductance spectra d I /d V (V ) show the coexistence of smaller gaps ΔS and large gaps (pseudogaps) ΔL. The pseudogap-related features in the superconducting state were traced with the spatial resolution of ˜0.07 nm. Here, I and V are the tunnel current and bias voltage, respectively. The temperature, T , dependence of ΔS follows the reduced Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) dependence. The hallmark ratio 2 ΔS(T =0 ) /kBTc equals to 4.9, which is smaller than those of other cuprate superconductors. Here, Tc is the superconducting critical temperature and kB is the Boltzmann constant. The larger gap ΔL survives in the normal state and even increases with T above Tc. The T dependencies of the spatial distributions for both relevant gaps (Δ map), as well as for each gap separately (ΔS and ΔL), were obtained. From the histogram of Δ map, the averaged gap values were found to be Δ¯S=˜24 meV and Δ¯L=˜79 meV. The smaller gap ΔS shows a spatially homogeneous distribution while the larger gap ΔL is quite inhomogeneous, indicating that rather homogeneous superconductivity coexists with the patchy distributed pseudogap. The spatial variation length ξΔ L of ΔL correlates with the scale of the topography spot structures, being approximately 0.4 nm. This value is considerably smaller than the coherence length of this class of superconductors, suggesting that ΔL is strongly affected by the disorder of the apical O/F.

Universal spectral signatures in pnictides and cuprates: the role of quasiparticle-pair coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sacks, William; Mauger, Alain; Noat, Yves

2017-11-08

Understanding the physical properties of a large variety of high-T c superconductors (SC), the cuprate family as well as the more recent iron-based superconductors, is still a major challenge. In particular, these materials exhibit the 'peak-dip-hump' structure in the quasiparticle density of states (DOS). The origin of this structure is explained within our pair-pair interaction (PPI) model: The non-superconducting state consists of incoherent pairs, a 'Cooper-pair glass' which, due to the PPI, undergoes a Bose-like condensation below T c to the coherent SC state. We derive the equations of motion for the quasiparticle operators showing that the DOS 'peak-dip-hump' is caused by the coupling between quasiparticles and excited pair states, or 'super-quasiparticles'. The renormalized SC gap function becomes energy-dependent and non retarded, reproducing accurately the experimental spectra of both pnictides and cuprates, despite the large difference in gap value.

Two classes of superconductors discovered in our material research: Iron-based high temperature superconductor and electride superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosono, Hideo

2009-01-01

We discovered two new classes of superconductors in the course of material exploration for electronic-active oxides. One is 12CaO . 7Al 2 O 3 crystal in which electrons accomodate in the crystallographic sub-nanometer-sized cavities. This material exhibiting metal-superconductor transition at 0.2 K is the first electride superconductor. The other is iron oxypnicitides with a layered structure. This superconductor is rather different from high T c cuprates in several respects. The high T c is emerged by doping carriers to the metallic parent phases which undergo crystallographic transition (tetra to ortho) and Pauli para to antiferromagnetic transition at ∼150 K. The T c is robust to impurity doping to the Fe sites or is induced by partial substitution of the Fe 2+ sites with Co 2+ or Ni 2+ . This article gives a brief summary of these discoveries and recent advances.

Isotope and multiband effects in layered superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bussmann-Holder, Annette; Keller, Hugo

2012-06-13

In this review we consider three classes of superconductors, namely cuprate superconductors, MgB(2) and the new Fe based superconductors. All of these three systems are layered materials and multiband compounds. Their pairing mechanisms are under discussion with the exception of MgB(2), which is widely accepted to be a 'conventional' electron-phonon interaction mediated superconductor, but extending the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory to account for multiband effects. Cuprates and Fe based superconductors have higher superconducting transition temperatures and more complex structures. Superconductivity is doping dependent in these material classes unlike in MgB(2) which, as a pure compound, has the highest values of T(c) and a rapid suppression of superconductivity with doping takes place. In all three material classes isotope effects have been observed, including exotic ones in the cuprates, and controversial ones in the Fe based materials. Before the area of high-temperature superconductivity, isotope effects on T(c) were the signature for phonon mediated superconductivity-even when deviations from the BCS value to smaller values were observed. Since the discovery of high T(c) materials this is no longer evident since competing mechanisms might exist and other mediating pairing interactions are discussed which are of purely electronic origin. In this work we will compare the three different material classes and especially discuss the experimentally observed isotope effects of all three systems and present a rather general analysis of them. Furthermore, we will concentrate on multiband signatures which are not generally accepted in cuprates even though they are manifest in various experiments, the evidence for those in MgB(2), and indications for them in the Fe based compounds. Mostly we will consider experimental data, but when possible also discuss theoretical models which are suited to explain the data.

Phonon anomalies in trilayer high-Tc cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubroka, Adam; Munzar, Dominik

2004-01-01

We present an extension of the model proposed recently to account for dramatic chAes below T c (anomalies) of some c-axis polarized infrared-active phonons in bilayer cuprate superconductors, that applies to trilayer high-T c compounds. We discuss several types of phonon anomalies that can occur in these systems and demonstrate that our model is capable of explaining the spectral chAes occurring upon entering the superconducting state in the trilayer compound Tl 2 Ba 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10 . The low-temperature spectra of this compound obtained by Zetterer and coworkers display an additional broad absorption band, similar to the one observed in underdoped YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ and Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 . In addition, three phonon modes are strongly anomalous. We attribute the absorption band to the transverse Josephson plasma resonance, similar to that of the bilayer compounds. The phonon anomalies are shown to result from a modification of the local fields induced by the formation of the resonance. The spectral chAes in Tl 2 Ba 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10 are compared with those occurring in Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10 , reported recently by Boris and coworkers

Electronic bound states in parity-preserving QED3 applied to high-Tc cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christiansen, H.R.; Cima, O.M. Del; Ferreira Junior, M.M.; Maranhao Univ., Sao Luis, MA; Helayel-Neto, J.A.; Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas

2001-08-01

We consider a parity-preserving QED 3 model with spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry as a framework for the evaluation of the electron-electron interaction potential underlying high-T e superconductivity. The fact that resulting potential, - C s K o (Mr), is non-confining and weak (in the sense of Kato) strongly suggests the mechanism of pair-condensation. This potential, compatible with an s-wave order parameters, is then applied to the Schrodinger equation for the sake of numerical calculations, thereby enforcing the existence of bound states. The results worked out by means of our theoretical framework are checked by considering a number of phenomenological data extracted from different copper oxide superconductors. The agreement may motivate a deeper analysis of our model viewing an application to quasi-planar cuprate superconductors. The data analyzed here suggest an energy scale of 1-10 meV for the breaking of the U(1)-symmetry. (author)

Superconductivity in doped two-leg ladder cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Jihong; Yuan Feng; Feng Shiping

2006-01-01

Within the t-J ladder model, superconductivity with a modified d-wave symmetry in doped two-leg ladder cuprates is investigated based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the spin-liquid ground-state at the half-filling evolves into the superconducting ground-state upon doping. In analogy to the doping dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in the planar cuprate superconductors, the superconducting transition temperature in doped two-leg ladder cuprates increases with increasing doping in the underdoped regime, and reaches a maximum in the optimal doping, then decreases in the overdoped regime

An overview of the Fe-chalcogenide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, M K; Wen, Y C; Chen, T K; Chang, C C; Wu, P M; Wang, M J; Lin, P H; Lee, W C

2015-01-01

This review intends to summarize recent advancements in FeSe and related systems. The FeSe and related superconductors are currently receiving considerable attention for the high critical temperature (T C ) observed and for many similar features to the high T C cuprate superconductors. These similarities suggest that understanding the FeSe-based compounds could potentially help our understanding of the cuprates. We begin the review by presenting common features observed in the FeSe- and FeAs-based systems. Then we discuss the importance of careful control of the material preparation allowing for a systematic structure characterization. With this control, numerous rich phases have been observed. Importantly, we suggest that the Fe-vacancy ordered phases found in the FeSe-based compounds, which are non-superconducting magnetic Mott insulators, are the parent compounds of the superconductors. Superconductivity can emerge from the parent phases by disordering the Fe vacancy order, often by a simple annealing treatment. Then we review physical properties of the Fe chalcogenides, specifically the optical properties and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) results. From the literature, strong evidence points to the existence of orbital modification accompanied by a gap-opening, prior to the structural phase transition, which is closely related to the occurrence of superconductivity. Furthermore, strong lattice to spin coupling are important for the occurrence of superconductivity in FeSe. Therefore, it is believed that the iron selenides and related compounds will provide essential information to understand the origin of superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors, and possibly the superconducting cuprates. (topical review)

Stabilization of high Tc phase in bismuth cuprate superconductor by lead doping

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Ram. P.; Pachauri, J. P.; Khokle, W. S.; Nagpal, K. C.; Date, S. K.

1991-01-01

It has been widely ascertained that doping of lead in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems promotes the growth of high T sub c (110 K) phase, improves critical current density, and lowers processing temperature. A systematic study was undertaken to determine optimum lead content and processing conditions to achieve these properties. A large number of samples with cationic compositions of Bi(2-x)Pb(x)Sr2Ca2Cu3 (x = 0.2 to 2.0) were prepared by conventional solid state reaction technique. Samples of all compositions were annealed together at a temperature and characterized through resistance temperature (R-T) measurements and x ray diffraction to determine the zero resistance temperature, T sub c(0) and to identify presence of phases, respectively. The annealing temperature was varied between 790 and 880 C to optimize processing parameters. Results are given. In brief, an optimum process is reported along with composition of leaded bismuth cuprate superconductor which yields nearly a high T sub c single phase with highly stable superconducting properties.

Characteristics of the Mott transition and electronic states of high-temperature cuprate superconductors from the perspective of the Hubbard model

Science.gov (United States)

Kohno, Masanori

2018-04-01

A fundamental issue of the Mott transition is how electrons behaving as single particles carrying spin and charge in a metal change into those exhibiting separated spin and charge excitations (low-energy spin excitation and high-energy charge excitation) in a Mott insulator. This issue has attracted considerable attention particularly in relation to high-temperature cuprate superconductors, which exhibit electronic states near the Mott transition that are difficult to explain in conventional pictures. Here, from a new viewpoint of the Mott transition based on analyses of the Hubbard model, we review anomalous features observed in high-temperature cuprate superconductors near the Mott transition.

The discovery and some properties of high-T superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Karl A.

1996-01-01

Full text: Starting with the first observation of superconductivity in an oxide, the history of its development is traced. Basically and consecutively, three kinds of oxide superconductors have been found. Compounds with normal transition-metal condition bands, oxides with cations exhibiting charge disproportion, and finally the cuprates with large coulomb on-site repulsion, U. This discussion will lead over to a characterization of the highest-T materials both concerning their physical properties and application perspectives

Comprehensive Study of the Model Mercury-Based Cuprate Superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greven, Martin [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

2017-11-13

This is the Final Report on DE-SC0006858, which opened 15 August 2011 and closed 14 August 2017. The Principal Investigator is Martin Greven, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 555455 (email: greven@umn.edu). The Administrative Point of Contact is Patricia Jondahl, phone: 612-624-5599, email: awards@umn.edu. The DOE Program is the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Program manager is Dr. P. Thiyagarajan, Neutron Scattering SC-22.2/ Germantown Bldg. (email: Thiyagarajan@science.doe.gov). The chief activity was the crystal growth, characterization, neutron and X-ray scattering study of the mercury-based cuprates, arguably the most desirable high-Tc superconductors for experimental study due to their record values of Tc and their relatively simple crystal structures. It is thought that the unusual magnetic and charge degrees of freedom of the copper-oxygen sheets that form the fundamental building block of all cuprate superconductors give rise to the high Tc and to many other unusual properties exhibited by the class of quantum materials. Neutron scattering experiments were performed to reveal the nature of the magnetic degrees of freedom of the copper-oxygen sheets, whereas X-ray scattering experiments and complementary charge-transport experiments were performed to reveal the nature of the charge degrees of freedom. In addition, collaborations were initiated with experts in the use of complementary experimental techniques. The primary products are (i) scientific articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, (ii) scientific presentations at national and international conferences, and (iii) education of postdoctoral researchers, PhD graduate students and undergraduate researchers by providing a research experience in crystal growth, characterization and scattering. Twenty scientific papers were published in peer-reviewed journals, thirty-one invited talks were presented at national or international conferences, or as

Transport anomalies and quantum criticality in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xu; Yu, Heshan; He, Ge; Hu, Wei; Yuan, Jie; Zhu, Beiyi [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Jin, Kui, E-mail: kuijin@iphy.ac.cn [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100190 (China)

2016-06-15

Highlights: • Electrical transport and its complementary thermal transport on electron-doped cuprates are reviewed. • The common features of electron-doped cuprates are sorted out and shown in the last figure. • The complex superconducting fluctuations and quantum fluctuations are distinguished. - Abstract: Superconductivity research is like running a marathon. Three decades after the discovery of high-T{sub c} cuprates, there have been mass data generated from transport measurements, which bring fruitful information. In this review, we give a brief summary of the intriguing phenomena reported in electron-doped cuprates from the aspect of electrical transport as well as the complementary thermal transport. We attempt to sort out common features of the electron-doped family, e.g. the strange metal, negative magnetoresistance, multiple sign reversals of Hall in mixed state, abnormal Nernst signal, complex quantum criticality. Most of them have been challenging the existing theories, nevertheless, a unified diagram certainly helps to approach the nature of electron-doped cuprates.

Electronic properites of electron-doped cuprate superconductors probed by high-field magnetotransport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helm, Toni

2013-01-01

In the present work the normal-state properties of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Nd 2-x Ce x CuO 4 (NCCO) are investigated for a broad doping range, covering almost the whole phase diagram of this material. Magnetotransport measurements in the world's highest non-destructive magnetic fields were used as a spectroscopic tool for probing the electronic structure of single-crystalline NCCO as a function of the carrier concentration x. Quantum and semiclassical oscillations in the magnetoresistance provided new insights into various properties of the Fermi surface and the nature of the ground state in the system. The detailed investigations of the field- and temperature-dependent transport and its dependence on the field orientation have revealed a close correlation between symmetry-breaking ordering instabilities and the superconducting state.

Electronic properites of electron-doped cuprate superconductors probed by high-field magnetotransport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helm, Toni

2013-09-18

In the present work the normal-state properties of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Nd{sub 2-x}Ce{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (NCCO) are investigated for a broad doping range, covering almost the whole phase diagram of this material. Magnetotransport measurements in the world's highest non-destructive magnetic fields were used as a spectroscopic tool for probing the electronic structure of single-crystalline NCCO as a function of the carrier concentration x. Quantum and semiclassical oscillations in the magnetoresistance provided new insights into various properties of the Fermi surface and the nature of the ground state in the system. The detailed investigations of the field- and temperature-dependent transport and its dependence on the field orientation have revealed a close correlation between symmetry-breaking ordering instabilities and the superconducting state.

Electronic properites of electron-doped cuprate superconductors probed by high-field magnetotransport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helm, Toni

2013-09-18

In the present work the normal-state properties of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Nd{sub 2-x}Ce{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (NCCO) are investigated for a broad doping range, covering almost the whole phase diagram of this material. Magnetotransport measurements in the world's highest non-destructive magnetic fields were used as a spectroscopic tool for probing the electronic structure of single-crystalline NCCO as a function of the carrier concentration x. Quantum and semiclassical oscillations in the magnetoresistance provided new insights into various properties of the Fermi surface and the nature of the ground state in the system. The detailed investigations of the field- and temperature-dependent transport and its dependence on the field orientation have revealed a close correlation between symmetry-breaking ordering instabilities and the superconducting state.

Magnetic field induced incommensurate resonance in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jingge; Cheng Li; Guo Huaiming; Feng Shiping

2009-01-01

The influence of a uniform external magnetic field on the dynamical spin response of cuprate superconductors in the superconducting state is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the magnetic scattering around low and intermediate energies is dramatically changed with a modest external magnetic field. With increasing the external magnetic field, although the incommensurate magnetic scattering from both low and high energies is rather robust, the commensurate magnetic resonance scattering peak is broadened. The part of the spin excitation dispersion seems to be an hourglass-like dispersion, which breaks down at the heavily low energy regime. The theory also predicts that the commensurate resonance scattering at zero external magnetic field is induced into the incommensurate resonance scattering by applying an external magnetic field large enough

The pseudogap in the c-axis optical conductivity in high Tc-cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Won, H.

1999-01-01

The pseudogap phenomenon is most remarkable in the underdoped region of high-T c cuprates. Since the superconducting state in the optimally doped high-T c cuprates is well described by the BCS-like d-wave superconductors, it is natural to assume that the pseudogap arises from the standard superconducting fluctuation. In particular in the layered compounds like high-T c cuprates Varlamov and his coworkers pointed out the density of states (DOS) correction to the superconducting fluctuation will play the crucial role. However, unfortunately in their analysis d-wave nature of the high-T c cuprates is ignored. Perhaps more seriously some unnecessary approximations were introduced in their analysis. The present theory gives somewhat different expressions of quasi-particle density of states for B = 0 and B ≠ 0, which can be tested experimentally. (orig.)

Investigation of renormalization effects in high temperature cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zabolotnyy, Volodymyr B.

2008-01-01

It has been found that the self-energy of high-T C cuprates indeed exhibits a well pronounced structure, which is currently attributed to coupling of the electrons either to lattice vibrations or to collective magnetic excitations in the system. To clarify this issue, the renormalization effects and the electronic structure of two cuprate families Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ were chosen as the main subject for this thesis. With a simple example of an electronic system coupled to a collective mode unusual renormalization features observed in the photoemission spectra are introduced. It is shown that impurity substitution in general leads to suppression of the unusual renormalization. Finally an alternative possibility to obtain a purely superconducting surface of Y-123 via partial substitution of Y atoms with Ca is introduced. It is shown that renormalization in the superconducting Y-123 has similar strong momentum dependence as in the Bi-2212 family. It is also shown that in analogy to Bi-2212 the renormalization appears to have strong dependence on the doping level (no kinks for the overdoped component) and practically vanishes above T C suggesting that coupling to magnetic excitations fits much better than competing scenarios, according to which the unusual renormalization in ARPES spectra is caused by the coupling to single or multiple phononic modes. (orig.)

Electronic Structure, Irreversibility Line and Magnetoresistance of Cu_0_._3Bi_2Se_3 Superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi He-Mian; Chen Chao-Yu; Sun Xuan; Xie Zhuo-Jin; Feng Ya; Liang Ai-Ji; Peng Ying-Ying; He Shao-Long; Zhao Lin; Liu Guo-Dong; Dong Xiao-Li; Zhang Jun; Zhou Xing-Jiang; Chen Chuang-Tian; Xu Zu-Yan; Gu Gen-Da

2015-01-01

Cu_xBi_2Se_3 is a superconductor that is a potential candidate for topological superconductors. We report our laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurement on the electronic structure of the Cu_xBi_2Se_3 superconductor, and a detailed magneto-resistance measurement in both normal and superconducting states. We find that the topological surface state of the pristine Bi_2Se_3 topological insulator remains robust after the Cu-intercalation, while the Dirac cone location moves downward due to electron doping. Detailed measurements on the magnetic field-dependence of the resistance in the superconducting state establishes an irreversibility line and gives a value of the upper critical field at zero temperature of ∼4000 Oe for the Cu_0_._3Bi_2Se_3 superconductor with a middle point T_c of 1.9K. The relation between the upper critical field H_c_2 and temperature T is different from the usual scaling relation found in cuprates and in other kinds of superconductors. Small positive magneto-resistance is observed in Cu_0_._3Bi_2Se_3 superconductors up to room temperature. These observations provide useful information for further study of this possible candidate for topological superconductors. (paper)

Flop transitions in cuprate and color superconductors: From SO(5) to SO(10) unification?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chandrasekharan, S.; Chudnovsky, V.; Schlittgen, B.; Wiese, U.-J

2001-03-01

The phase diagrams of cuprate superconductors and of QCD at non-zero baryon chemical potential are qualitatively similar. The Neel phase of the cuprates corresponds to the chirally broken phase of QCD, and the high-temperature superconducting phase corresponds to the color superconducting phase. In the SO(5) theory for the cuprates the SO(3){sub s} spin rotational symmetry and the U(1){sub em} gauge symmetry of electromagnetism are dynamically unified. This suggests that the SU(2){sub L} x SU(2){sub R} x U(1){sub B} chiral symmetry of QCD and the SU(3){sub c} color gauge symmetry may get unified to SO(10). Dynamical enhancement of symmetry from SO(2){sub s} x Z(2) to SO(3){sub s} is known to occur in anisotropic antiferromagnets. In these systems the staggered magnetization flops from an easy 3-axis into the 12-plane at a critical value of the external magnetic field. Similarly, the phase transitions in the SO(5) and SO(10) models are flop transitions of a 'superspin'. Despite this fact, a renormalization group flow analysis in 4 -- {epsilon} dimensions indicates that a point with full SO(5) or SO(10) symmetry exists neither in the cuprates nor in QCD.

Flop transitions in cuprate and color superconductors: From SO(5) to SO(10) unification?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandrasekharan, S.; Chudnovsky, V.; Schlittgen, B.; Wiese, U.-J.

2001-01-01

The phase diagrams of cuprate superconductors and of QCD at non-zero baryon chemical potential are qualitatively similar. The Neel phase of the cuprates corresponds to the chirally broken phase of QCD, and the high-temperature superconducting phase corresponds to the color superconducting phase. In the SO(5) theory for the cuprates the SO(3) s spin rotational symmetry and the U(1) em gauge symmetry of electromagnetism are dynamically unified. This suggests that the SU(2) L x SU(2) R x U(1) B chiral symmetry of QCD and the SU(3) c color gauge symmetry may get unified to SO(10). Dynamical enhancement of symmetry from SO(2) s x Z(2) to SO(3) s is known to occur in anisotropic antiferromagnets. In these systems the staggered magnetization flops from an easy 3-axis into the 12-plane at a critical value of the external magnetic field. Similarly, the phase transitions in the SO(5) and SO(10) models are flop transitions of a 'superspin'. Despite this fact, a renormalization group flow analysis in 4 -- ε dimensions indicates that a point with full SO(5) or SO(10) symmetry exists neither in the cuprates nor in QCD

Reassessment of the electronic state, magnetism, and superconductivity in high-T{sub c} cuprates with the Nd{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naito, Michio, E-mail: minaito@cc.tuat.ac.jp [Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Naka-cho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588 (Japan); Krockenberger, Yoshiharu; Ikeda, Ai; Yamamoto, Hideki [NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198 (Japan)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • The 30-year history of “electron-doped” cuprates is reviewed, including basic physics and material issues. • Undoped cuprates with the Nd{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} (T’) structure are superconducting with T{sub c} over 30 K. • Electron doping by Ce in T’-RE{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} lowers T{sub c} and the highest T{sub c} is obtained at no doping. - Abstract: The electronic phase diagram of the cuprates remains enigmatic and is still a key ingredient to understand the mechanism of high-T{sub c} superconductivity. It has been believed for a long time that parent compounds of cuprates were universally antiferromagnetic Mott insulators (charge-transfer insulators) and that high-T{sub c} superconductivity would develop upon doping holes or electrons in a Mott–Hubbard insulator (“doped Mott-insulator scenario”). However, our recent discovery of superconductivity in the parent compounds of square-planar cuprates with the Nd{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} (T’) structure and the revised electronic phase diagram in T’ cuprates urged a serious reassessment to the above scenario. In this review, we present the main results derived from our synthesis and experiments on T’ cuprates in the undoped or heavily underdoped regime over 20 years, including material issues and basic physics. The key material issue is how to remove excess oxygen ions at the apical site without introducing oxygen vacancies in the CuO{sub 2} planes. In order to put this into practice, the basic knowledge of complex solid-state chemistry in T’ cuprates is required, which is also included in this review.

Systematics of c-axis phonons in the thallium- and bismuth-based cuprate superconductors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tsvetkov, A.A.; Dulic, Diana; Marel, D. van der; Damascelli, A.; Kaljushnaia, G.A.; Gorina, J.I.; Senturina, N.N.; Kolesnikov, N.N.; Ren, Z.F.; Wang, J.H.; Menovsky, A.A.; Palstra, T.T.M.

1999-01-01

We present grazing incidence reflectivity measurements in the far-infrared region at temperatures above and below Tc for a series of thallium- (Tl2Ba2CuO6, Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8) and bismuth- (Bi2Sr2CuO6, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and Bi2-xPbxSr2CaCu2O8) based cuprate superconductors. From the spectra, which are

Universal linear-temperature resistivity: possible quantum diffusion transport in strongly correlated superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Tao; Liu, Yinshang; Xiao, Hong; Mu, Gang; Yang, Yi-Feng

2017-08-25

The strongly correlated electron fluids in high temperature cuprate superconductors demonstrate an anomalous linear temperature (T) dependent resistivity behavior, which persists to a wide temperature range without exhibiting saturation. As cooling down, those electron fluids lose the resistivity and condense into the superfluid. However, the origin of the linear-T resistivity behavior and its relationship to the strongly correlated superconductivity remain a mystery. Here we report a universal relation [Formula: see text], which bridges the slope of the linear-T-dependent resistivity (dρ/dT) to the London penetration depth λ L at zero temperature among cuprate superconductor Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ and heavy fermion superconductors CeCoIn 5 , where μ 0 is vacuum permeability, k B is the Boltzmann constant and ħ is the reduced Planck constant. We extend this scaling relation to different systems and found that it holds for other cuprate, pnictide and heavy fermion superconductors as well, regardless of the significant differences in the strength of electronic correlations, transport directions, and doping levels. Our analysis suggests that the scaling relation in strongly correlated superconductors could be described as a hydrodynamic diffusive transport, with the diffusion coefficient (D) approaching the quantum limit D ~ ħ/m*, where m* is the quasi-particle effective mass.

Investigation of renormalization effects in high temperature cuprate superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zabolotnyy, Volodymyr B.

2008-04-16

It has been found that the self-energy of high-T{sub C} cuprates indeed exhibits a well pronounced structure, which is currently attributed to coupling of the electrons either to lattice vibrations or to collective magnetic excitations in the system. To clarify this issue, the renormalization effects and the electronic structure of two cuprate families Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}} and YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} were chosen as the main subject for this thesis. With a simple example of an electronic system coupled to a collective mode unusual renormalization features observed in the photoemission spectra are introduced. It is shown that impurity substitution in general leads to suppression of the unusual renormalization. Finally an alternative possibility to obtain a purely superconducting surface of Y-123 via partial substitution of Y atoms with Ca is introduced. It is shown that renormalization in the superconducting Y-123 has similar strong momentum dependence as in the Bi-2212 family. It is also shown that in analogy to Bi-2212 the renormalization appears to have strong dependence on the doping level (no kinks for the overdoped component) and practically vanishes above T{sub C} suggesting that coupling to magnetic excitations fits much better than competing scenarios, according to which the unusual renormalization in ARPES spectra is caused by the coupling to single or multiple phononic modes. (orig.)

Boundary conditions in Ginsburg-Landau theory and critical temperature of high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lykov, A.N.

2008-01-01

New mixed boundary conditions to the Ginsburg-Landau equations are found to limit the critical temperature (T c ) of high-T c superconductors. Moreover, the value of the pseudogap in these superconductors can be explained by using the method. As a result, the macroscopic approach is proposed to increase T c of cuprate superconductors

The discovery and some properties of high-T superconductors; El descubrimiento y algunas propiedades de los superconductores de altas temperaturas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Karl A [Zurich Univ. (Switzerland)

1997-12-31

Full text: Starting with the first observation of superconductivity in an oxide, the history of its development is traced. Basically and consecutively, three kinds of oxide superconductors have been found. Compounds with normal transition-metal condition bands, oxides with cations exhibiting charge disproportion, and finally the cuprates with large coulomb on-site repulsion, U. This discussion will lead over to a characterization of the highest-T materials both concerning their physical properties and application perspectives.

U(1) x SU(2) Chern-Simons gauge theory of underdoped cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchetti, P.A.; Su Zhao-Bin; Yu Lu

1998-05-01

The Chern-Simons bosonization with U(1)xSU(2) gauge field is applied to the 2-D t-J model in the limit t>>J, to study the normal state properties of underdoped cuprate superconductors. We prove the existence of an upper bound on the partition function for holons in a spinon background, and we find the optimal spinon configuration saturating the upper bound on average - a coexisting flux phase and s+id-like RVB state. After neglecting the feedback of holon fluctuations on the U(1) field B and spinon fluctuations on the SU(2) field V, the holon field is a fermion and the spinon field is a hard-core boson. Within this approximation we show that the B field produces a π flux phase for the holons, converting them into Dirac-like fermions, while the V field, taking into account the feedback of holons produces a gap for the spinons vanishing in the zero doping limit. The nonlinear σ-model with a mass term describes the crossover from the short-ranged antiferromagnetic (AF) state in doped samples to long range AF order in reference compounds. Moreover, we derive a low-energy effective action in terms of spinons holons and a self-generated U(1) gauge field. Neglecting the gauge fluctuations, the holons are described by the Fermi liquid theory with a Fermi surface consisting of 4 ''half-pockets'' centered at (+-π/2,+-π/2) and one reproduces the results for the electron spectral function obtained in the mean field approximation, in agreement with the photoemission data on underdoped cuprates. The gauge fluctuations are not confining due to coupling to holons, but nevertheless yield an attractive interaction between spinons and holons leading to a bound state with electron quantum numbers. The renormalisation effects due to gauge fluctuations give rise to non-Fermi liquid behaviour for the composite electron, in certain temperature range showing the linear in T resistivity. This formalism provides a new interpretation of the spin gap in the underdoped superconductors

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy on multi-layered cuprate superconductor Ba2Ca5Cu6O12 (O1-x Fx)2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, A.; Shohara, K.; Ekino, T.; Watanabe, Y.; Harada, Y.; Mikusu, S.; Tokiwa, K.; Watanabe, T.

2009-01-01

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements on multi-layered cuprate superconductor Ba 2 Ca 5 Cu 6 O 12 (O 1-x F x ) 2 are carried out. STM topographies show randomly distributed bright spot structures with a typical spot size of ∼0.8 nm. These bright spots are occupied about 28% per one unit cell of c-plane, which is comparable to the regular amount of apical oxygen of 20% obtained from element analysis. Tunneling spectra simultaneously show both the small and the large gap structures. These gap sizes at 4.9 K are about Δ ∼15 meV and ∼90 meV, respectively. The small gap structure disappears at the temperature close to T C , while the large gap persists up to ∼200 K. Therefore, these features correspond to the superconducting gap and pseudogap, respectively. These facts give evidence for some ordered state with large energy scale even in the superconducting state. For the superconducting gap, the ratio of 2Δ/K B T C = 4.9 is obtained with T C = 70 K, which is determined from temperature dependence of the tunneling spectra.

Relationship between Magnetic Anisotropy below Pseudogap Temperature and Short-Range Antiferromagnetic Order in High-Temperature Cuprate Superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Morinari, Takao

2018-06-01

The central issue in high-temperature cuprate superconductors is the pseudogap state appearing below the pseudogap temperature T*, which is well above the superconducting transition temperature. In this study, we theoretically investigate the rapid increase of the magnetic anisotropy below the pseudogap temperature detected by the recent torque-magnetometry measurements on YBa2Cu3Oy [Y. Sato et al., 10.1038/nphys4205" xlink:type="simple">Nat. Phys. 13, 1074 (2017)]. Applying the spin Green's function formalism including the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction arising from the buckling of the CuO2 plane, we obtain results that are in good agreement with the experiment and find a scaling relationship. Our analysis suggests that the characteristic temperature associated with the magnetic anisotropy, which coincides with T*, is not a phase transition temperature but a crossover temperature associated with the short-range antiferromagnetic order.

Superconductivity. Quasiparticle mass enhancement approaching optimal doping in a high-T(c) superconductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramshaw, B J; Sebastian, S E; McDonald, R D; Day, James; Tan, B S; Zhu, Z; Betts, J B; Liang, Ruixing; Bonn, D A; Hardy, W N; Harrison, N

2015-04-17

In the quest for superconductors with higher transition temperatures (T(c)), one emerging motif is that electronic interactions favorable for superconductivity can be enhanced by fluctuations of a broken-symmetry phase. Recent experiments have suggested the existence of the requisite broken-symmetry phase in the high-T(c) cuprates, but the impact of such a phase on the ground-state electronic interactions has remained unclear. We used magnetic fields exceeding 90 tesla to access the underlying metallic state of the cuprate YBa2Cu3O(6+δ) over a wide range of doping, and observed magnetic quantum oscillations that reveal a strong enhancement of the quasiparticle effective mass toward optimal doping. This mass enhancement results from increasing electronic interactions approaching optimal doping, and suggests a quantum critical point at a hole doping of p(crit) ≈ 0.18. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ultra-fast pump-probe determination of electron-phonon coupling in cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Mihailovic, Dragan

2010-03-01

Fresh femtosecond spectroscopy experiments show the electron-phonon interaction strength λ to be 0.7 and 1.4 for YBCO and LSCO respectively and not around 0.2 as previously reported [1]. The revised estimates arise primarily from improved time-resolution, and also partly from improved modeling. Comparison with classical superconductors and pnictides shows non-monotonic correlation of λ with Tc. Systematic new measurements of the condensate vaporization energy (Uv) in cuprates [2] and pnictides reveals a power-law dependence on Tc with exponent 2. However, Uc is 16-18 times greater than the BCS condensation energy Uc, implying that a significant heat capacity of the ``bosonic glue.'' In contrast, charge-density wave systems with electronically driven ordering transitions have Uv˜Uc. The data suggest BCS and Eliashberg-based models to be inappropriate for describing the physics of high-temperature superconductors, and point towards polaron models which consider strong or intermediate λ.[4pt] [1] C.Gadermeier et al., arXiv:0902.1636[0pt] [2] P.Kusar et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 227001 (2008)

Thermal transport in layered structure of YBa2Cu3O7-δ superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Rakhi; Indu, B. D.

2017-12-01

The heat transfer study in YBa2Cu3O7-δ superconductors structures is focused on the influence of the effect of scattering events in cross-plane and in-plane references. Understanding the mechanism of controlling the thermal conductivity of layered superconductors is an area of interest for nano microelectronics and thermo-electronic technological applications. The model of the thermal conduction, and phonon transport perpendicular and parallel to the layers of YBa2Cu3O7-δ are developed. It has been justified via numerical estimation and found substantial diminution in thermal conductivities in both in-plane and cross-plane directions of layered cuprate superconductors.

Fermion local charged boson model and cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, K.P.; Kakani, S.L.

2002-01-01

One of the most exciting developments in Science in past few years is the discovery of high temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in cuprates. It has been observed that the superconducting state in these cuprates is rather normal compared to the anomalous normal state. This discovery has led to deluge of experimental and theoretical researches all along the world. These cuprates are close to metal-insulator transition and the stability of the insulating and metallic phase depends on the degree of doping. Measurements of physical properties of these systems have revealed many anomalous results both in the superconducting and normal states, e.g. d-wave superconducting gap, the presence of pseudo gap in the normal state, static or dynamic striped structure of CuO 2 planes etc. These have posed serious theoretical challenges towards formulating the mechanisms of pairing and explanation of anomalous behaviour. Several theoretical proposals have been advanced and only a few are likely to survive in the teeth of some reliable experimental data. A combined mechanism mediated by phonons and lochons (local charged bosons, local pairs or bipolarons) for the pairing of fermions (holes or electrons) belonging to a wide band provides a microscopic explanation of anomalous normal state properties of HTSC cuprates and vindicates features of the phenomenological marginal Fermi liquid formulation. In the present review article detailed features of combined lochon and phonon mediated pairing mechanism are presented and a contact with the normal and superconducting state properties of HTSC in YBa 2 Cu 3 O x does indicate pair hopping between planes via such resonant centres lying in between the CuO 2 planes. (author)

Angle-resolved photoemission in high Tc cuprates from theoretical viewpoints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tohyama, T.; Maekawa, S.

2000-01-01

The angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) technique has been developed rapidly over the last decade, accompanied by the improvement of energy and momentum resolutions. This technique has been established as the most powerful tool to investigate the high T c cuprate superconductors. We review recent ARPES data on the cuprates from a theoretical point of view, with emphasis on the systematic evolution of the spectral weight near the momentum (π, 0) from insulator to overdoped systems. The effects of charge stripes on the ARPES spectra are also reviewed. Some recent experimental and theoretical efforts to understand the superconducting state and the pseudogap phenomenon are discussed. (author)

Effect of spontaneous decay of superconductor quasiparticles in the tunneling density of states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffey, D.

1993-01-01

Superconductivity has been successfully described with either the Landau-Ginzburg theory of second order phase transitions or with strong-coupling versions of the original BCS theory for almost fifty years. Recent tunneling and photoemission data on the cuprate oxide superconductors may now provide evidence of corrections to the mean field approximation. It has been shown by Zasadzinski et al. that there is a dip at eV ≅ 3Δ 0 in the SIS tunneling conductance, which is the derivative of the current across a superconductor-insulator-superconductor junction with respect to the applied voltage, for a set of cuprate superconductors whose T c 's range from 5.5K to 100K. Recently L. Coffey and I proposed an explanation of this feature in terms of the spontaneous decay of mean field quasiparticles. We showed that corrections to the mean field approximation for a superconductor lead to different frequency thresholds for spontaneous quasiparticle decay with different superconductor order parameter symmetries. These effects lead to features in the superconductor density of states and in the SIS tunneling conductance and provide experimental evidence of d-wave symmetry for the superconductor order parameter in the cuprates. I discuss model and also evidence of quasiparticle decay in ARPES data on Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8

Electromagnetic response in kinetic energy driven cuprate superconductors: Linear response approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krzyzosiak, Mateusz; Huang, Zheyu; Feng, Shiping; Gonczarek, Ryszard

2010-01-01

Within the framework of the kinetic energy driven superconductivity, the electromagnetic response in cuprate superconductors is studied in the linear response approach. The kernel of the response function is evaluated and employed to calculate the local magnetic field profile, the magnetic field penetration depth, and the superfluid density, based on the specular reflection model for a purely transverse vector potential. It is shown that the low temperature magnetic field profile follows an exponential decay at the surface, while the magnetic field penetration depth depends linearly on temperature, except for the strong deviation from the linear characteristics at extremely low temperatures. The superfluid density is found to decrease linearly with decreasing doping concentration in the underdoped regime. The problem of gauge invariance is addressed and an approximation for the dressed current vertex, which does not violate local charge conservation is proposed and discussed.

Electronic structure and electron-phonon coupling in layered copper oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pickett, W.E.; Cohen, R.E.; Krakauer, H.

1991-01-01

Experimental data on the layered Cu-O superconductors seem more and more to reflect normal Fermi-liquid behavior and substantial correspondence with band structure predictions. Recent self-consistent, microscopic band theoretic calculations of the electronic structure, lattice instabilities, phonon frequencies, and electron-phonon coupling characteristics and strength for La 2 CuO 4 and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 are reviewed. A dominant feature of the coupling is a novel Madelung-like contribution which would be screened out in high density of states superconductors but survives in cuprates because of weak screening. Local density functional theory correctly predicts the instability of (La, Ba) 2 CuO 4 to both the low-temperature orthorhombic phase (below room temperature) and the lower-temperature tetragonal phase (below 50 K). (orig.)

Infrared absorption spectra of various doping states in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonemitsu, K.; Bishop, A.R.; Lorenzana, J.

1992-01-01

Doping states in a two-dimensional three-band extended Peierls-Hubbard model was investigated within inhomogeneous Hartree-Fock and random phase approximation. They are very sensitive to small changes of interaction parameters and their distinct vibrational and optical absorption spectra can be used to identify different doping states. For electronic parameters relevant to cuprate superconductors, as intersite electron-phonon interaction strength increases, the doping state changes from a Zhang-Rice state to a covalent molecular singlet state accompanied by local quenching of the Cu magnetic moment and large local lattice distortion in an otherwise undistorted antiferromagnetic background. In a region where both intersite electron-phonon interaction and on-site electron-electron repulsion are large, we obtain new stable global phases including a bond-order-wave state and a mixed state of spin-Peierls bonds and antiferromagnetic Cu spins, as well as many metastable states. Doping in the bond-order-wave region induces separation of spin and charge. 9 refs

Redistribution of phase fluctuations in a periodically driven cuprate superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoeppner, Robert; Zhu, Beilei; Rexin, Tobias [Zentrum fuer Optische Quantentechnologien und Institut fuer Laserphysik, Hamburg (Germany); Mathey, Ludwig [Zentrum fuer Optische Quantentechnologien und Institut fuer Laserphysik, Hamburg (Germany); The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging, Hamburg (Germany); Cavalleri, Andrea [Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg (Germany); Department of Physics, Oxford University, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2015-07-01

We study the thermally fluctuating state of a bi-layer cuprate superconductor under the periodic action of a staggered field oscillating at optical frequencies. This analysis distills essential elements of the recently discovered phenomenon of light enhanced coherence in YBCO, which was achieved by periodically driving infrared active apical oxygen distortions. The effect of a staggered periodic perturbation is studied using a Langevin description of driven, coupled Josephson junctions, which represent two neighboring pairs of layers and their two plasmons. We demonstrate that the external driving leads to a suppression of phase fluctuations of the low-energy plasmon, an effect which is amplified via the resonance of the high energy plasmon, with a striking suppression of the low-energy fluctuations, as visible in the power spectrum. We also find that this effect acts onto the in-plane fluctuations, which are reduced on long length scales and we discuss the behavior of vortices in the ab-planes and across the weakly coupled junctions.

IrSr2TbCu2O8, a high-pressure metamagnetic cuprate: Structure, microstructure and properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dos Santos-Garcia, A.J.; Duijn, J. van; Saez-Puche, R.; Heymann, G.; Huppertz, H.; Alario-Franco, M.A.

2008-01-01

The synthesis, structure and microstructure of the IrSr 2 TbCu 2 O 8 cuprate showing metamagnetic properties are described. The sample was prepared at high temperatures and pressures up to 9.2 GPa. The structure is tetragonal, showing a 1212 type structure, that derives from the classical YBaCuO superconductor structure, replacing the tetracoordinated square planar copper [Cu-O 4 ] in the 'chains' by octahedral [Ir-O 6 ] groups that form a perovskite-like layer in the basal plane of the unit cell. A 'simple' cell, ∼a p xa p x3a p , where a p is the basic perovskite unit cell parameter (a p ∼3.8 A), is supported by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and a so-called 'diagonal' one, ∼√2a p x√2a p x3a p , by SAED; a microdomain texture of latter cell and a series of very interesting extended defects have been observed by HREM. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show a magnetic transition, T N ∼6 K, with negative Weiss temperature, that indicates antiferromagnetic interactions among the Tb moments. The magnetic structure has been determined by neutron diffraction. A detailed magnetic study has revealed a metamagnetic behavior, something not previously observed in this type of cuprates. Specific heat and resistivity measurements have also been performed to characterize the transition. - Graphical abstract: Reconstructed image from the SAED of the long c tetragonal axis (3a p ) of a IrSr 2 TbCu 2 O 8 crystal. A unit cell picture is included for comparison. Display Omitted

Nernst effect in the electron-doped cuprate superconductor L a2 -xC exCu O4

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, P. R.; Sarkar, Tarapada; Higgins, J. S.; Greene, Richard L.

2018-01-01

We report a systematic study of the Nernst effect in films of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor L a2 -xC exCu O4 as a function of temperature and magnetic field (up to 14 T) over a range of doping from underdoped (x =0.08 ) to overdoped (x =0.16 ). We have determined the characteristic field scale HC2 * of superconducting fluctuation which is found to track the domelike dependence of superconductivity (TC). The fall of HC2 * and TC with underdoping is most likely due to the onset of long-range antiferromagnetic order. We also report the temperature onset, Tonset, of superconducting fluctuations above TC. For optimally doped x =0.11 Tonset (≅39 K ) is high compared to TC (26 K). For higher doping Tonset decreases and tends to zero along with the critical temperature at the end of the superconducting dome. The superconducting gap closely tracks HC2 * measured from the temperature- and field-dependent Nernst signal.

Quasiparticle density of states, localization, and distributed disorder in the cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Sulangi, Miguel Antonio; Zaanen, Jan

2018-04-01

We explore the effects of various kinds of random disorder on the quasiparticle density of states of two-dimensional d -wave superconductors using an exact real-space method, incorporating realistic details known about the cuprates. Random on-site energy and pointlike unitary impurity models are found to give rise to a vanishing DOS at the Fermi energy for narrow distributions and low concentrations, respectively, and lead to a finite, but suppressed, DOS at unrealistically large levels of disorder. Smooth disorder arising from impurities located away from the copper-oxide planes meanwhile gives rise to a finite DOS at realistic impurity concentrations. For the case of smooth disorder whose average potential is zero, a resonance is found at zero energy for the quasiparticle DOS at large impurity concentrations. We discuss the implications of these results on the computed low-temperature specific heat, the behavior of which we find is strongly affected by the amount of disorder present in the system. We also compute the localization length as a function of disorder strength for various types of disorder and find that intermediate- and high-energy states are quasiextended for low disorder, and that states near the Fermi energy are strongly localized and have a localization length that exhibits an unusual dependence on the amount of disorder. We comment on the origin of disorder in the cuprates and provide constraints on these based on known results from scanning tunneling spectroscopy and specific heat experiments.

Critical Doping for the Onset of Fermi-Surface Reconstruction by Charge-Density-Wave Order in the Cuprate Superconductor La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Badoux

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The Seebeck coefficient S of the cuprate superconductor La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO was measured in magnetic fields large enough to access the normal state at low temperatures, for a range of Sr concentrations from x=0.07 to x=0.15. For x=0.11, 0.12, 0.125, and 0.13, S/T decreases upon cooling to become negative at low temperatures. The same behavior is observed in the Hall coefficient R_{H}(T. In analogy with other hole-doped cuprates at similar hole concentrations p, the negative S and R_{H} show that the Fermi surface of LSCO undergoes a reconstruction caused by the onset of charge-density-wave modulations. Such modulations have indeed been detected in LSCO by x-ray diffraction in precisely the same doping range. Our data show that in LSCO this Fermi-surface reconstruction is confined to 0.085

Visualizing electron pockets in cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Tanmoy; Markiewicz, R. S.; Bansil, A.; Balatsky, A. V.

2012-06-01

Fingerprints of the electron pocket in cuprates have been obtained only in numerous magnetotransport measurements, but its absence in spectroscopic observations poses a long-standing mystery. We develop a theoretical tool to provide ways to detect electron pockets via spectroscopies including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) spectra, inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We show that the quasiparticle-interference (QPI) pattern, measured by STM, shows an additional seven q vectors associated with the scattering on the electron pocket than that on the hole pocket. Furthermore, the Bogolyubov quasiparticle scatterings of the electron pocket lead to a second magnetic resonance mode in the INS spectra at a higher resonance energy. Finally, we reanalyze some STM, INS, and ARPES experimental data of several cuprates which dictates the direct fingerprints of electron pockets in these systems.

Spatial distribution of superconducting and charge-density-wave order parameters in cuprates and its influence on the quasiparticle tunnel current (Review Article)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabovich, Alexander M.; Voitenko, Alexander I.

2016-01-01

The state of the art concerning tunnel measurements of energy gaps in cuprate oxides has been analyzed. A detailed review of the relevant literature is made, and original results calculated for the quasiparticle tunnel current J(V) between a metallic tip and a disordered d-wave superconductor partially gapped by charge density waves (CDWs) are reported, because it is this model of high-temperature superconductors that becomes popular owing to recent experiments in which CDWs were observed directly. The current was calculated suggesting the scatter of both the superconducting and CDW order parameters due to the samples intrinsic inhomogeneity. It was shown that peculiarities in the current-voltage characteristics inherent to the case of homogeneous super-conducting material are severely smeared, and the CDW-related features transform into experimentally observed peak-dip-hump structures. Theoretical results were used to fit data measured for YBa_2Cu_3O_7_-_d_e_l_t_a and Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8_+_d_e_l_t_a. The fitting demonstrated a good qualitative agreement between the experiment and model calculations. The analysis of the energy gaps in high-Tc superconductors is important both per se and as a tool to uncover the nature of superconductivity in cuprates not elucidated so far despite of much theoretical effort and experimental progress.

Growth of superconductor material in a fluxed melt, and article of manufacture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, K.A.; Schneemeyer, L.F.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a method for making a body of bismuth-strontium calcium cuprate, lead-substituted bismuth strontium calcium cuprate, or thallium-barium calcium cuprate superconductor material. It comprises cooling a melt at least locally, the melt comprising constituents of the material, characterized in that the melts further comprises a flux component comprising at least one fluxing agent selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride and potassium chloride, such that the cuprate body has superconductor properties at a temperature of 77 K

Probing superconductors. Spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanaguri, Tetsuo

2011-01-01

Discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in a cuprate triggered developments of various spectroscopic tools which have been utilized to elucidate electronic states of this mysterious compound. Particularly, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and scanning-tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy are improved considerably. It is now possible to map the superconducting gap in both momentum and real spaces using these two techniques. Here we review spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy which is able to explore momentum-space phase structure of the superconducting gap, as well as real-space structure. Applications of this technique to a cuprate and an iron-based superconductor are discussed. (author)

Dopant structural distortions in high-temperature superconductors: an active or a passive role?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haskel, D.; Stern, E.A.; Dogan, F.; Moodenbaugh, A.R.

2001-01-01

The parent compounds of high-temperature superconductors, such as YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 and La 2 CuO 4 , are strongly interacting electron systems, rendering them insulators with Mott-Hubbard gaps of a few electron volts. Charge carriers (holes) are introduced by chemical doping, causing an insulator-metal (IM) transition and, at low temperatures, superconductivity. The role of dopants is widely seen as limited to the introduction of holes into the CuO 2 planes (i.e. occupying electronic states derived from Cu 3d x2-y2 and O 2p x,y atomic orbitals). Most theories of high-T c superconductivity deal with pairing interactions between these planar holes. Local distortions around dopants are poorly understood, because of the experimental difficulty in obtaining such information, particularly at low doping. This has resulted in the neglect, in most theories, of the effect of such distortions on the chemical and electronic structure of high-T c superconductors. Angular-resolved X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy on oriented samples is an ideal technique to elucidate the dopant distortions. Element specificity, together with a large orientation dependence of the XAFS signal in these layered structures, allows the local structure around dopants to be resolved. Results are presented here on (Sr, Ba) and Ni dopants, which substitute at the La and Cu sites, respectively, of insulating La 2 CuO 4 . The relevance of the measured local distortions for a complete understanding of the normal and superconducting properties of cuprates is discussed. (au)

Pairing symmetries of several iron-based superconductor families and some similarities with cuprates and heavy-fermions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Das Tanmoy

2012-03-01

Full Text Available We show that, by using the unit-cell transformation between 1 Fe per unit cell to 2 Fe per unit cell, one can qualitatively understand the pairing symmetry of several families of iron-based superconductors. In iron-pnictides and iron-chalcogenides, the nodeless s±-pairing and the resulting magnetic resonance mode transform nicely between the two unit cells, while retaining all physical properties unchanged. However, when the electron-pocket disappears from the Fermi surface with complete doping in KFe2As2, we find that the unit-cell invariant requirement prohibits the occurrence of s±-pairing symmetry (caused by inter-hole-pocket nesting. However, the intra-pocket nesting is compatible here, which leads to a nodal d-wave pairing. The corresponding Fermi surface topology and the pairing symmetry are similar to Ce-based heavy-fermion superconductors. Furthermore, when the Fermi surface hosts only electron-pockets in KyFe2-xSe2, the inter-electron-pocket nesting induces a nodeless and isotropic d-wave pairing. This situation is analogous to the electron-doped cuprates, where the strong antiferromagnetic order creates similar disconnected electron-pocket Fermi surface, and hence nodeless d-wave pairing appears. The unit-cell transformation in KyFe2-xSe2 exhibits that the d-wave pairing breaks the translational symmetry of the 2 Fe unit cell, and thus cannot be realized unless a vacancy ordering forms to compensate for it. These results are consistent with the coexistence picture of a competing order and nodeless d-wave superconductivity in both cuprates and KyFe1.6Se2.

London penetration depth and thermal fluctuations in the sulphur hydride 203 K superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talantsev, E.F.; Crump, W.P. [Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, Lower Hutt (New Zealand); Storey, J.G.; Tallon, J.L. [Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, Lower Hutt (New Zealand); MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Lower Hutt (New Zealand)

2017-03-15

Recently, compressed H{sub 2}S has been shown to become superconducting at 203 K under a pressure of 155 GPa. One might expect fluctuations to dominate at such temperatures. Using the magnetisation critical current, we determine the ground-state London penetration depth, λ{sub 0} = 189 nm, and the superconducting energy gap, Δ{sub 0} = 27.8 meV, and find these parameters are similar to those of cuprate superconductors. We also determine the fluctuation temperature scale, T{sub fluc} = 1470 K, which shows that, unlike the cuprates, T{sub c} of the hydride is not limited by fluctuations. This is due to its three dimensionality and suggests the search for better superconductors should refocus on three-dimensional systems where the inevitable thermal fluctuations are less likely to reduce the observed T{sub c}. (copyright 2016 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Comparison of electromechanical properties and lattice distortions of different cuprate high temperature superconductors

CERN Document Server

Scheuerlein, C.; Grether, A; Rikel, M O; Hudspeth, J; Sugano, M; Ballarino, A; Bottura, L

2016-01-01

The electromechanical properties of different cuprate high-temperature superconductors, notably two ReBCO tapes, a reinforced and a nonreinforced Bi-2223 tape, and a Bi-2212 wire, have been studied. The axial tensile stress and strain, as well as the transverse compressive stress limits at which an irreversible critical current degradation occurs, are compared. The experimental setup has been integrated in a high-energy synchrotron beamline, and the self-field critical current and lattice parameter changes as a function of tensile stress and strain of a reinforced Bi-2223 tape have been measured simultaneously. Initially, the Bi-2223 filaments exhibit nearly linear elastic behavior up to the strain at which an irreversible degradation is observed. At 77 K, an axial Bi-2223 filament precompression of 0.09% in the composite tape and a Bi-2223 Poisson ratio ν = 0.21 have been determined.

Images of interlayer Josephson vortices in single-layer cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moler, K. A.; Kirtley, J. R.; Liang, R.; Bonn, D. A.; Hardy, W. N.; Williams, J. M.; Schlueter, J. A.; Hinks, D.; Villard, G.; Maignan, A.; Nohara, M.; Takagi, H.

2000-01-01

The interlayer penetration depth in layered superconductors may be determined from scanning Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) microscope images of interlayer Josephson vortices. The authors compare their findings at 4 K for single crystals of the organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu(NCS) 2 and three near-optimally doped cuprate superconductors: La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 , (Hg, Cu)Ba 2 CuO 4+δ , and Tl 2 Ba 2 CuO 6+δ

Raman scattering in cuprate superconductors : an analysis in the spin bag model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behera, S.N.; Gaitonde, D.M.

1992-01-01

The spin bag model for the high temperature superconductivity (SC) in the cuprates is reformulated, so that the spin density wave (SDW) collective mode mediated pairing interaction between the doped charge carriers, has a formal similarity to the usual phonon mediated BCS mechanism. The collective modes of the spin bag superconductor are calculated and the spectral density function for the amplitude mode is plotted. The self energy and the spectral density function of an optic phonon are calculated in the spin bag superconducting state. The spectral density function does not couple to the SDW-amplitude mode. A low frequency is shown to harden while the high frequency (greater than the SC-gap) one softens; which are features in qualitative agreement with the behaviour seen in the Raman data. When the phonon frequency is larger than the SC-gap, its spectral function shows a low frequency weak peak, attributed to the SC-gap excitation which is not observed experimentally. (author). 21 refs., 3 figs

Oxygen hole mechanism of superconductivity in cuprates and other metal oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, C.N.R.

1989-01-01

Several theoretical models have been proposed to explain high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates. An issue that is central to any model is the nature of copper and oxygen species in the cuprates since superconductivity clearly owes its origin to the Cu-O sheets universally present in all the cuprate families. Thus, the five families of cuprate superconductors, La 2 - x M x CuO 4 (M = Ca, Sr or Ba) of the K 2 NiF 4 structure, LnBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 - δ (Ln = Y or rare earth), Bi 2 (Ca, Sr) n + 1 Cu n O 2n + 4 , Tl 2 (Ca, Ba) n + 1 Cu n O 2n + 4 and Tl (Ca, Ba) n + 1 Cu n O 2n + 3 , all contain two-dimensional Cu-O sheets. The Cu-O chains additionally present in the 123 compounds do not seem to play any crucial role. It has been generally believed that magnetic, superconducting and related properties of cuprates have some thing to do with the mixed valency of copper. For example, the resonating valence bond (RVB) model requires the presence of holes on Cu sites (Cu 3 + species). There are also a few models, however, based on the presence of holes on oxygen sites (O - species); dimerization of oxygen holes has also been suggested to occur by a few workers. It is the purpose of this article to briefly present the available experimental evidence for the presence of oxygen holes and to discuss their role in high-temperature conductivity. It will be shown that these holes play a role in other oxide materials as well as including the Cu-free Ba 1 - x K x BiO 3 superconductor

Marginal Fermi liquid and kink structure of quasiparticles in cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakehashi, Y.; Fulde, P.

2007-01-01

On the basis of the self-consistent projection operator method for nonlocal excitations, we show that a kink structure appears in the quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the two-dimensional Hubbard model at low doping concentrations. It is caused by a mixing between the quasiparticle state and the excitations with short-range antiferromagnetic order. The results explain the kink in high-T c cuprates

Charged domain-wall dynamics in doped antiferromagnets and spin fluctuations in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaanen, J.; Horbach, M.L.; van Saarloos, W.

1996-01-01

Evidence is accumulating that the electron liquid in the cuprate superconductors is characterized by many-hole correlations of the charged magnetic domain-wall type. Here we focus on the strong-coupling limit where all holes are bound to domain walls. We assert that at high temperatures a classical domain-wall fluid is realized and show that the dynamics of such a fluid is characterized by spatial and temporal crossover scales set by temperature itself. The fundamental parameters of this fluid are such that the domain-wall motions dominate the low-frequency spin fluctuations and we derive predictions for the behavior of the dynamical magnetic susceptibility. We argue that a crossover occurs from a high-temperature classical to a low-temperature quantum regime, in direct analogy with helium. We discuss some general characteristics of the domain-wall quantum liquid, realized at low temperatures. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Doping-dependent quasiparticle band structure in cuprate superconductors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eder, R; Ohta, Y.; Sawatzky, G.A

1997-01-01

We present an exact diagonalization study of the single-particle spectral function in the so-called t-t'-t ''-J model in two dimensions. As a key result, we find that hole doping leads to a major reconstruction of the quasiparticle band structure near (pi,0): whereas for the undoped system the

Interplay of structural transition and superconductivity in cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Haranath; Mitra, Manidipa; Behera, S.N.; Ghatak, S.K.

1997-01-01

The presence of lattice distortion is known to suppress the superconducting (SC) transition in the cuprates. It is now accepted that electron correlation plays a dominant role in shaping the properties of these undoped and doped systems. Furthermore, since the Fermi level in these systems lies in a degenerate band of Cu : d and O : p orbitals the structural transition can be modeled as a band Jahn-Teller effect. We study the coexistence of superconductivity and band Jahn-Teller (J-T) distortion, taking into account the electron correlation within the slave boson formalism. It is shown that with increasing dopant concentration (δ), the structural transition temperature (T s ) remains constant up to a certain value and then vanishes, while the SC transition temperature (T c ) increases to a maximum value. The highest value of T c corresponds to that value of δ where T s vanishes. Besides with increasing lattice distortion superconductivity is suppressed. These findings are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results. (author)

What is strange about high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates?

Science.gov (United States)

Božović, I.; He, X.; Wu, J.; Bollinger, A. T.

2017-10-01

Cuprate superconductors exhibit many features, but the ultimate question is why the critical temperature (Tc) is so high. The fundamental dichotomy is between the weak-pairing, Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) scenario, and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of strongly-bound pairs. While for underdoped cuprates it is hotly debated which of these pictures is appropriate, it is commonly believed that on the overdoped side strongly-correlated fermion physics evolves smoothly into the conventional BCS behavior. Here, we test this dogma by studying the dependence of key superconducting parameters on doping, temperature, and external fields, in thousands of cuprate samples. The findings do not conform to BCS predictions anywhere in the phase diagram.

Oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cava, R.J.

2000-01-01

This article briefly reviews ceramic superconductors from historical and materials perspectives. It describes the factors that distinguish high-temperature cuprate superconductors from most electronic ceramics and places them in the context of other families of superconducting materials. Finally, it describes some of the scientific issues presently being actively pursued in the search for the mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity and the directions of research into new superconducting ceramics in recent years

Fe-vacancy and superconductivity in FeSe-based superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C. H.; Chen, T. K.; Chang, C. C.; Lee, Y. C.; Wang, M. J.; Huang, K. C.; Wu, P. M.; Wu, M. K.

2018-06-01

This review summarizes recent advancements in FeSe and related systems. The FeSe and related superconductors are currently receiving considerable attention for the high Tcs observed and for many similar features to the high Tc cuprate superconductors. These similarities suggest that understanding the FeSe based compounds could potentially help our understanding of the cuprates. We shall first review the common features observed in the FeSe-based system. It was found that with a careful control of material synthesizing processes, numerous rich phases have been observed in the FeSe-based system. Detailed studies show that the Fe-vacancy ordered phases found in the FeSe based compounds, which are non-superconducting Mott insulators, are the parent compounds of the superconductors. Superconductivity emerges from the parent phases by disordering the Fe vacancy order, often by a simple annealing treatment. Recent high temperature X-ray diffraction experiments show that the degree of structural distortion associated with the disorder of Fe-vacancy is closely related to volume fraction of the superconductivity observed. These results suggest the strong lattice to spin coupling are important for the occurrence of superconductivity in FeSe based superconductors.

Thermodynamic Critical Field and Superconducting Fluctuation of Vortices for High Temperature Cuprate Superconductor: La-214

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yung Moo Huh

2001-01-01

Thermodynamics has been studied systematically for the high temperature cuprate superconductor La 2-x Sr x CuO 4-δ , La-214, in the entire superconductive region from strongly underdoped to strongly overdoped regimes. Magnetization studies with H(parallel)c have been made in order to investigate the changes in free energy of the system as the number of carriers is reduced. Above the superconducting transition temperature, the normal-state magnetization exhibits a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnetic behavior. Below T c , magnetization data are thermodynamically reversible over large portions of the H-T plane, so the free energy is well defined in these regions. As the Sr concentration is varied over the wide range from 0.060 (strongly underdoped) to 0.234 (strongly overdoped), the free energy change goes through a maximum at the optimum doped in a manner similar to the T c0 vs. x curve. The density of states, N(0), remains nearly constant in the overdoped and optimum doped regimes, taking a broad maximum around x = 0.188, and then drops abruptly towards zero in the underdoped regime. The La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 (La-214) system displays the fluctuating vortex behavior with the characteristic of either 2D or 3D fluctuations as indicated by clearly identifiable crossing points T* close to T c . The dimensional character of the fluctuations depends on both applied magnetic fields and the density of charge carriers. The dimensional crossover from 2D to 3D occurs in the strongly underdoped regime when the c-axis coherence distance ζ c becomes comparable to the spacing between adjacent CuO 2 layers s at sufficiently high magnetic fields near H c2

Thermodynamic Critical Field and Superconducting Fluctuation of Vortices for High Temperature Cuprate Superconductor: La-214

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finnemore, Douglas K.

2001-01-01

Thermodynamics has been studied systematically for the high temperature cuprate superconductor La 2-x Sr x CuO 4-δ , La-214, in the entire superconductive region from strongly underdoped to strongly overdoped regimes. Magnetization studies with H (parallel) c have been made in order to investigate the changes in free energy of the system as the number of carriers is reduced. Above the superconducting transition temperature, the normal-state magnetization exhibits a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnetic behavior. Below T c , magnetization data are thermodynamically reversible over large portions of the H-T plane, so the free energy is well defined in these regions. As the Sr concentration is varied over the wide range from 0.060 (strongly underdoped) to 0.234 (strongly overdoped), the free energy change goes through a maximum at the optimum doped in a manner similar to the T c0 vs. x curve. The density of states, N(0), remains nearly constant in the overdoped and optimum doped regimes, taking a broad maximum around x = 0.188, and then drops abruptly towards zero in the underdoped regime. The La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 (La-214) system displays the fluctuating vortex behavior with the characteristic of either 2D or 3D fluctuations as indicated by clearly identifiable crossing points T* close to T c . The dimensional character of the fluctuations depends on both applied magnetic fields and the density of charge carriers. The dimensional crossover from 2D to 3D occurs in the strongly underdoped regime when the c-axis coherence distance ξ c becomes comparable to the spacing between adjacent CuO 2 layers s at sufficiently high magnetic field near H c2

Studies of High-T$_{c}$ Superconductors Doped with Radioactive Isotopes

CERN Multimedia

Alves, E J; Goncalves marques, J; Cardoso, S; Lourenco, A A; Sousa, J B

2002-01-01

%title\\\\ \\\\We propose to study High T$_{c} $ Superconductors~(HTSc) doped with radioactive elements at ISOLDE, in order to investigate some of the problems that persist after use of conventional characterization techniques. Three main topics are proposed: \\begin{enumerate} \\item Characterization of the order/disorder of Hg in the Hg-planes of the HTSc family Hg$_{1}$Ba$_{2}$R$_{(n-1)}$Cu$_{n}$O$_{(2n+2+\\delta)}$ (T$_{c}$ > 130 K) due to defects or impurities such as C and Au. \\item Studies of the doping of Infinite Layers Cuprates (RCuO$_{2}$)$_{n}$, R=Ca, Sr or Ba, using unstable nuclei of the alkaline-earth (IIA) group which decay to the alkaline nuclei (IA) group. The purpose is to introduce charge carriers in these materials by changing the valence of the cations during the nuclear transmutation. The possibility of using ion implantation to introduce directly an alkaline dopant will also be studied. \\item Studies of the Hg/Au doping of high quality YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ thin films. We intend to chara...

A perspective on the Fe-based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, John A

2010-01-01

FeSe is employed as reference material to elucidate the observed high T c superconducting behaviour of the related layered iron pnictides. The structural and ensuing semimetallic band structural forms are here rather unusual, with the resulting ground state details extremely sensitive to the precise shape of the Fe-X coordination unit. The superconductivity is presented as coming from a combination of resonant valence bond and excitonic insulator physics, and incorporating boson-fermion degeneracy. Although sourced in a very different fashion, the latter leads to some similarities with the high temperature superconducting (HTSC) cuprates. The excitonic insulator behaviour sees spin density wave, charge density wave/periodic structural distortion, and superconductive instabilities all vie for ground state status. The conflict leads to a very sensitive and complex set of properties, frequently mirroring HTSC cuprate behaviour. The delicate balance between ground states is made particularly difficult to unravel by the micro-inhomogeneity of structural form which it can engender. It is pointed out that several other notable superconductors, layered in form, semimetallic with indirect overlap and possessing homopolar bonding, would look to fall into the same general category, β-ZrNCl and MgB 2 and the high pressure forms of several elements, like sulfur, phosphorus, lithium and calcium, being cases in point. (topical review)

Growth of high-temperature superconductor crystals from flux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demianets, L.N.; Bykov, A.B.; Melnikov, O.K.; Stishov, S.M.

1991-01-01

Crystallization of high-temperature superconductors was studied in La-Sr-Cu-O, Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems. Platelet crystals YBa 2 Cu 3 Osub(6.5+x) were obtained by spontaneous crystallization from homogeneous nonstoichiometric melts enriched in barium and copper oxides. Lasub(2-x)Sr x CuO 4 was prepared by slow cooling of melts enriched in copper oxide. Bi 2 (Sr, Ca)sub(n+1)Cu n O y , (n=1;2) was obtained by melting zone travelling. The crystals show transition to superconducting state at T=93K, ΔT 0.2-0.5 K (Y, Ba cuprate), T=87K, ΔT 2K (Bi, Sr, Ca-cuprate). La, Sr-cuprate single crystals obtained by Czochralski method did not show transition to superconducting state. For flux-grown crystals T c was 5-26 K depending on the composition, growth and heat treatment. The short characterization of some accessory phases (Ba 3 Y 2 Cu 3 PtO 10 , Casub(1.75)Srsub(1.5)Cusub(0.75)PtO 6 , BaCuO 2 , Ba 41 Cu 44 O 84 Cl 2 ) is reported. (author). 15 ref s., 8 figs

A pseudogap model beyond BCS for the cuprates: The effect of order parameter symmetry, Debye frequency and band structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez-Nunez, J.J.; Schmidt, A.A.; Beck, H.; Valera, M.

2005-08-01

One of the most intriguing aspects of high temperature superconductors (HTSC) is the presence of the pseudogap in the normal and the superconducting phases of the cuprate compounds. Several pseudogap models have been proposed to explain the $abnormal$ properties of the cuprates. One of the recent models relies on the assumption that the self-energy is given by Σ PG (iω n )=- E g 2 (k)G 0 (k,-iω n ) where G 0 (k,iω n is the one- particle free Green function. Going beyond this mean field model for the pseudogap we now take into account fluctuations of the pseudogap as Σ PG (iω n )=- E g 2 (k)G PG (k,-iω n ) where G PG (k,iω n is the one-particle full Green function. We study the combined effect of the band structure and the Debye frequency, ω D , on the superconducting critical temperature, T c , as a function of the number of carriers per site, n. Our conclusions are: 1) increasing the value of V/t increases the value of T c /t; 2) increasing the value of E G /t decreases the value of T c /t. By the way, one needs some critical value of V/t to have finite values of T c /t. This is the reason we have taken high values of V/ to find superconductivity; 3) decreasing the value of ω D /t decreases the value of T c /t. This is reasonable since we have less available states around the Fermi; 4) the inclusion of α', which we call the effect of the band structure, is important because it moves the center of curve of T c /t x n. The center of this curve, with respect to half-filling (n=1), is displaced to the left if α'>0.0; 5) the chemical potential is defined in the region where T c /t ≠ 0. However, in this region, it is almost identical for different values of V/t. This is due to the fact that μ is a global property; 6) our model always produces d-wave superconductivity around the Fermi level, independent whether E G (K-bar)/t is s- or d-wave symmetry. (author)

Identifying the genes of unconventional high temperature superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiangping

We elucidate a recently emergent framework in unifying the two families of high temperature (high [Formula: see text]) superconductors, cuprates and iron-based superconductors. The unification suggests that the latter is simply the counterpart of the former to realize robust extended s-wave pairing symmetries in a square lattice. The unification identifies that the key ingredients (gene) of high [Formula: see text] superconductors is a quasi two dimensional electronic environment in which the d -orbitals of cations that participate in strong in-plane couplings to the p -orbitals of anions are isolated near Fermi energy. With this gene, the superexchange magnetic interactions mediated by anions could maximize their contributions to superconductivity. Creating the gene requires special arrangements between local electronic structures and crystal lattice structures. The speciality explains why high [Formula: see text] superconductors are so rare. An explicit prediction is made to realize high [Formula: see text] superconductivity in Co/Ni-based materials with a quasi two dimensional hexagonal lattice structure formed by trigonal bipyramidal complexes.

Magnetic behavior of light rare earth ions in (Nd,Eu,Gd)-123 superconductors

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jirsa, Miloš; Rameš, Michal; Marcenat, C.; Wolf, T.

2013-01-01

Roč. 26, č. 4 (2013), s. 901-905 ISSN 1557-1939 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ME10069 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : high- T c superconductors * cuprates * thermodynamic properties * LRE-123 * paramagnetic ions Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.930, year: 2013

EDITORIAL: The electromagnetic properties of iron-based superconductors The electromagnetic properties of iron-based superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Prozorov, Ruslan; Gurevich, Alex; Luke, Graeme

2010-05-01

cuprates, a superconducting 'dome' is formed upon doping the parent compounds, which exhibits antiferromagnetic and structural transitions at temperatures well above the superconducting critical temperature. This special section touches on several key aspects of these new iron-based superconductors. These topics include materials synthesis and basic characterization, the role of impurities and pairing symmetry, and mapping of the superconducting phase diagram as a function of chemical doping and pressure. Studies of transport, magnetic and optical properties account for a substantial portion of this special section. Particular attention is devoted to the role of magnetic excitations and the issue of the possible coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity. Attempts to understand the nature of the superconducting pairing are discussed from several angles, including tunneling spectroscopy and the London penetration depth. The vortex state is probed by magnetization, transport and neutron scattering, while the irreversible state is probed by studies of magnetic and transport critical current density.

Infrared properties of high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlesinger, Z.; Rotter, L.D.; Collins, R.T.; Holtzberg, F.; Feild, C.

1991-01-01

Over the past several years a coherent phenomenology of the high T c cuprate superconductors has begun to emerge. Infrared measurements have contributed several important ingredients to this picture including: (1) the inference of a scattering rate that is linear in frequency for ω>T, and of order ω, (2) a characteristic energy scale in the superconducting state of 500 cm -1 (60 meV), which can be interpreted as a superconducting pair excitation threshold or energy gap, and (3) evidence for very unusual temperature dependence in the vicinity of T c . An attempt to describe these aspects of the data is presented here

Local electromagnetic waves in layered superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gvozdikov, V.M.; Vega-Monroy, R.

1999-01-01

A dispersion equation for electromagnetic waves localized on a defect layer of a layered superconductor is obtained in the frame of a model which neglects electron hopping between layers but assumes an arbitrary current-current response function within the layers. The defect layer differs from the rest of the layers by density and mass of charge carriers. It is shown that near the critical temperature in the London limit the local mode lies within the superconducting gap and has a wave vector threshold depending on the layered crystal and defect layer parameters. In the case of highly anisotropic layered superconductors, like Bi- or Tl-based high-T c cuprates, the local mode exists within a narrow range of positive variations of the mass and charge carriers. (author)

Superconductors go organic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singleton, John; Mielke, Charles

2002-01-01

Superconductors made from organic molecules are revealing fascinating new physics and could offer huge technological potential as well. Solid-state physicists are simple people. They believe that basic research is best carried out on chemically simple materials. Traditionally they have focused on inorganic elements, alloys, and other straightforward compounds. This approach has provided some notable successes. For example, any physicist over 35 will remember the huge fuss surrounding the discovery of high-temperature cuprate superconductors in 1986, which led to the infamous 'Woodstock of physics' meeting the following year. Just before the cuprates were discovered, however, an alternative view had begun to emerge. Physical chemists such as Klaus Bechgaard, Peter Day, Gunzi Saito, Viktor Schegolev and Jack Williams were suggesting that the 'simple-materials-are-best' assumption was misplaced. They argued that some of the most exciting studies in solid-state physics can - and should - be attempted on crystalline organic materials. Although chemically complex, such materials are beautifully simple in other ways, and they can, for example, provide much more information about basic phenomena like superconductivity and magnetism than supposedly simple materials. Physicists eventually embraced these materials with enthusiasm, and the number of papers on crystalline organic metals overtook those on the high-temperature cuprate superconductors three years ago. The gap has widened ever since, and the fact that God and a billion years of evolution have produced a processor based on three-dimensional arrays of molecules, rather than silicon or gallium-arsenide chips, is taken as a good omen by those working in the field. (U.K.)

Misfit dislocations and phase transformations in high-T sub c superconducting films

CERN Document Server

Gutkin, M Y

2002-01-01

A theoretical model is suggested that describes the effects of misfit stresses on defect structures, phase content and critical transition temperature T sub c in high-T sub c superconducting films. The focus is placed on the exemplary case of YBaCuO films deposited onto LaSrAlO sub 4 substrates. It is theoretically revealed here that misfit stresses are capable of inducing phase transformations controlled by the generation of misfit dislocations in growing cuprate films. These transformations, in the framework of the suggested model, account for experimental data on the influence of the film thickness on phase content and critical temperature T sub c of superconducting cuprate films, reported in the literature. The potential role of stress-assisted phase transformations in suppression of critical current density across grain boundaries in high-T sub c superconductors is briefly discussed.

Magnetic uni- and tri-axial grain-orientation in superconductors with layered structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horii, S.; Yamaki, M.; Ogino, H.; Maeda, T.; Shimoyama, J.

2010-01-01

We report the grain-orientation effects under a modulated rotation magnetic field for Y-based cuprate superconductors and LaFeAsO (La1111). Tri-axial orientation has been successfully achieved only for orthorhombic Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O y and YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 powders without a twin microstructure, while separation of three crystallographic axes could not be observed in twinned YBa 2 Cu 3 O y (Y123) and tetragonal La1111 powders. The morphology of grains, in addition to the symmetry of crystal structures, seriously affects the degrees of tri-axial orientation, which means that the control of twin microstructures is required for the tri-axial magnetic orientation in Y123.

Amperean Pairing and the Pseudogap Phase of Cuprate Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Patrick A.

2014-07-01

The enigmatic pseudogap phase in underdoped cuprate high-Tc superconductors has long been recognized as a central puzzle of the Tc problem. Recent data show that the pseudogap is likely a distinct phase, characterized by a medium range and quasistatic charge ordering. However, the origin of the ordering wave vector and the mechanism of the charge order is unknown. At the same time, earlier data show that precursive superconducting fluctuations are also associated with this phase. We propose that the pseudogap phase is a novel pairing state where electrons on the same side of the Fermi surface are paired, in strong contrast with conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory which pairs electrons on opposite sides of the Fermi surface. In this state the Cooper pair carries a net momentum and belongs to a general class called pair density wave. The microscopic pairing mechanism comes from a gauge theory formulation of the resonating valence bond (RVB) picture, where spinons traveling in the same direction feel an attractive force in analogy with Ampere's effects in electromagnetism. We call this Amperean pairing. Charge order automatically appears as a subsidiary order parameter even when long-range pair order is destroyed by phase fluctuations. Our theory gives a prediction of the ordering wave vector which is in good agreement with experiment. Furthermore, the quasiparticle spectrum from our model explains many of the unusual features reported in photoemission experiments. The Fermi arc, the unusual way the tip of the arc terminates, and the relation of the spanning vector of the arc tips to the charge ordering wave vector also come out naturally. Finally, we propose an experiment that can directly test the notion of Amperean pairing.

Mottness in high-temperature copper-oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, Philip; Choy, T.-P.; Leigh, Robert G

2009-01-01

The standard theory of metals, Fermi liquid theory, hinges on the key assumption that although the electrons interact, the low-energy excitation spectrum stands in a one-to-one correspondence with that of a non-interacting system. In the normal state of the copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors, drastic deviations from the Fermi liquid picture are obtained, highlighted by a pseudogap, broad spectral features and T-linear resistivity. A successful theory in this context must confront the highly constraining scaling argument which establishes that all 4-Fermi interactions are irrelevant (except for pairing) at a Fermi surface. This argument lays plain that new low-energy degrees of freedom are necessary. This paper focuses on the series of experiments on copper-oxide superconductors which reveal that the number of low-energy addition states per electron per spin exceeds unity, in direct violation of the key Fermi liquid tenet. These experiments point to new degrees of freedom, not made out of the elemental excitations, as the key mechanism by which Fermi liquid theory breaks down in the cuprates. A recent theoretical advance which permits an explicit integration of the high-energy scale in the standard model for the cuprates reveals the source of the new dynamical degrees of freedom at low energies, a charge 2e bosonic field which has nothing to do with pairing but rather represents the mixing with the high-energy scales. We demonstrate explicitly that at half-filling, this new degree of freedom provides a dynamical mechanism for the generation of the charge gap and antiferromagnetism in the insulating phase. At finite doping, many of the anomalies of the normal state of the cuprates including the pseudogap, T-linear resistivity and the mid-infrared band are reproduced. A possible route to superconductivity is explored

High-T{sub c} cuprate superconductivity in a nutshell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Won, Hyekyung [Department of Physics, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-702 (Korea); Haas, Stephan; Parker, David; Maki, Kazumi [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484 (United States)

2005-02-01

Since the discovery of high-T{sub c} cuprate superconductivity in 1986 many new experimental techniques and theoretical concepts have been developed. In particular it was shown that the BCS theory of d-wave superconductivity describes semi-quantitatively the high-T{sub c} superconductivity. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that Volovik's approach is extremely useful for finding the quasiparticle properties in the vortex state. Here we survey these developments and forecast future directions. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Fundamental studies of superconductors using scanning magnetic imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirtley, J R [Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (United States)

2010-12-01

In this review I discuss the application of scanning magnetic imaging to fundamental studies of superconductors, concentrating on three scanning magnetic microscopies-scanning SQUID microscopy (SSM), scanning Hall bar microscopy (SHM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). I briefly discuss the history, sensitivity, spatial resolution, invasiveness and potential future developments of each technique. I then discuss a selection of applications of these microscopies. I start with static imaging of magnetic flux: an SSM study provides deeper understanding of vortex trapping in narrow strips, which are used to reduce noise in superconducting circuitry. Studies of vortex trapping in wire lattices, clusters and arrays of rings and nanoholes show fascinating ordering effects. The cuprate high-T{sub c} superconductors are shown to have predominantly d-wave pairing symmetry by magnetic imaging of the half-integer flux quantum effect. Arrays of superconducting rings act as a physical analog for the Ising spin model, with the half-integer flux quantum effect helping to eliminate one source of disorder in antiferromagnetic arrangements of the ring moments. Tests of the interlayer tunneling model show that the condensation energy available from this mechanism cannot account for the high critical temperatures observed in the cuprates. The strong divergence in the magnetic fields of Pearl vortices allows them to be imaged using SSM, even for penetration depths of a millimeter. Unusual vortex arrangements occur in samples comparable in size to the coherence length. Spontaneous magnetization is not observed in Sr{sub 2}RuO{sub 4}, which is believed to have p{sub x} {+-} ip{sub y} pairing symmetry, although effects hundreds of times bigger than the sensitivity limits had been predicted. However, unusual flux trapping is observed in this superconductor. Finally, unusual flux arrangements are also observed in magnetic superconductors. I then turn to vortex dynamics: imaging of vortices

Five-fold way to new high Tc superconductors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Discovery of high c superconductivity in La2−BaCuO4 by Bednorz and Muller in 1986 was a breakthrough in the 75-year long search for new superconductors. Since then new high c superconductors, not involving copper, have also been discovered. Superconductivity in cuprates also inspired resonating valence ...

Raman studies of lanthanum cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, W.H.; Peters, C.R.; Logothetis, E.M.

1989-01-01

Raman-scattering studies of the high-T/sub c/ superconductor La/sub 2-//sub x/(Sr, Ba)/sub x/CuO 4 are briefly reviewed. A detailed analysis of the phonon-mode symmetries is given along with a discussion of the effects expected from the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition, which is known to occur in these materials. Survey spectra are given for powders, ceramics, and single crystals, and an oxide of Cu is identified as the primary impurity phase. Extensive spectra are given from oriented single crystals of La 2 CuO 4 and La/sub 1.85/Sr/sub 0.15/CuO 4 , and several mode assignments are made. Spectra for the high-temperature tetragonal phase and the low-temperature orthorhombic phase are given for each material. The soft phonon associated with the phase transition is seen in La 2 CuO 4 as is a broad peak arising from two-magnon scattering. Neither of these features is seen in the Sr-doped sample

Oxygen diffusion in high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothman, S.J.; Routbort, J.L.

1992-07-01

The cuprate superconductors are fascinating not only because of their technical promise, but also because of their structures, especially the anisotropy of the crystal lattice. There are some structural similarities among these compounds, but also significant differences. Measurements of the oxygen tracer diffusion coefficients have been carried out as a function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure, crystal orientation, and doping in the La-Sr-Cu-0, Y-Ba-Cu-0, and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-0 systems. These measurements have revealed a variety of defect mechanisms operating in these compounds; the exact nature of the mechanism depends on the details of the structure

Influence of the spatially inhomogeneous gap distribution on the quasiparticle current in c-axis junctions involving d-wave superconductors with charge density waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekino, T; Gabovich, A M; Suan Li, Mai; Szymczak, H; Voitenko, A I

2016-11-09

The quasiparticle tunnel current J(V) between the superconducting ab-planes along the c-axis and the corresponding conductance [Formula: see text] were calculated for symmetric junctions composed of disordered d-wave layered superconductors partially gapped by charge density waves (CDWs). Here, V is the voltage. Both the checkerboard and unidirectional CDWs were considered. It was shown that the spatial spread of the CDW-pairing strength substantially smears the peculiarities of G(V) appropriate to uniform superconductors. The resulting curves G(V) become very similar to those observed for a number of cuprates in intrinsic junctions, e.g. mesas. In particular, the influence of CDWs may explain the peak-dip-hump structures frequently found for high-T c oxides.

Metal-insulator crossover in superconducting cuprates in strong magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchetti, P.A.; Su Zhaobin; Yu Lu

2001-02-01

The metal-insulator crossover of the in-plane resistivity upon temperature decrease, recently observed in several classes of cuprate superconductors, when a strong magnetic field suppresses the superconductivity, is explained using the U(1)xSU(2) Chern-Simons gauge field theory. The origin of this crossover is the same as that for a similar phenomenon observed in heavily underdoped cuprates without magnetic field. It is due to the interplay between the diffusive motion of the charge carriers and the 'peculiar' localization effect due to short-range antiferromagnetic order. We also calculate the in-plane transverse magnetoresistance which is in a fairly good agreement with available experimental data. (author)

Simulating atomic-scale phenomena on surfaces of unconventional superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreisel, Andreas; Andersen, Brian [Niels Bohr Institute (Denmark); Choubey, Peayush; Hirschfeld, Peter [Univ. of Florida (United States); Berlijn, Tom [CNMS and CSMD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (United States)

2016-07-01

Interest in atomic scale effects in superconductors has increased because of two general developments: First, the discovery of new materials as the cuprate superconductors, heavy fermion and Fe-based superconductors where the coherence length of the cooper pairs is as small to be comparable to the lattice constant, rendering small scale effects important. Second, the experimental ability to image sub-atomic features using scanning-tunneling microscopy which allows to unravel numerous physical properties of the homogeneous system such as the quasi particle excitation spectra or various types of competing order as well as properties of local disorder. On the theoretical side, the available methods are based on lattice models restricting the spatial resolution of such calculations. In the present project we combine lattice calculations using the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations describing the superconductor with wave function information containing sub-atomic resolution obtained from ab initio approaches. This allows us to calculate phenomena on surfaces of superconductors as directly measured in scanning tunneling experiments and therefore opens the possibility to identify underlying properties of these materials and explain observed features of disorder. It will be shown how this method applies to the cuprate material Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} and a Fe based superconductor.

Synthesis, structural and physico-chemical studies of the monocrystal superconductor oxides Hg Ba2 Can-1 Cun O2n+2+δ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viallet-Guillen, Virginie

1998-01-01

The thesis presents the synthesis and the structural and physico-chemical properties of the mercury-based monocrystal superconductor oxides. The results reported in the first chapter refer to the first three members of the mercury cuprate series Hg-1201, Hg-1212 and Hg-1223. In the second chapter detailed results concerning the structure of these compounds are given highlighting the features common to all cuprates and pointing out the peculiarities of mercury phases. The third chapter presents the phase diagrams (δ, T, p(O 2 )) of the compounds HgBa 2 CuO 4+δ and HgBa 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 8+δ obtained by thermogravimetry under controlled atmosphere between 150 deg.C and 500 deg.C and thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. In the case of Hg-1201, the critical temperature shows a variation close to a parabolic law, with an optimal Tc of 96 K (δ≅0.10) while in Hg-1223 the Tc increases linearly with the O content up to the optimal Tc of 135 K (δ≅0.19) and decreases only by 2 K in the over-doped regime. Finally, in the fourth chapter different physical properties are reviewed. The obtained monocrystals allowed studying the resistive transitory anisotropy, the torque, the specific heat, the nuclear magnetic resonance and the Raman diffusion

The chaotic points and XRD analysis of Hg-based superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aslan, Oe [Anatuerkler Educational Consultancy and Trading Company, Orhan Veli Kanik Cad., 6/1, Kavacik 34810 Beykoz, Istanbul (Turkey); Oezdemir, Z Gueven [Physics Department, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, Esenler 34210, Istanbul (Turkey); Keskin, S S [Department of Environmental Eng., University of Marmara, Ziverbey, 34722, Istanbul (Turkey); Onbasli, Ue, E-mail: ozdenaslan@yahoo.co [Physics Department, University of Marmara, Ridvan Pasa Cad. 3. Sok. 85/12 Goztepe, Istanbul (Turkey)

2009-03-01

In this article, high T{sub c} mercury based cuprate superconductors with different oxygen doping rates have been examined by means of magnetic susceptibility (magnetization) versus temperature data and X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. The under, optimally and over oxygen doping procedures have been defined from the magnetic susceptibility versus temperature data of the superconducting sample by extracting the Meissner critical transition temperature, T{sub c} and the paramagnetic Meissner temperature, T{sub PME}, so called as the critical quantum chaos points. Moreover, the optimally oxygen doped samples have been investigated under both a.c. and d.c. magnetic fields. The related a.c. data for virgin(uncut) and cut samples with optimal doping have been obtained under a.c. magnetic field of 1 Gauss. For the cut sample with the rectangular shape, the chaotic points have been found to occur at 122 and 140 K, respectively. The Meissner critical temperature of 140 K is the new world record for the high temperature oxide superconductors under normal atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the crystallographic lattice parameters of superconducting samples have a crucial importance in calculating Josephson penetration depth determined by the XRD patterns. From the XRD data obtained for under and optimally doped samples, the crystal symmetries have been found in tetragonal structure.

Behaviour of superconductivity energetic characteristics in electron-doped cuprates. A simple model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristoffel, N.; Rubin, P.

2008-01-01

A simple model to describe the energetic phase diagram of electron-doped cuprate superconductor is developed. Interband pairing operates between the UHB and the defect states created by doping and supplied by both extincting HB-s. Two defect subbands correspond to the (π,0) and (π/2,π/2) momentum regions. Extended doping quenches the bare normal state gaps (pseudogaps). Maximal transition temperature corresponds to overlapping bands ensemble intersected by the chemical potential. Illustrative results for T c , pseudo- and superconducting gaps are calculated on the whole doping scale. Major characteristic features on the phase diagram are reproduced. Anticipated manifestation of gaps doping dynamics is discussed

A study of lattice dynamics in iron-based superconductors by inelastic light scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Um, Youngje

2013-12-13

After the discovery of high temperature (high T{sub c}) superconductivity in copper oxide-based materials (cuprates) in 1986, this phenomenon was a unique property of the cuprates for more than 20 years. The origin of high T{sub c} superconductivity is still under debate. In 2008, high T{sub c} superconductivity was discovered in iron-based compounds. This discovery presents new opportunities for the development of a fundamental understanding of high T{sub c} superconductivity. Density functional calculations indicate a weak electron-phonon coupling strength in iron-based superconductors and these suggest that superconductivity is not mediated by phonons. However, experimental report of a large isotope effect of the iron atoms on the superconductivity T{sub c} suggests that phonons play an important role in iron-based superconductors. Motivated by these findings, this thesis presents a Raman scattering study of the lattice dynamics of the iron-based superconductors Fe{sub 1+y}Te{sub 1-x}Se{sub x}, LiFeAs and NaFe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}As as a function of chemical composition and temperature. In Fe{sub 1+y}Te{sub 1-x}Se{sub x}, an unconventional linewidth broadening of the c-axis polarized Fe phonon of B{sub 1g} symmetry is found with decreasing temperature, which indicates an unusual coupling between the phonon and iron excessinduced magnetic fluctuations in this compound. In LiFeAs, the Raman scattering data provide evidence for a weak electron-phonon coupling, which is consistent with non-phonon mediated Cooper pairing in this compound. In NaFe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}As, upon cooling two features are observed: (i) an unconventional linewidth broadening of several phonons, which is indicative of spin fluctuation-phonon coupling, and (ii) a superconductivity-induced phonon lineshape renormalization, which can not be explained by standard model calculations.

Determination of Retardation Effects in the High Tc Cuprates from Sharvin Contact Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deutscher, G.

1995-01-01

It is well known that retardation effects are essential to allow the attractive part of the electron-electron interaction (for instance, phonon mediated) to overcome the Coulomb repulsion. In new superconductors such as the cuprates for which the interaction is a priori unknown, it is therefore essential to determine the retarded and non retarded parts of the interaction. We show how this can be achieved by an analysis of Sharvin contact measurements between a noble metal tip and a cuprate. It turns out that both the retarded and non retarded parts are large, the former being however larger than the later

High-T/sub c/ superconductor and its use in superconducting magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, M.A.

1988-02-01

Many of the proposed uses for the high-T/sub c/ superconductor involve the creation of a magnetic field using superconducting coils. This report will assess what is known about the high-T/sub c/ superconductors and take a realistic look at their potential use in various kinds of superconducting magnets. Based on what is known about the high-T/sub c/ superconductors, one can make a ''wish list'' of things that will make such materials useful for magnets. Then, the following question is asked. If one had a high-T/sub c/ superconductor with the same properties as modern niobium-titanium superconductor, how would the superconductor work in a magnet environment? Finally, this report will show the potential impact of the ideal high-T/sub c/ superconductor on: 1) accelerator dipole and quadrupole magnets, 2) superconducting magnets for use in space, and 3) superconducting solenoids for magnetic resonance imaging. 78 refs., 11 tabs

2011 Aspen Winter Conference on Contrasting Superconductivity of Pnictides and Cuprates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, P. [Aspen Center for Physics, CO (United States); Schmalian, J. [Aspen Center for Physics, CO (United States); Canfield, P. [Aspen Center for Physics, CO (United States); Chakravarty, S. [Aspen Center for Physics, CO (United States)

2011-05-02

Our quest for materials with better properties is closely integral to the fabric of our society. Currently the development of materials that will allow for improved generation, transport, and storage of energy is at the forefront of our research in condensed matter physics and materials science. Among these materials, compounds that exhibit correlated electron states and emergent phenomena such as superconductivity have great promise, but also difficulties that need to be overcome: problems associated with our need to reliably find, understand, improve and control these promising materials. At the same time, the field of correlated electrons represents the frontier of our understanding of the electronic properties of solids. It contains deep open scientific issues within the broad area of quantum phenomena in matter. The aim of this workshop is to explore and understand the physics of recently discovered Fe-based high-temperature superconductors and contrast and compare them with the cuprates. The superconductivity in iron pnictides, with transition temperatures in excess of 55 K, was discovered in early 2008. The impact of this discovery is comparable to cuprates discovered in 1986. At the same time a number of recent experimental developments in cuprates may lead to a shift in our thinking with regards to these materials. There is therefore much to be learned by devoting a conference in which both classes of superconductors are discussed, especially at this nascent stage of the pnictides.

Correlation and disorder-enhanced nematic spin response in superconductors with weakly broken rotational symmetry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Brian Møller; Graser, S.; Hirschfeld, P. J.

2012-01-01

Recent experimental and theoretical studies have highlighted the possible role of an electronic nematic liquid in underdoped cuprate superconductors. We calculate, within a model of d-wave superconductor with Hubbard correlations, the spin susceptibility in the case of a small explicitly broken...

Electron spectroscopy on high-temperature superconductors and related compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knupfer, M.

1994-01-01

In the last two classes of materials have been discovered which distinguish themselves due to a transition into the superconducting state at relatively high temperatures. These are the cuprate superconductors and the alkali metal doped fullerenes. In this work the electronic structure of representatives of these materials, undoped and Ca-doped YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 and A 3 C 60 (A=K, Rb), has been investigated using electron energy-loss spectroscopy and photoemission spectroscopy. (orig.) [de

Spatial distribution of superconducting and charge-density-wave order parameters in cuprates and its influence on the quasiparticle tunnel current (Review Article)

Science.gov (United States)

Gabovich, Alexander M.; Voitenko, Alexander I.

2016-10-01

The state of the art concerning tunnel measurements of energy gaps in cuprate oxides has been analyzed. A detailed review of the relevant literature is made, and original results calculated for the quasiparticle tunnel current J(V) between a metallic tip and a disordered d-wave superconductor partially gapped by charge density waves (CDWs) are reported, because it is this model of high-temperature superconductors that becomes popular owing to recent experiments in which CDWs were observed directly. The current was calculated suggesting the scatter of both the superconducting and CDW order parameters due to the samples' intrinsic inhomogeneity. It was shown that peculiarities in the current-voltage characteristics inherent to the case of homogeneous superconducting material are severely smeared, and the CDW-related features transform into experimentally observed peak-dip-hump structures. Theoretical results were used to fit data measured for YBa2Cu3O7-δ and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. The fitting demonstrated a good qualitative agreement between the experiment and model calculations. The analysis of the energy gaps in high-Tc superconductors is important both per se and as a tool to uncover the nature of superconductivity in cuprates not elucidated so far despite of much theoretical effort and experimental progress.

Unconventional superconductors. Anisotropy and multiband effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Askerzade, Iman [Ankara Univ. (Turkey). Center of Excellence of Superconductivity Research of Turkey; Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (Azerbaijan). Inst. of Physics

2012-07-01

This book deals with the new class of materials unconventional superconductors, cuprate compounds, borocarbides, magnesium-diboride and oxypnictides. It gives a systematical review of physical properties of novel superconductors. There is an increasing number of fundamental properties of these compounds which are relevant to future applications, opening new possibilities. The theoretical explanation is presented as generalization of Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology and microscopical Eliashberg theory for multiband and anisotropic superconductors. Various applications of this approaches and time dependent version of two-band Ginzburg-Landau theory are considered. An important topic are fluctuations in two-band and anisotropic superconductors. Significant new results on current problems are presented to stimulate further research. Numerous illustrations, diagrams and tables make this book useful as a reference for students and researchers. (orig.)

Unconventional superconductors anisotropy and multiband effects

CERN Document Server

Askerzade, Iman

2012-01-01

This book deals with the new class of materials unconventional superconductors, cuprate compounds, borocarbides, magnesium-diboride and oxypnictides. It gives a systematical review of physical properties of novel  superconductors. There is an increasing number of fundamental properties of these compounds which are relevant to future applications, opening new possibilities. The theoretical explanation is presented as generalization of Ginzburg-Landau phenomenology and microscopical Eliashberg theory for multiband and anisotropic superconductors. Various applications of this approachs and time dependent version of two-band Ginzburg-Landau theory are considered. An important topic are fluctuations in two-band and anisotropic superconductors. Significant  new results on current problems are presented to stimulate further research. Numerous illustrations, diagrams and tables make this book useful as a reference for students and researchers.

High pressure study of high temperatures superconductors: Material base, universal Tc-behavior, and charge transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, C.W.; Hor, P.H.; Lin, J.G.; Xiong, Q.; Huang, Z.J.; Meng, R.L.; Xue, Y.Y.; Jean, Y.C.

1991-01-01

The superconducting transition temperature (T c ) has been measured in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6.7 , YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 , Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O 15 , YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 , Tl 2 Ba 2 Ca n-1 Cu n O n+4-δ , La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 , and La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 under high pressures. The pressure effect on the positron lifetime (τ) has also been determined in the first four compounds. Based on these and other high pressure data, the authors suggest that (1) all known cuprate high temperature superconductors (HTS's) may be no more than mere modifications of either 214-T, 214-T', 123, or a combination of 214-T' and 123, (2) a nonmonotonic T c -behavior may govern the T c -variation of all hole cuprate HTS's and (3) pressure can induce charge transfer leading to a T c -change. The implications of these suggestions will also be discussed

Pseudogap and cuprate superconductivity: MaxEnt-μSR studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boekema, C.; Schwartz, R.; Love, A.; Browne, M.C.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • A magnetic origin of cuprate superconductivity is plausible. • Cuprate loop currents are observed, close to predictions. • Pseudogap effects are seen above and below T c . -- Abstract: The basic physics of cuprate superconductivity is still much deliberated after 27 years of research. In contrast to phononic or polaronic roots, Varma’s theory promotes a magnetic origin. To probe cuprate magnetism, we examine zero field (ZF) muon-spin-rotation (μSR) data of RBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ (RBCO; R = Gd, Eu) especially near T c . Possible weak effects are analyzed using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt, ME) to transform our μSR time series. Concerning predicted pseudogap loop currents, we have observed μSR signals in zero field for GdBCO above and now also below T c . These are near predicted fields of about 100 Oe. Using MaxEnt, we analyze transverse field (TF) μSR data of optimal doped EuBCO. Our focus is also on a temperature interval above T c to comprehend precursor effects. Our results point toward magnetic roots of cuprate superconductivity

Interpretation of scanning tunneling quasiparticle interference and impurity states in cuprates.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreisel, A; Choubey, Peayush; Berlijn, T; Ku, W; Andersen, B M; Hirschfeld, P J

2015-05-29

We apply a recently developed method combining first principles based Wannier functions with solutions to the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations to the problem of interpreting STM data in cuprate superconductors. We show that the observed images of Zn on the surface of Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8} can only be understood by accounting for the tails of the Cu Wannier functions, which include significant weight on apical O sites in neighboring unit cells. This calculation thus puts earlier crude "filter" theories on a microscopic foundation and solves a long-standing puzzle. We then study quasiparticle interference phenomena induced by out-of-plane weak potential scatterers, and show how patterns long observed in cuprates can be understood in terms of the interference of Wannier functions above the surface. Our results show excellent agreement with experiment and enable a better understanding of novel phenomena in the cuprates via STM imaging.

Low-energy excitations and Fermi surface topology of parent cobaltate superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasan, M.Z.; Qian, D.; Foo, M.; Cava, R.J.

2007-01-01

The essential framework for cuprate superconductivity is that of a spin-1/2 electron system in the vicinity of a half filled (Mott limit) lattice. Of all oxide superconductors, this framework is most closely matched in the sodium doped cobalt oxides except that it is realized on a triangular lattice. We employ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the quasiparticle dynamics of the parent cobaltate superconductor. Results reveal a single hole-like Fermi surface generated by the crossing of heavy (∼15 m e ∼ 3m LDA ) quasiparticles with a negative effective hopping (t eff F (k → )∼v F ∼0.4±0.1 eV A) observed. ARPES data is consistent with bulk thermodynamic specific heat and quantum oscillation measurements

Chemical bonding in Tl cuprates studied by x-ray photoemission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasquez, R.P.; Siegal, M.P.; Overmyer, D.L.; Ren, Z.F.; Lao, J.Y.; Wang, J.H.

1999-01-01

Epitaxial thin films of the Tl cuprate superconductors Tl 2 Ba 2 CaCu 2 O 8 , Tl 2 Ba 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10 , and Tl 0.78 Bi 0.22 Ba 0.4 Sr 1.6 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 9-δ are studied with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. These data, together with previous measurements in this lab of Tl 2 Ba 2 CuO 6+δ and TlBa 2 CaCu 2 O 7-δ , comprise a comprehensive data set for a comparative study of Tl cuprates with a range of chemical and electronic properties. In the Cu 2p spectra, a larger energy separation between the satellite and main peaks (E s -E m ) and a lower intensity ratio (I s /I m ) are found to correlate with higher values of T c . Analysis of these spectra within a simple configuration interaction model suggests that higher values of T c are related to low values of the O 2p→Cu 3d charge transfer energy. In the O 1s region, a smaller bond length between Ba and Cu-O planar oxygen is found to correlate with a lower binding energy for the signal associated with Cu-O bonding, most likely resulting from the increased polarization screening by Ba 2+ ions. For samples near optimum doping, maximum T c is observed to occur when the Tl 4f 7/2 binding energy is near 117.9 eV, which is near the middle of the range of values observed for Tl cuprates. Higher Tl 4f 7/2 binding energies, corresponding to formal oxidation states nearer Tl 1+ , are also found to correlate with longer bond lengths between Ba and Tl-O planar oxygen, and with higher binding energies of the O 1s signal associated with Tl-O bonding. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Insights on the cuprate high energy anomaly observed in ARPES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moritz, B.; Johnston, S.; Devereaux, T.P.

2010-01-01

Recently, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy has been used to highlight an anomalously large band renormalization at high binding energies in cuprate superconductors: the high energy 'waterfall' or high energy anomaly (HEA). The anomaly is present for both hole- and electron-doped cuprates as well as the half-filled parent insulators with different energy scales arising on either side of the phase diagram. While photoemission matrix elements clearly play a role in changing the aesthetic appearance of the band dispersion, i.e. creating a 'waterfall'-like appearance, they provide an inadequate description for the physics that underlies the strong band renormalization giving rise to the HEA. Model calculations of the single-band Hubbard Hamiltonian showcase the role played by correlations in the formation of the HEA and uncover significant differences in the HEA energy scale for hole- and electron-doped cuprates. In addition, this approach properly captures the transfer of spectral weight accompanying doping in a correlated material and provides a unifying description of the HEA across both sides of the cuprate phase diagram. We find that the anomaly demarcates a transition, or cross-over, from a quasiparticle band at low binding energies near the Fermi level to valence bands at higher binding energy, assumed to be of strong oxygen character.

Insights on the cuprate high energy anomaly observed in ARPES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moritz, B., E-mail: moritzb@slac.stanford.ed [Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202 (United States); Johnston, S. [Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 (Canada); Devereaux, T.P. [Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2010-07-15

Recently, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy has been used to highlight an anomalously large band renormalization at high binding energies in cuprate superconductors: the high energy 'waterfall' or high energy anomaly (HEA). The anomaly is present for both hole- and electron-doped cuprates as well as the half-filled parent insulators with different energy scales arising on either side of the phase diagram. While photoemission matrix elements clearly play a role in changing the aesthetic appearance of the band dispersion, i.e. creating a 'waterfall'-like appearance, they provide an inadequate description for the physics that underlies the strong band renormalization giving rise to the HEA. Model calculations of the single-band Hubbard Hamiltonian showcase the role played by correlations in the formation of the HEA and uncover significant differences in the HEA energy scale for hole- and electron-doped cuprates. In addition, this approach properly captures the transfer of spectral weight accompanying doping in a correlated material and provides a unifying description of the HEA across both sides of the cuprate phase diagram. We find that the anomaly demarcates a transition, or cross-over, from a quasiparticle band at low binding energies near the Fermi level to valence bands at higher binding energy, assumed to be of strong oxygen character.

The modulation and reconstruction of a BiO layer of cuprate Bi2212

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan Wei; Zeng, Z

2011-01-01

Studies based on ab initio density functional theory show that the modulated structures of BiO surfaces of cuprate Bi2212 superconductors are spontaneously formed and closely related to the reconstructions of BiO surfaces. The reconstructions of BiO layers occur both on the surface and in the bulk, accompanied with the formations of BiO-zigzag chains and Bi 2 O 2 quadrilaterals. The structural modulations of the BiO surface are along the b axis, perpendicular to the BiO-zigzag chains along the a axis. Our calculations provide a unified understanding of the formation of modulating structures in Bi2212. Another interesting result is that electronic structures of BiO surfaces are significantly influenced by the CuO 2 layer beneath because of the structural modulations and reconstructions.

Strong-coupling approach to nematicity in the cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Peter Philipp; Jeevanesan, Bhilahari; Schmalian, Joerg; Fernandes, Rafael

The underdoped cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-δ is known to exhibit an electronic nematic phase in proximity to antiferromagnetism. While nematicity sets in at large temperatures of T ~ 150 K, static spin density wave order only emerges at much lower temperatures. The magnetic response shows a strong in-plane anisotropy, displaying incommensurate Bragg peaks along one of the crystalline directions and a commensurate peak along the other one. Such an anisotropy persists even in the absence of long-range magnetic order at higher temperatures, marking the onset of nematic order. Here we theoretically investigate this situation using a strong-coupling method that takes into account both the localized Cu spins and the holes doped into the oxygen orbitals. We derive an effective spin Hamiltonian and show that charge fluctuations promote an enhancement of the nematic susceptibility near the antiferromagnetic transition temperature.

Ginzburg-Landau equation and vortex liquid phase of Fermi liquid superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, T-K; Tse, W-T

2007-01-01

In this paper we study the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equation for Fermi liquid superconductors with strong Landau interactions F 0s and F 1s . We show that Landau interactions renormalize two parameters entering the GL equation, leading to the renormalization of the compressibility and superfluid density. The renormalization of the superfluid density in turn leads to an unconventional (2D) Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition and vortex liquid phase. Application of the GL equation to describe underdoped high-T c cuprates is discussed

Phase transitions and transport in anisotropic superconductors with large thermal fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, D.S.

1991-01-01

Fluctuation effects in conventional superconductors such as broadening of phase transitions and flux creep tend to be very small primarily because of the large coherence lengths. Thus mean field theory, with only small fluctuation corrections, usually provides an adequate description of these systems. Regimes in which fluctuation effects cause qualitatively different physics are very difficult to study as they typically occur in very small regions of the phase diagram or, in transport, require measuring extremely small voltages. In striking contrast, in the high temperature cuprate superconductors a combination of factors - short coherence lengths, anisotropy and higher temperatures - make fluctuation effects many orders of magnitude larger. The current understanding of transport and phase transitions in the cuprate superconductors-particularly YBCO and BSCCO-is reviewed. New results are presented on the two-dimensional regimes and 2D-3D crossover in the strongly anisotropic case of BSCCO. The emphasis is on pinning and vortex glass behavior

The Superconductors that Magnets Really Want: What Stands in the Way? (Superconductors for Accelerator Use: What Next and How Close is the Ideal Conductor?)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larbalestier, David

2009-01-01

There are over 5000 superconducting materials but only about 5 have ever been useful for applications in magnets, while HEP, which has been so vital for the development of superconducting magnet technology has made virtually every magnet out of just one, the simple bcc alloy Nb-Ti with Tc of 9 K and upper critical field ∼ 14T (at 2K). Significant demonstrations of the capability of the brittle intermetallic Nb3Sn have shown that fields of more than 15 T can be generated in dipole form. But Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn are staid, conventional superconductors, far from the cutting edge of superconducting science research where cuprates like YBa2Cu3O7-x and Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox remain at the scientific forefront and in 2008 were joined by the recently discovered Fe-As pnictide superconductors. What could it mean to have materials for magnets with 10 times the Tc of Nb-Ti (90-120 K) and 3 or more times the critical field (100-240 T)? One enormous barrier is that higher Tc so far always means more complexity and a more localized superconducting interaction which is sensitive to local loss of superconductivity. The issue that has made the cuprate high temperature superconductors so hard to apply is that grain boundaries which form a 3D network in any practical wire form, easily acquire degraded superconducting properties. But conductors can now be made with extreme texture so that grain boundaries are minimized. Moreover almost practical conductors of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox and YBa2Cu3O7-x are now are in production and in late 2008 we were, at the Magnet Lab, able to make small solenoids operating at high current density in fields of 32 and almost 34 T respectively. Within the HEP community, there is enthusiasm to embrace HTS conductors for new very high field machines that could, like the Muon Collider, use fields of 30-50 T. In my talk I would like to explore the underlying science controlling such potential applications.

"Fluctuoscopy" of Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Varlamov, A. A.

Study of fluctuation phenomena in superconductors (SCs) is the subject of great fundamental and practical importance. Understanding of their physics allowed to clear up the fundamental properties of SC state. Being predicted in 1968, one of the fluctuation effects, namely paraconductivity, was experimentally observed almost simultaneously. Since this time, fluctuations became a noticeable part of research in the field of superconductivity, and a variety of fluctuation effects have been discovered. The new wave of interest to fluctuations (FL) in superconductors was generated by the discovery of cuprate oxide superconductors (high-temperature superconductors, HTS), where, due to extremely short coherence length and low effective dimensionality of the electron system, superconductive fluctuations manifest themselves in a wide range of temperatures. Moreover, anomalous properties of the normal state of HTS were attributed by many theorists to strong FL in these systems. Being studied in the framework of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory and, more extensively, in diagrammatic microscopic approach, SC FLs side by side with other quantum corrections (weak localization, etc.) became a new tool for investigation and characterization of such new systems as HTS, disordered electron systems, granular metals, Josephson structures, artificial super-lattices, etc. The characteristic feature of SC FL is their strong dependence on temperature and magnetic fields in the vicinity of phase transition. This allows one to definitely separate the fluctuation effects from other contributions and to use them as the source of information about the microscopic parameters of a material. By their origin, SC FLs are very sensitive to relaxation processes, which break phase coherence. This allows using them for versatile characterization of SC. Today, one can speak about the " fluctuoscopy" of superconductive systems. In review, we present the qualitative picture both of thermodynamic

Vortex cutting in superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Vlasko-Vlasov, Vitalii K.; Koshelev, Alexei E.; Glatz, Andreas; Welp, Ulrich; Kwok, Wai-K.

2015-03-01

Unlike illusive magnetic field lines in vacuum, magnetic vortices in superconductors are real physical strings, which interact with the sample surface, crystal structure defects, and with each other. We address the complex and poorly understood process of vortex cutting via a comprehensive set of magneto-optic experiments which allow us to visualize vortex patterns at magnetization of a nearly twin-free YBCO crystal by crossing magnetic fields of different orientations. We observe a pronounced anisotropy in the flux dynamics under crossing fields and the filamentation of induced supercurrents associated with the staircase vortex structure expected in layered cuprates, flux cutting effects, and angular vortex instabilities predicted for anisotropic superconductors. At some field angles, we find formation of the vortex domains following a type-I phase transition in the vortex state accompanied by an abrupt change in the vortex orientation. To clarify the vortex cutting scenario we performed time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations, which confirmed formation of sharp vortex fronts observed in the experiment and revealed a left-handed helical instability responsible for the rotation of vortices. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division.

Electronic phase separation and high temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kivelson, S.A.

1994-01-01

The authors review the extensive evidence from model calculations that neutral holes in an antiferromagnet separate into hole-rich and hole-poor phases. All known solvable limits of models of holes in a Heisenberg antiferromagnet exhibit this behavior. The authors show that when the phase separation is frustrated by the introduction of long-range Coulomb interactions, the typical consequence is either a modulated (charge density wave) state or a superconducting phase. The authors then review some of the strong experimental evidence supporting an electronically-driven phase separation of the holes in the cuprate superconductors and the related Ni oxides. Finally, the authors argue that frustrated phase separation in these materials can account for many of the anomalous normal state properties of the high temperature superconductors and provide the mechanism of superconductivity. In particular, it is shown that the T-linear resistivity of the normal state is a paraconductivity associated with a novel composite pairing, although the ordered superconducting state is more conventional

EDITORIAL: Focus on Iron-Based Superconductors FOCUS ON IRON-BASED SUPERCONDUCTORS

Science.gov (United States)

Hosono, Hideo; Ren, Zhi-An

2009-02-01

pace of research within the last year, iron-based superconductors have revealed several unique properties such as a high upper critical field and a robustness to impurities. Participation of five 3d-orbitals in the Fermi levels also means that the electronic structure is complex compared with the cuprates. So, we now have a new family of superconductors and it is worth stressing that we have only just begun looking at the many varieties of candidate materials containing an iron square lattice. At this time we do not know whether a material with a critical temperature greater than 100 K exists, or if completely new properties are to be found. However, as a research community we should go ahead with hope and 'strike while the iron is hot'—this saying is always true! This focus issue of New Journal of Physics was put together to provide a broad-based, free-to-read snapshot of the current state of research in this rapidly emerging field. The papers included cover many aspects related to material exploration, physical analysis, and the theory of these materials, and, as editors, we thank the authors for their fine contributions, and the many referees for their considerable efforts that have ensured fast publication. As an aside, the first special issue on this SUBject was published in November 2008 in the Journal of the Physical Society of Japan (vol 77, supplement c) as the proceedings of the International Symposium on Iron-Pnictide Superconductors held in Tokyo on 29-30 June 2008. We would like to encourage the community to read both issues. On a final note we would like to acknowledge the staff of New Journal of Physics for all of their efficient work in bringing this collection to fruition. Focus on Iron-Based Superconductors Contents Microwave response of superconducting pnictides: extended s+/- scenario O V Dolgov, A A Golubov and D Parker Orbital and spin effects for the upper critical field in As-deficient disordered Fe pnictide superconductors G Fuchs, S

Prospects of Anderson's theorem for disordered cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosal, Amit; Chakraborty, Debmalya; Kaushal, Nitin

2018-05-01

We develop a simple pairing theory of superconductivity in strongly correlated d-wave superconductors for up to a moderate strength of disorder. Our description implements the key ideas of Anderson, originally proposed for disordered s-wave superconductors, but in addition takes care of the inherent strong electronic repulsion in these compounds, as well as the inhomogeneities. We first obtain the self-consistent one-particle states, that capture the effects of disorder exactly, and strong correlations using Gutzwiller approximation. These 'normal states' (at zero temperature) when coupled through BCS-type pairing attractions, produces results which are nearly identical to those from a more sophisticated Gutzwiller augmented Bogoliubov-de Gennes analysis.

Study of the magnetic field distribution in high-temperature superconductors using muon-spin-rotation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmermann, P.R.

1994-01-01

Detailed and systematic μ + SR experiments have been performed in order to (i) investigate the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth in various cuprate high-T c superconductors and (ii) study the vortex structures and dynamics in the highly anisotropic Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 . The μ + SR method and its application to superconductivity has been discussed. The positive muon is a microscopic probe of the local magnetic field in the bulk of a sample. The μ + SR technique can therefore measure the magnetic field distribution p(B) which is determined by the flux structure in the superconductor. The second moment (ΔB 2 ) of p(B) is closely related to the magnetic penetration depth λ, a fundamental parameter of superconductivity. It has been shown that in high-quality sintered samples a good estimate of the in-plane penetration depth λ ab can be given in terms of the muon-depolarization rate σ. Since the penetration depth is related to the superconducting order parameter, the temperature dependence of the penetration depth is a potential probe of the pairing state. Systematic measurements of the temperature dependence of σ have been performed in sintered samples of high quality in various members of the Y123 family, Pb and Y doped Tl1212 family, and also in Y124 and Bi2212. It is found that the extracted temperature behaviour of λ ab -2 is characteristic of each compound. This can be interpreted as a varying coupling strength in these systems. In well oxygenated Y123, λ ab -2 (T) is well described by the two-fluid model indicating strong coupling. The rest of the cuprates investigated show a λ ab -2 (T) which points to weaker coupling, with λ ab -2 (T) of highly oxygen deficient Y123 being similar to the weak-coupling BCS prediction. In the Y123 family the decreasing coupling strength with decreasing oxygen content is related to the increasing anisotropy. Comparison with theoretical predictions of λ ab -2 (T) revealed that the observed

Tunneling in cuprate and bismuthate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zasadzinski, J.F.; Huang, Qiang; Tralshawala, N.

1991-10-01

Tunneling measurements using a point-contact technique are reported for the following high temperature superconducting oxides: Ba 1-x K x BiO 3 (BKBO), Nd 2-x Ce x CuO 4 (NCCO), Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 7 (BSCCO) and Tl 2 Ba 2 CaCu 2 O x (TBCCO). For the bismuthate, BKBO, ideal, S-I-N tunneling characteristics are observed using a Au tip. The normalized conductance is fitted to a BCS density of states and thermal smearing only proving there is no fundamental limitation in BKBO for device applications. For the cuprates, the normalized conductance displays BCS-like characteristics, but with a broadening larger than from thermal smearing. Energy gap values are presented for each material. For BKBO and NCCO the Eliashberg functions, α 2 F(ω), obtained from the tunneling are shown to be in good agreement with neutron scattering results. Proximity effect tunneling studies are reported for Au/BSCCO bilayers and show that the energy gap of BSCCO can be observed through Au layers up to 600 Angstrom thick

Effect of strong correlations on the high energy anomaly in hole- and electron-doped high-T{sub c} superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moritz, B; Johnston, S; Greven, M; Shen, Z-X; Devereaux, T P [Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Schmitt, F; Meevasana, W; Motoyama, E M [Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Lu, D H [Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States); Kim, C [Institute of Physics and Applied Physics, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Scalettar, R T [Physics Department, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)], E-mail: moritzb@slac.stanford.edu

2009-09-15

Recently, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been used to highlight an anomalously large band renormalization at high binding energies in cuprate superconductors: the high energy 'waterfall' or high energy anomaly (HEA). This paper demonstrates, using a combination of new ARPES measurements and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, that the HEA is not simply the by-product of matrix element effects, but rather represents a cross-over from a quasi-particle band at low binding energies near the Fermi level to valence bands at higher binding energy, assumed to be of strong oxygen character, in both hole- and electron-doped cuprates. While photoemission matrix elements clearly play a role in changing the aesthetic appearance of the band dispersion, i.e. the 'waterfall'-like behavior, they provide an inadequate description for the physics that underlies the strong band renormalization giving rise to the HEA. Model calculations of the single-band Hubbard Hamiltonian showcase the role played by correlations in the formation of the HEA and uncover significant differences in the HEA energy scale for hole- and electron-doped cuprates. In addition, this approach properly captures the transfer of spectral weight accompanying both hole and electron doping in a correlated material and provides a unifying description of the HEA across both sides of the cuprate phase diagram.

Fundamental studies of superconductors using scanning magnetic imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Kirtley, J. R.

2010-12-01

In this review I discuss the application of scanning magnetic imaging to fundamental studies of superconductors, concentrating on three scanning magnetic microscopies—scanning SQUID microscopy (SSM), scanning Hall bar microscopy (SHM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). I briefly discuss the history, sensitivity, spatial resolution, invasiveness and potential future developments of each technique. I then discuss a selection of applications of these microscopies. I start with static imaging of magnetic flux: an SSM study provides deeper understanding of vortex trapping in narrow strips, which are used to reduce noise in superconducting circuitry. Studies of vortex trapping in wire lattices, clusters and arrays of rings and nanoholes show fascinating ordering effects. The cuprate high-Tc superconductors are shown to have predominantly d-wave pairing symmetry by magnetic imaging of the half-integer flux quantum effect. Arrays of superconducting rings act as a physical analog for the Ising spin model, with the half-integer flux quantum effect helping to eliminate one source of disorder in antiferromagnetic arrangements of the ring moments. Tests of the interlayer tunneling model show that the condensation energy available from this mechanism cannot account for the high critical temperatures observed in the cuprates. The strong divergence in the magnetic fields of Pearl vortices allows them to be imaged using SSM, even for penetration depths of a millimeter. Unusual vortex arrangements occur in samples comparable in size to the coherence length. Spontaneous magnetization is not observed in Sr2RuO4, which is believed to have px ± ipy pairing symmetry, although effects hundreds of times bigger than the sensitivity limits had been predicted. However, unusual flux trapping is observed in this superconductor. Finally, unusual flux arrangements are also observed in magnetic superconductors. I then turn to vortex dynamics: imaging of vortices in rings of highly underdoped

Ceramic superconductor/metal composite materials employing the superconducting proximity effect

Science.gov (United States)

Holcomb, Matthew J.

2002-01-01

Superconducting composite materials having particles of superconducting material disposed in a metal matrix material with a high electron-boson coupling coefficient (.lambda.). The superconducting particles can comprise any type of superconductor including Laves phase materials, Chevrel phase materials, A15 compounds, and perovskite cuprate ceramics. The particles preferably have dimensions of about 10-500 nanometers. The particles preferably have dimensions larger than the superconducting coherence length of the superconducting material. The metal matrix material has a .lambda. greater than 0.2, preferably the .lambda. is much higher than 0.2. The metal matrix material is a good proximity superconductor due to its high .lambda.. When cooled, the superconductor particles cause the metal matrix material to become superconducting due to the proximity effect. In cases where the particles and the metal matrix material are chemically incompatible (i.e., reactive in a way that destroys superconductivity), the particles are provided with a thin protective metal coating. The coating is chemically compatible with the particles and metal matrix material. High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cuprate ceramic particles are reactive and therefore require a coating of a noble metal resistant to oxidation (e.g., silver, gold). The proximity effect extends through the metal coating. With certain superconductors, non-noble metals can be used for the coating.

High pressure study of high-temperature superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souliou, Sofia-Michaela

2014-09-29

The current thesis studies experimentally the effect of high external pressure on high-T{sub c} superconductors. The structure and lattice dynamics of several members of the high-T{sub c} cuprate and Fe-based superconductors families were investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction under well-controlled, hydrostatic high pressure and low temperature conditions. The lattice dynamics of the high-T{sub c} superconductor YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 6+x} have been investigated systematically by Raman spectroscopy as a function of doping (x = 0.95, 0.75, 0.60, 0.55, and 0.45) and external pressure. Under ambient pressure conditions, in addition to the Raman modes expected from group theory, we observe new Raman active phonons upon cooling the underdoped samples, at temperatures well above the superconducting transition temperature. The doping dependence and the onset temperatures of the new Raman features suggest that they are associated with the incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) state recently discovered in underdoped cuprates using synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques. Under high pressure conditions (from 2 to 12 GPa), our Raman measurements on highly ordered underdoped YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 6.55} samples do not show any of the new Raman phonons seen at ambient pressure. High pressure and low temperature Raman measurements have been performed on the underdoped superconductor YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8}. A clear renormalization of some of the Raman phonons is seen below T{sub c} as a result of the changes in the phonon self-energy upon the opening of the superconducting gap, with the most prominent one being that of the B{sub 1g}-like buckling phonon mode. The amplitude of this renormalization strongly increases with pressure, resembling the effect of hole doping in YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 6+x}. At ∝ 10 GPa, the system undergoes a reversible pressure-induced structural phase transition to a non-centrosymmmetric structure (space group

High pressure study of high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souliou, Sofia-Michaela

2014-01-01

The current thesis studies experimentally the effect of high external pressure on high-T c superconductors. The structure and lattice dynamics of several members of the high-T c cuprate and Fe-based superconductors families were investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction under well-controlled, hydrostatic high pressure and low temperature conditions. The lattice dynamics of the high-T c superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+x have been investigated systematically by Raman spectroscopy as a function of doping (x = 0.95, 0.75, 0.60, 0.55, and 0.45) and external pressure. Under ambient pressure conditions, in addition to the Raman modes expected from group theory, we observe new Raman active phonons upon cooling the underdoped samples, at temperatures well above the superconducting transition temperature. The doping dependence and the onset temperatures of the new Raman features suggest that they are associated with the incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) state recently discovered in underdoped cuprates using synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques. Under high pressure conditions (from 2 to 12 GPa), our Raman measurements on highly ordered underdoped YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6.55 samples do not show any of the new Raman phonons seen at ambient pressure. High pressure and low temperature Raman measurements have been performed on the underdoped superconductor YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 . A clear renormalization of some of the Raman phonons is seen below T c as a result of the changes in the phonon self-energy upon the opening of the superconducting gap, with the most prominent one being that of the B 1g -like buckling phonon mode. The amplitude of this renormalization strongly increases with pressure, resembling the effect of hole doping in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+x . At ∝ 10 GPa, the system undergoes a reversible pressure-induced structural phase transition to a non-centrosymmmetric structure (space group Imm2). The structural transition is clearly reflected in the high pressure

What is the role of Pb(II) in high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raveau, B.; Hervieu, M.; Michel, C.; Groult, D.; Provost, J.

1990-01-01

An overview of the layered lead cuprates is presented here. The structure of these oxides and their non-stoichiometry are studied in connection with their superconducting properties. The phenomena involving a modulation of the structure, characterized by the presence of satellites on E.D. patterns are described and the particular role of the 6s 2 lone pair of Pb(II) is discussed. Divalent lead is, owing to its size intermediate between that of strontium and barium, a potential cation for superconductive cuprates. Moreover, this interest for Pb(II), is supported by its electronic structure which involves an electronic 6s 2 lone pair well known for its ability to form layered structures. In spite of these characteristics, few superconductive layered suprates were isolated at the beginning of the rush to high Tc superconductors. This is probably due to the possibility of existence of redox reactions involving the couple Pb(II)/Pb(IV), which require very particular experimental conditions. The authors report here on the recent development of the crystal chemistry of those materials and on their corresponding superconducting properties

Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Studies of the Mott Insulator to Superconductor Evolution in Ca2-xNaxCuO2Cl2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Kyle Michael

2005-09-02

It is widely believed that many of the exotic physical properties of the high-T{sub c} cuprate superconductors arise from the proximity of these materials to the strongly correlated, antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state. Therefore, one of the fundamental questions in the field of high-temperature superconductivity is to understand the insulator-to-superconductor transition and precisely how the electronic structure of Mott insulator evolves as the first holes are doped into the system. This dissertation presents high-resolution, doping dependent angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) studies of the cuprate superconductor Ca{sub 2-x}Na{sub x}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}, spanning from the undoped parent Mott insulator to a high-temperature superconductor with a T{sub c} of 22 K. A phenomenological model is proposed to explain how the spectral lineshape, the quasiparticle band dispersion, and the chemical potential all progress with doping in a logical and self-consistent framework. This model is based on Franck-Condon broadening observed in polaronic systems where strong electron-boson interactions cause the quasiparticle residue, Z, to be vanishingly small. Comparisons of the low-lying states to different electronic states in the valence band strongly suggest that the coupling of the photohole to the lattice (i.e. lattice polaron formation) is the dominant broadening mechanism for the lower Hubbard band states. Combining this polaronic framework with high-resolution ARPES measurements finally provides a resolution to the long-standing controversy over the behavior of the chemical potential in the high-T{sub c} cuprates. This scenario arises from replacing the conventional Fermi liquid quasiparticle interpretation of the features in the Mott insulator by a Franck-Condon model, allowing the reassignment of the position of the quasiparticle pole. As a function of hole doping, the chemical potential shifts smoothly into the valence band while spectral weight is transferred

Fracton pairing mechanism for unconventional superconductors: Self-assembling organic polymers and copper-oxide compounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milovanov, A.V.; Juul Rasmussen, J.

2002-01-01

Self-assembling organic polymers and copper-oxide compounds are two classes of unconventional superconductors, whose challenging behavior does not comply with the traditional picture of Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductivity in regular crystals. In this paper, we propose a theoretical...... or holes) exchange fracton excitations, quantum oscillations of fractal lattices that mimic the complex microscopic organization of the unconventional superconductors. For the copper oxides, the superconducting transition temperature T-c as predicted by the fracton mechanism is of the order of similar to......150 K. We suggest that the marginal ingredient of the high-temperature superconducting phase is provided by fracton coupled holes that condensate in the conducting copper-oxygen planes owing to the intrinsic field-effect-transistor configuration of the cuprate compounds. For the gate...

Chemical Bonding in Tl Cuprates Studied by X-Ray Photoemission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lao, J.Y.; Overmyer, D.L.; Ren, Z.F.; Siegal, M.P.; Vasquez, R.P.; Wang, J.H.

1999-04-05

Epitaxial thin films of the Tl cuprate superconductors Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}, Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10}, and TL{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Ba{sub 0.4}Sr{sub 1.6}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 9{minus}{delta}} are studied with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. These data, together with previous measurements in this lab of Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CuO{sub 6+{delta}} and TlBa{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}}, comprise a comprehensive data set for a comparative study of Tl cuprates with a range of chemical and electronic properties. In the Cu 2p spectra, a larger energy separation between the satellite and main peaks (E{sub s}-E{sub m}) and a lower intensity ratio (I{sub s}/I{sub m}) are found to correlate with higher values of T{sub c}. Analysis of these spectra within a simple configuration interaction model suggests that higher values of T{sub c} are related to low values of the O 2p {r_arrow} Cu 3d charge transfer energy. In the O 1s region, a smaller bond length between Ba and Cu-O planar oxygen is found to correlate with a lower binding energy for the signal associated with Cu-O bonding, most likely resulting from the increased polarization screening by Ba{sup 2+} ions. For samples near optimum doping, maximum T{sub c} is observed to occur when the Tl 4f{sub 7/2} binding energy is near 117.9 eV, which is near the middle of the range of values observed for Tl cuprates. Higher Tl 4f{sub 7/2} binding energies, corresponding to formal oxidation states nearer Tl{sup 1+}, are also found to correlate with longer bond lengths between Ba and Tl-O planar oxygen, and with higher binding energies of the O 1s signal associated with Tl-O bonding.

Chemical bonding in Tl cuprates studied by x-ray photoemission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasquez, R.P. [Center for Space Microelectronics Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109-8099 (United States); Siegal, M.P.; Overmyer, D.L. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1421 (United States); Ren, Z.F.; Lao, J.Y.; Wang, J.H. [Materials Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260-3000 (United States)

1999-08-01

Epitaxial thin films of the Tl cuprate superconductors Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}, Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10}, and Tl{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Ba{sub 0.4}Sr{sub 1.6}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 9{minus}{delta}} are studied with x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. These data, together with previous measurements in this lab of Tl{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}CuO{sub 6+{delta}} and TlBa{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}}, comprise a comprehensive data set for a comparative study of Tl cuprates with a range of chemical and electronic properties. In the Cu 2p spectra, a larger energy separation between the satellite and main peaks (E{sub s}{minus}E{sub m}) and a lower intensity ratio (I{sub s}/I{sub m}) are found to correlate with higher values of T{sub c}. Analysis of these spectra within a simple configuration interaction model suggests that higher values of T{sub c} are related to low values of the O&hthinsp;2p{r_arrow}Cu&hthinsp;3d charge transfer energy. In the O&hthinsp;1s region, a smaller bond length between Ba and Cu-O planar oxygen is found to correlate with a lower binding energy for the signal associated with Cu-O bonding, most likely resulting from the increased polarization screening by Ba{sup 2+} ions. For samples near optimum doping, maximum T{sub c} is observed to occur when the Tl 4f{sub 7/2} binding energy is near 117.9 eV, which is near the middle of the range of values observed for Tl cuprates. Higher Tl&hthinsp;4f{sub 7/2} binding energies, corresponding to formal oxidation states nearer Tl{sup 1+}, are also found to correlate with longer bond lengths between Ba and Tl-O planar oxygen, and with higher binding energies of the O&hthinsp;1s signal associated with Tl-O bonding. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

Electron-phonon coupling, gap anisotropy and multigap structure in the high transition temperature cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kresin, V.Z.; Wolf, S.A.

1989-01-01

In this paper the authors report on several important properties of the high t c cuprates. Firstly, the authors have developed a method for evaluating the electron-phonon coupling strength λ using an analysis of the heat capacity data. The authors estimate λ to be about 2.0 for La-Sr-Cu-O, which indicates that phonons are important but are not sufficient to explain the measured T c . Secondly, the authors have demonstrated that these materials exhibit gap anisotropy and multigap structure (the latter in the Re-Ba-Cu-O materials) which is responsible for the experimental difficulties in analyzing tunnelling and infrared data. Finally the authors have explained the anomalous results on the Pr substituted Y-Ba-Cu-O by its effects on the two dimensional Cu-O band in the framework of a two band multigap structure

Unified one-band Hubbard model for magnetic and electronic spectra of the parent compounds of cuprate superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Dalla Piazza, B.; Mourigal, M.; Guarise, M.; Berger, H.; Schmitt, T.; Zhou, K. J.; Grioni, M.; Rønnow, H. M.

2012-03-01

Using low-energy projection of the one-band t-t'-t'' Hubbard model we derive an effective spin Hamiltonian and its spin-wave expansion to order 1/S. We fit the spin-wave dispersion of several parent compounds to the high-temperature superconducting cuprates La2CuO4, Sr2CuO2Cl2, and Bi2Sr2YCu2O8. Our accurate quantitative determination of the one-band Hubbard model parameters allows prediction and comparison to experimental results. Among those we discuss the two-magnon Raman peak line shape, the K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering 500-meV peak, and the high-energy kink in the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy quasiparticle dispersion, also known as the waterfall feature.

Enhanced T{sub c} in a dual-layered molecular superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souza, Mariano de; Lang, Michael [Physikalisches Institut, J.W. Goethe-Universitaet, SFB/TR49, D-60438 Frankfurt/M (Germany); Wiehl, Leonor [Institut fuer Geowissenschaften, J.W. Goethe-Universitaet, D-60438 Frankfurt/M (Germany); Schlueter, John A. [Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

2011-07-01

We have revisited the structural and electronic properties of the filamentary organic superconductor (BEDT-TTF){sub 2}Ag(CF{sub 3}){sub 4}(TCE), first synthesized in 1994. Detailed structural investigations reveal that the BEDT-TTF molecules are arranged in two distinctly different packing motifs, {kappa} and {alpha}', which alternate from layer to layer. This molecule-based superconductor with dual BEDT-TTF packing motifs has a T{sub c} five times higher than that of its polymorph that contains only {kappa}-type packing. Using the established empirical correlations between the bond lengths (C-S and C=S) and the oxidation state of the BEDT-TTF molecule, we have found that there is a uniform charge distribution in the {kappa}-layers (corresponding to an oxidation state of +0.5 for all BEDT-TTF molecules), whereas in the {alpha}'-layer, half of the molecules are nearly fully oxidized to +1, while the other half are close to neutral, resulting in a charge-ordered neutral layer. These findings indicate that this material can be considered as a promising candidate for a distinctly two-dimensional superconductor.

Dual structure in the charge excitation spectrum of electron-doped cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Bejas, Matías; Yamase, Hiroyuki; Greco, Andrés

2017-12-01

Motivated by the recent resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments for electron-doped cuprates, we study the charge excitation spectrum in a layered t -J model with the long-range Coulomb interaction. We show that the spectrum is not dominated by a specific type of charge excitations, but by different kinds of charge fluctuations, and is characterized by a dual structure in the energy space. Low-energy charge excitations correspond to various types of bond-charge fluctuations driven by the exchange term (J term), whereas high-energy charge excitations are due to usual on-site charge fluctuations and correspond to plasmon excitations above the particle-hole continuum. The interlayer coupling, which is frequently neglected in many theoretical studies, is particularly important to the high-energy charge excitations.

d+s wave superconductivity: analysis of the electronic Raman data of YBa2Cu3O7-δ and other cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemetschek, R.; Hackl, R.; Opel, M.; Philipp, R.; Beal-Monod, M.T.; Bieri, J.B.; Maki, K.; Erb, A.; Walker, E.

1998-01-01

After briefly recalling the d+s model valid for some anisotropic high T c superconductors, we present a theory of electronic Raman spectra in that model and then compare it with new experimental data obtained for an overdoped Y123 single crystal. The d+s model appears to describe satisfactorily the experimental results, indicating a possible doping dependence of the mixing ratio. We note that the Raman spectrum of the overdoped Bi2212 could also be accounted for by the d+s superconductivity model. The case of Hg1212 (or Hg1223) is reexamined. It appears that the spontaneous breakdown of d-wave symmetry may be rather universal in high T c cuprates. (orig.)

Phase competition and anomalous thermal evolution in high-temperature superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zuo-Dong; Zhou, Yuan; Yin, Wei-Guo; Lin, Hai-Qing; Gong, Chang-De

2017-07-01

The interplay of competing orders is relevant to high-temperature superconductivity known to emerge upon suppression of a parent antiferromagnetic order typically via charge doping. How such interplay evolves at low temperature—in particular at what doping level the zero-temperature quantum critical point (QCP) is located—is still elusive because it is masked by the superconducting state. The QCP had long been believed to follow a smooth extrapolation of the characteristic temperature T* for the strange normal state well above the superconducting transition temperature. However, recently the T* within the superconducting dome was reported to unexpectedly exhibit back-bending likely in the cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 +δ . Here we show that the original and revised phase diagrams can be understood in terms of weak and moderate competitions, respectively, between superconductivity and a pseudogap state such as d -density or spin-density wave, based on both Ginzburg-Landau theory and the realistic t -t'-t''-J -V model for the cuprates. We further found that the calculated temperature and doping-level dependence of the quasiparticle spectral gap and Raman response qualitatively agrees with the experiments. In particular, the T* back-bending can provide a simple explanation of the observed anomalous two-step thermal evolution dominated by the superconducting gap and the pseudogap, respectively. Our results imply that the revised phase diagram is likely to take place in high-temperature superconductors.

On the electronic structure of high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fink, J.; Nuecker, N.; Romberg, H.; Alexander, M.; Knupfer, M.; Mante, J.; Claessen, R.; Buslaps, T.; Harm, S.; Manzke, R.; Skibowski, M.

1992-01-01

Studies of the electronic structure of high-T c superconductors and related compounds by high-energy spectroscopies are reviewed. In particular, we report on investigations by electron energy-loss, angle-resolved photoemission, and inverse angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Information on the symmetry and the character of states close to the Fermi level has been obtained. 25 refs., 8 figs

Edge instabilities of topological superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hofmann, Johannes S. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universitaet Wuerzburg (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Stuttgart (Germany); Assaad, Fakher F. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universitaet Wuerzburg (Germany); Schnyder, Andreas P. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Stuttgart (Germany)

2016-07-01

Nodal topological superconductors display zero-energy Majorana flat bands at generic edges. The flatness of these edge bands, which is protected by time-reversal and translation symmetry, gives rise to an extensive ground state degeneracy and a diverging density of states. Therefore, even arbitrarily weak interactions lead to an instability of the flat-band edge states towards time-reversal and translation-symmetry broken phases, which lift the ground-state degeneracy. Here, we employ Monte Carlo simulations combined with mean-field considerations to examine the instabilities of the flat-band edge states of d{sub xy}-wave superconductors. We find that attractive interactions induce a complex s-wave pairing instability together with a density wave instability. Repulsive interactions, on the other hand, lead to ferromagnetism mixed with spin-triplet pairing at the edge. We discuss the implications of our findings for experiments on cuprate high-temperature superconductors.

Praseodymium Cuprate Thin Film Cathodes for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Roles of Doping, Orientation, and Crystal Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Kunal; Hayamizu, Yoshiaki; Kim, Chang Sub; Kolchina, Liudmila M; Mazo, Galina N; Istomin, Sergey Ya; Bishop, Sean R; Tuller, Harry L

2016-12-21

Highly textured thin films of undoped, Ce-doped, and Sr-doped Pr 2 CuO 4 were synthesized on single crystal YSZ substrates using pulsed laser deposition to investigate their area-specific resistance (ASR) as cathodes in solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The effects of T' and T* crystal structures, donor and acceptor doping, and a-axis and c-axis orientation on ASR were systematically studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy on half cells. The addition of both Ce and Sr dopants resulted in improvements in ASR in c-axis oriented films, as did the T* crystal structure with the a-axis orientation. Pr 1.6 Sr 0.4 CuO 4 is identified as a potential cathode material with nearly an order of magnitude faster oxygen reduction reaction kinetics at 600 °C compared to thin films of the commonly studied cathode material La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3-δ . Orientation control of the cuprate films on YSZ was achieved using seed layers, and the anisotropy in the ASR was found to be less than an order of magnitude. The rare-earth doped cuprate was found to be a versatile system for study of relationships between bulk properties and the oxygen reduction reaction, critical for improving SOFC performance.

Quasiparticle conductance-voltage characteristics for break junctions involving d-wave superconductors: charge-density-wave effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekino, T; Gabovich, A M; Suan Li, Mai; Szymczak, H; Voitenko, A I

2017-12-20

Quasiparticle tunnel conductance-voltage characteristics (CVCs), [Formula: see text], were calculated for break junctions (BJs) made up of layered d-wave superconductors partially gapped by charge-density waves (CDWs). The current is assumed to flow in the ab-plane of electrodes. The influence of CDWs is analyzed by comparing the resulting CVCs with CVCs calculated for BJs made up of pure d-wave superconductors with relevant parameters. The main CDW-effects were found to be the appearance of new CVC peculiarities and the loss of CVC symmetry with respect to the V-sign. Tunnel directionality was shown to be one of the key factors in the formation of [Formula: see text] dependences. In particular, the orientation of electrodes with respect to the current channel becomes very important. As a result, [Formula: see text] can acquire a large variety of forms similar to those for tunnel junctions between superconductors with s-wave, d-wave, and mixed symmetry of their order parameters. The diversity of peculiarities is especially striking at finite temperatures. In the case of BJs made up of pure d-wave superconductors, the resulting CVC can include a two-peak gap-driven structure. The results were compared with the experimental BJ data for a number of high-T c oxides. It was shown that the large variety of the observed current-voltage characteristics can be interpreted in the framework of our approach. Thus, quasiparticle tunnel currents in the ab-plane can be used as an additional mean to detect CDWs competing with superconductivity in cuprates or other layered superconductors.

Electronic-structure Fermi-liquid theory of high-Tc superconductors: Comparison of predictions with experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Jaejun; Freeman, A.J.

1991-01-01

Predictions of local density functional (LDF) calculations of the electronic structure and transport properties of high T(sub c) superconductors are presented. As evidenced by the excellent agreement with both photoemission and positron annihilation experiments, a Fermi liquid nature of the 'normal' state of the high T(sub c) superconductors become clear for the metallic phase of these oxides. In addition, LDF predictions on the normal state transport properties are qualitatively in agreement with experiments on single crystals. It is emphasized that the signs of the Hall coefficients for the high T(sub c) superconductors are not consistent with the types of dopants (e.g., electron-doped or hole-doped) but are determined by the topology of the Fermi surfaces obtained from the LDF calculations

Charge density waves as the origin of dip-hump structures in the differential tunneling conductance of cuprates: The case of d-wave superconductivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabovich, Alexander M., E-mail: gabovich@iop.kiev.ua; Voitenko, Alexander I., E-mail: voitenko@iop.kiev.ua

2014-08-15

Highlights: • d-Wave superconductivity and charge-density waves compete for the Fermi surface. • Charge-density waves induce pseudogaps and peak-dip-hump structures in cuprates. • Tunnel spectra are non-symmetric due to the dielectric order-parameter phase fixation. • Scatter of the dielectric order parameter smears the tunnel spectra peculiarities. - Abstract: Quasiparticle differential current–voltage characteristics (CVCs) G(V) of non-symmetric tunnel junctions between d-wave superconductors with charge-density waves (CDWs) and normal metals were calculated. The dependences G(V) were shown to have a V-like form at small voltages V and low temperatures, and to be asymmetric at larger V owing to the presence of CDW peak in either of the V-branches. The spatial scatter of the dielectric (CDW) order parameter smears the CDW peak into a hump and induces a peak-dip-hump structure (PDHS) typical of CVCs observed for such junctions. At temperatures larger than the superconducting critical one, the PDHS evolves into a pseudogap depression. The results agree well with the scanning tunneling microscopy data for Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+δ} and YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ}. The results differ substantially from those obtained earlier for CDW s-wave superconductors.

Role of the orbital degree of freedom in iron-based superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Ming; Zhang, Yan; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Lu, Donghui

2017-10-01

Almost a decade has passed since the serendipitous discovery of the iron-based high temperature superconductors (FeSCs) in 2008. The fact that, as in the copper oxide high temperature superconductors, long-range antiferromagnetism in the FeSCs arises in proximity to superconductivity immediately raised the question of the degree of similarity between the two. Despite the great resemblance in their phase diagrams, there exist important differences between the FeSCs and the cuprates that need to be considered in order to paint a full picture of these two families of high temperature superconductors. One of the key differences is the multi-orbital multi-band nature of the FeSCs, which contrasts with the effective single-band nature of the cuprates. Systematic studies of orbital related phenomena in FeSCs have been largely lacking. In this review, we summarize angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements across various FeSC families that have been reported in literature, focusing on the systematic trends of orbital dependent electron correlations and the role of different Fe 3d orbitals in driving the nematic transition, the spin-density-wave transition, and superconductivity.

Impurity scattering effect on charge transport in high-Tc cuprate junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Y.; Asano, Y.; Kashiwaya, S.

2004-01-01

It is known that the zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) is expected in tunneling spectra of normal-metal/high-Tc cuprate junctions because of the formation of the midgap Andreev resonant states (MARS) at junction interfaces. In the present review, we report the recent theoretical study of impurity scattering effects on the tunneling spectroscopy. In the former part of the present paper, we discuss impurity effects in normal metal. We calculate tunneling conductance for diffusive normal metal (DN)/high Tc cuprate junctions based on the Keldysh Green's function technique. Besides the ZBCP due to the MARS, we can expect ZBCP caused by the different origin, i.e., the coherent Andreev reflection (CAR) assisted by the proximity effect in DN. Their relative importance depends on the angle a between the interface normal and the crystal axis of high-Tc superconductors. At α = 0, we find the ZBCP by the CAR for low transparent junctions with small Thouless energies in DN; this is similar to the case of diffusive normal metal/insulator/s-wave superconductor junctions. Under increase of α from zero to π/4, the contribution of MARS to ZBCP becomes more prominent and the effect of the CAR is gradually suppressed. Such complex spectral features would be observable in conductance spectra of high-Tc junctions at very low temperatures. In the latter part of our paper, we study impurity effects in superconductors. We consider impurities near the junction interface on the superconductor side. The conductance is calculated from the Andreev and the normal reflection coefficients which are estimated by using the single-site approximation in an analytic calculation and by the recursive Green function method in a numerical simulation. We find splitting of the ZBCP in the presence of the time reversal symmetry. Thus the zero-field splitting of ZBCP in the experiment does not perfectly prove an existence of broken time reversal symmetry state

A fermi liquid electric structure and the nature of the carriers in high-T/sub c/ cuprates: A photoemission study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arko, A.J.; List, R.S.; Bartlett, R.J.; Cheong, S.W.; Fisk, Z.; Thompson, J.D.; Olson, C.G.; Yang, A.B.; Liu, R.; Gu, C.; Veal, B.W.; Liu, J.Z.; Paulikas, A.P.; Vandervoort, K.; Claus, H.; Campuzano, J.C.; Schirber, J.E.; Shinn, N.D.

1989-01-01

We have performed angle-integrated and angle-resolved photoemission measurements at 20 K on well-characterized single crystals of high-T/sub c/ cuprates (both 1:2:3-type and 2:2:1:2-type) cleaved in situ, and find a relatively large, resolution limited Fermi edge which shows large amplitude variations with photon energy, indicative of band structure final state effects. The lineshapes of the spectra of the 1:2:3 materials as a function of photon energy are well reproduced by band structure predictions, indicating a correct mix of 2p and 3d orbitals on the calculations, while the energy positions of the peaks agree with calculated bands only to within /approx/0.5 eV. This may yet prove to reflect the effects of Coulomb correlation. We nevertheless conclude that a Fermi liquid approach to conductivity is appropriate. Angle-resolved data, while still incomplete, suggest agreement with the Fermi surface predicted by the LDA calculations. A BCS-like energy gap is observed in the 2:2:1:2 materials, whose magnitude is twice the weak coupling BCS value (i.e., 2/Delta/ = 7 KT/sub c/). 49 refs., 11 figs.

Spins in the vortices of a high-temperature superconductor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lake, B.; Aeppli, G.; Clausen, K.N.

2001-01-01

Neutron scattering is used to characterize the magnetism of the vortices for the optimally doped high-temperature superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4 (x = 0.163) in an applied magnetic field. As temperature is reduced, Low-frequency spin fluctuations first disappear with the loss of vortex mobility......, but then reappear. We find that the vortex state can be regarded as an inhomogeneous mixture of a superconducting spin fluid and a material containing a nearly ordered antiferromagnet. These experiments show that as for many other properties of cuprate superconductors, the important underlying microscopic forces...

Strong anisotropy effect in an iron-based superconductor CaFe0.882Co0.118AsF

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yonghui; Ji, Qiucheng; Hu, Kangkang; Gao, Bo; Li, Wei; Mu, Gang; Xie, Xiaoming

2017-07-01

The anisotropy of iron-based superconductors is much smaller than that of the cuprates and that predicted by theoretical calculations. A credible understanding for this experimental fact is still lacking up to now. Here we experimentally study the magnetic-field-angle dependence of electronic resistivity in the superconducting phase of an iron-based superconductor CaFe{}0.882Co{}0.118AsF, and find the strongest anisotropy effect of the upper critical field among the iron-based superconductors based on the framework of Ginzburg-Landau theory. The evidence of the energy band structure and charge density distribution from electronic structure calculations demonstrates that the observed strong anisotropic effect mainly comes from the strong ionic bonding in between the ions of Ca2+ and F-, which weakens the interlayer coupling between the layers of FeAs and CaF. This finding provides a significant insight into the nature of the experimentally-observed strong anisotropic effect of electronic resistivity, and also paves the way for designing exotic two-dimensional artificial unconventional superconductors in the future.

Creation of the best performance high-$T_{c}$ superconductor based on Cu-1234

CERN Document Server

Ihara, H; Iyo, A; Kito, H; Terada, N; Tokumoto, M; Ishida, K; Sekita, Y; Yamamoto, H; Hayashi, H; Khan, N A; Sundaresan, A; Nie, J; Harashima, E; Ishiura, Y; Tateai, F; Kawamura, M

1999-01-01

The purpose of this project is to create the best performance superconductor on the basis of our original Cu-1234 (CuBa/sub 2/Ca /sub 3/Cu/sub 4/O/sub 12-y/) superconductor. Its best performance superconductor will be realized by the modification of superconducting wave function (MSWF) and application of new preparation techniques of thin films. The MSWF leads to the enhancement of coherence length along the c-axis and transformation from d-wave to (d+is)-wave, and then low superconducting anisotropy. The thin film techniques are APE (amorphous phase epitaxy) method and SAE (self assembling epitaxy) method by using a structure stabilizer such as Tl. The best superconductor with long coherence length, low anisotropy, high T/sub c/, high J/sub c/ and high H/sub irr/ will be realized for wire and Josephson junctions and microwave device application at 77 K. (16 refs).

A spatial interpretation of emerging superconductivity in lightly doped cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Deutscher, Guy; de Gennes, Pierre-Gilles

The formation of domains comprising alternating 'hole rich' and 'hole poor' ladders recently observed by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy by Kohsaka et al., on lightly hole doped cuprates, is interpreted in terms of an attractive mechanism which favors the presence of doped holes on Cu sites located each on one side of an oxygen atom. This mechanism leads to a geometrical pattern of alternating hole-rich and hole-poor ladders with a periodicity equal to 4 times the lattice spacing in the CuO plane, as observed experimentally. Cuprates supraconducteurs peu dopés : une interprétation des structures spatiales. Des arrangements électroniques réguliers ont été détectés récemment par Kohsaka et al. dans des cuprates sous dopés (via une sonde tunnel locale). Certaines paires Cu-O-Cu sont « actives », et forment une échelle. Les autres sites sont peu actifs. Pour expliquer ces structures, nous postulons que, lorsqu'une liaison Cu-O-Cu est occupée par deux trous, la distance (Cu-Cu) rétrécit et l'intégrale de transfert (t) est fortement augmentée. Ceci peut engendrer des paires localisées (réelles ou virtuelles). Aux taux de dopage étudiés, la période de répétition vaudrait 4 mailles élémentaires.

The microscopic structure of charge density waves in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.54 revealed by X-ray diffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forgan, E.M.; Blackburn, E.; Holmes, A.T.

2015-01-01

Charge density wave (CDW) order appears throughout the underdoped high-temperature cuprate superconductors, but the underlying symmetry breaking and the origin of the CDW remain unclear. We use X-ray diffraction to determine the microscopic structure of the CDWs in an archetypical cuprate YBa2Cu3O6...... oxygen atoms have the largest displacements, perpendicular to the CuO2 planes. Our results allow many electronic properties of the underdoped cuprates to be understood. For instance, the CDWs will lead to local variations in the electronic structure, giving an explicit explanation of density-wave states...

Hard-Wired Dopant Networks and the Prediction of High Transition Temperatures in Ceramic Superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J.C.

2010-01-01

The review multiple successes of the discrete hard-wired dopant network model ZZIP, and comment on the equally numerous failures of continuum models, in describing and predicting the properties of ceramic superconductors. The prediction of transition temperatures can be regarded in several ways, either as an exacting test of theory, or as a tool for identifying theoretical rules for defining new homology models. Popular first principle methods for predicting transition temperatures in conventional crystalline superconductors have failed for cuprate HTSC, as have parameterized models based on CuO2 planes (with or without apical oxygen). Following a path suggested by Bayesian probability, it was found that the glassy, self-organized dopant network percolative model is so successful that it defines a new homology class appropriate to ceramic superconductors. The reasons for this success in an exponentially complex (non-polynomial complete, NPC) problem are discussed, and a critical comparison is made with previous polynomial (PC) theories. The predictions are successful for the superfamily of all ceramics, including new non-cuprates based on FeAs in place of CuO2.

Transition from Sign-Reversed to Sign-Preserved Cooper-Pairing Symmetry in Sulfur-Doped Iron Selenide Superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qisi; Park, J T; Feng, Yu; Shen, Yao; Hao, Yiqing; Pan, Bingying; Lynn, J W; Ivanov, A; Chi, Songxue; Matsuda, M; Cao, Huibo; Birgeneau, R J; Efremov, D V; Zhao, Jun

2016-05-13

An essential step toward elucidating the mechanism of superconductivity is to determine the sign or phase of the superconducting order parameter, as it is closely related to the pairing interaction. In conventional superconductors, the electron-phonon interaction induces attraction between electrons near the Fermi energy and results in a sign-preserved s-wave pairing. For high-temperature superconductors, including cuprates and iron-based superconductors, prevalent weak coupling theories suggest that the electron pairing is mediated by spin fluctuations which lead to repulsive interactions, and therefore that a sign-reversed pairing with an s_{±} or d-wave symmetry is favored. Here, by using magnetic neutron scattering, a phase sensitive probe of the superconducting gap, we report the observation of a transition from the sign-reversed to sign-preserved Cooper-pairing symmetry with insignificant changes in T_{c} in the S-doped iron selenide superconductors K_{x}Fe_{2-y}(Se_{1-z}S_{z})_{2}. We show that a rather sharp magnetic resonant mode well below the superconducting gap (2Δ) in the undoped sample (z=0) is replaced by a broad hump structure above 2Δ under 50% S doping. These results cannot be readily explained by simple spin fluctuation-exchange pairing theories and, therefore, multiple pairing channels are required to describe superconductivity in this system. Our findings may also yield a simple explanation for the sometimes contradictory data on the sign of the superconducting order parameter in iron-based materials.

Microstructure and Properties of High-Temperature Superconductors

CERN Document Server

Parinov, Ivan A

2007-01-01

The main features of high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) that define their properties are intrinsic brittleness of oxide cuprates, the layered anisotropic structure and the supershort coherence length. Taking into account these features, this treatise presents research into HTSC microstructure and properties, and also explores the possibilities of optimization of the preparation techniques and superconducting compositions. The "composition-technique-experiment-theory-model," employed here, assumes considerable HTSC defectiveness and structure heterogeneity and helps to draw a comprehensive picture of modern representations of the microstructure, strength and the related structure-sensitive properties of the materials considered. Special attention is devoted to the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Y-Ba-Cu-O families, which currently offer the most promising applications. Including a great number of illustrations and references, this monograph addresses students, post-graduate students and specialists, taking part in the ...

Microstructure and Properties of High-Temperature Superconductors

CERN Document Server

Parinov, I A

2012-01-01

The main features of high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) that define their properties are intrinsic brittleness of oxide cuprates, the layered anisotropic structure and the supershort coherence length. Taking into account these features, this treatise presents research into HTSC microstructure and properties, and also explores the possibilities of optimization of the preparation techniques and superconducting compositions. The "composition-technique-experiment-theory-model," employed here, assumes considerable HTSC defectiveness and structure heterogeneity and helps to draw a comprehensive picture of modern representations of the microstructure, strength and the related structure-sensitive properties of the materials considered. Special attention is devoted to the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O and Y-Ba-Cu-O families, which currently offer the most promising applications. Including a great number of illustrations and references, this monograph addresses students, post-graduate students and specialists, taking part in the ...

High T(c) superconductors: Technical and commercial challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Kirschner, I.; Horvath, E.; Vajda, I.; Bencze, L.; Goebl, N.

1995-01-01

Some basic questions of the way which leads from the discovery of high-T(c) superconductors to their applications is surveyed. The influence of high-T(c) superconducting technology on the industrial and social development is also briefly analyzed.

Probing the singlet character of the two-hole states in cuprate superconductors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghiringhelli, G; Brookes, NB; Tjeng, LH; Mizokawa, T; Tjernberg, O; Menovsky, AA; Steeneken, P.G.

Using spin-resolved resonant photoemission we have probed the singlet vs. triplet character of the two-hole state in the layered cuprates Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta La2-xSrxCuO4 and Sr2CuO2Cl2. The combination of the photon circular polarization with the photoelectron spin detection gives access to the

Theory of macroscopic quantum tunneling in high-T c cuprate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawabata, Shiro; Tanaka, Yukio; Kashiwaya, Satoshi; Asano, Yasuhiro

2006-01-01

To reveal macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT) in high-T c superconductor Josephson junctions is an important issue since there is a possibility to fabricate a superconducting quantum bit by use of high T c junctions. Using the functional integral and the instanton theory, we analytically obtain the MQT rate (the inverse lifetime of the metastable state) for the c-axis twist Josephson junctions. In the case of the zero twist angle, the system shows the super-Ohmic dissipation due to the presence of the nodal quasiparticle tunneling. Therefore, the MQT rate is suppressed compared with the finite twist angle cases. Furthermore, the effect of the zero energy bound states (ZES) on the MQT in the in-plane junctions is theoretically investigated. We obtained the analytical formula of the MQT rate and showed that the presence of the ZES at the normal/superconductor interface leads to a strong Ohmic quasiparticle dissipation. Therefore, the MQT rate is noticeably inhibited compared with the c-axis junctions in which the ZES are completely absent

Coherence factors in a high-tc cuprate probed by quasi-particle scattering off vortices.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanaguri, T; Kohsaka, Y; Ono, M; Maltseva, M; Coleman, P; Yamada, I; Azuma, M; Takano, M; Ohishi, K; Takagi, H

2009-02-13

When electrons pair in a superconductor, quasi-particles develop an acute sensitivity to different types of scattering potential that is described by the appearance of coherence factors in the scattering amplitudes. Although the effects of coherence factors are well established in isotropic superconductors, they are much harder to detect in their anisotropic counterparts, such as high-superconducting-transition-temperature cuprates. We demonstrate an approach that highlights the momentum-dependent coherence factors in Ca2-xNaxCuO2Cl2. We used Fourier-transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy to reveal a magnetic-field dependence in quasi-particle scattering interference patterns that is sensitive to the sign of the anisotropic gap. This result is associated with the d-wave coherence factors and quasi-particle scattering off vortices. Our technique thus provides insights into the nature of electron pairing as well as quasi-particle scattering processes in unconventional superconductors.

Microstructure and structural phase transitions in iron-based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhen; Cai Yao; Yang Huai-Xin; Tian Huan-Fang; Wang Zhi-Wei; Ma Chao; Chen Zhen; Li Jian-Qi

2013-01-01

Crystal structures and microstructural features, such as structural phase transitions, defect structures, and chemical and structural inhomogeneities, are known to have profound effects on the physical properties of superconducting materials. Recently, many studies on the structural properties of Fe-based high-T c superconductors have been published. This review article will mainly focus on the typical microstructural features in samples that have been well characterized by physical measurements. (i) Certain common structural features are discussed, in particular, the crystal structural features for different superconducting families, the local structural distortions in the Fe 2 Pn 2 (Pn = P As, Sb) or Fe 2 Ch 2 (Ch = S, Se, Te) blocks, and the structural transformations in the 122 system. (ii) In FeTe(Se) (11 family), the superconductivity, chemical and structural inhomogeneities are investigated and discussed in correlation with superconductivity. (iii) In the K 0.8 Fe 1.6+x Se 2 system, we focus on the typical compounds with emphasis on the Fe-vacancy order and phase separations. The microstructural features in other superconducting materials are also briefly discussed. (topical review - iron-based high temperature superconductors)

Electronic properties of high-Tc superconductors. The normal and the superconducting state of high-Tc materials. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzmany, H.; Mehring, M.; Fink, J.

1993-01-01

The International Winter School on Electronic Properties of High-Temperature Superconductors, held between March 7-14, 1992, in Kirchberg, (Tyrol) Austria, was the sixth in a series of meetings to be held at this venue. Four of the earlier meetings were dedicated to issues in the field of conducting polymers, while the winter school held in 1990 was devoted to the new discipline of high-Tc superconductivity. This year's meeting constituted a forum not only for the large number of scientists engaged in high-Tc research, but also for those involved in the new and exciting field of fullerenes. Many of the issues raised during the earlier winter schools on conducting polymers, and the last one on high-Tc superconductivity, have taken on a new significance in the light of the discovery of superconducting C 60 materials. The Kirchberg meetings are organized in the style of a school where experienced scientists from universities, research laboratories and industry have the opportunity to discuss their most recent results, and where students and young scientists can learn about the present status of research and applications from some of the most eminent workers in their field. In common with the previous winter school on high-Tc superconductors, the present one focused on the electronic properties of the cuprate superconductors. In addition, consideration was given to related compounds which are relevant to the understanding of the electronic structure of the cuprates in the normal state, to other oxide superconductors and to fulleride superconductors. Contributions dealing with their preparation, transport and thermal properties, high-energy spectroscopies, nuclear magnetic resonance, inelastic neutron scattering, and optical spectroscopy are presented in this volume. The theory of the normal and superconducting states also occupies a central position. (orig.)

From a Single-Band Metal to a High-Temperature Superconductor via Two Thermal Phase Transitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, R.-H.; Hashimoto, M.; Karapetyan, H.; Koralek, J.D.; Hinton, J.P.; Testaud, J.P.; Nathan, V.; Yoshida, Y.; Yao, H.; Tanaka, K.; Meevasana, W.; Moore, R.G.; Lu, D.H.; Mo, S.-K.; Ishikado, M.; Eisaki, H.; Hussain, Z.; Devereaux, T.P.; Kivelson, S.A.; Orenstein, J.; Kapitulnik, A.

2011-11-08

The nature of the pseudogap phase of cuprate high-temperature superconductors is one of the most important unsolved problems in condensed matter physics. We studied the commencement of the pseudogap state at temperature T* using three different techniques (angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, polar Kerr effect, and time-resolved reflectivity) on the same optimally-doped Bi2201 crystals. We observe the coincident onset at T* of a particle-hole asymmetric antinodal gap, a non-zero Kerr rotation, and a change in the relaxational dynamics, consistent with a phase transition. Upon further cooling, spectroscopic signatures of superconductivity begin to grow close to the superconducting transition temperature (T{sub c}), entangled in an energy-momentum dependent fashion with the pre-existing pseudogap features.

Antiferroic electronic structure in the nonmagnetic superconducting state of the iron-based superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimojima, Takahiro; Malaeb, Walid; Nakamura, Asuka; Kondo, Takeshi; Kihou, Kunihiro; Lee, Chul-Ho; Iyo, Akira; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Ishida, Shigeyuki; Nakajima, Masamichi; Uchida, Shin-Ichi; Ohgushi, Kenya; Ishizaka, Kyoko; Shin, Shik

2017-08-01

A major problem in the field of high-transition temperature ( T c ) superconductivity is the identification of the electronic instabilities near superconductivity. It is known that the iron-based superconductors exhibit antiferromagnetic order, which competes with the superconductivity. However, in the nonmagnetic state, there are many aspects of the electronic instabilities that remain unclarified, as represented by the orbital instability and several in-plane anisotropic physical properties. We report a new aspect of the electronic state of the optimally doped iron-based superconductors by using high-energy resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find spectral evidence for the folded electronic structure suggestive of an antiferroic electronic instability, coexisting with the superconductivity in the nonmagnetic state of Ba 1- x K x Fe 2 As 2 . We further establish a phase diagram showing that the antiferroic electronic structure persists in a large portion of the nonmagnetic phase covering the superconducting dome. These results motivate consideration of a key unknown electronic instability, which is necessary for the achievement of high- T c superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors.

Theory of High-T{sub c} Superconducting Cuprates Based on Experimental Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Abrikosov, A. A.

1999-12-10

A model of superconductivity in layered high-temperature superconducting cuprates is proposed, based on the extended saddle point singularities in the electron spectrum, weak screening of the Coulomb interaction and phonon-mediated interaction between electrons plus a small short-range repulsion of Hund's, or spin-fluctuation, origin. This permits to explain the large values of T{sub c}, features of the isotope effect on oxygen and copper, the existence of two types of the order parameter, the peak in the inelastic neutron scattering, the positive curvature of the upper critical field, as function of temperature etc.

Nodal quasiparticle dynamics in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn₅ revealed by precision microwave spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Truncik, C J S; Huttema, W A; Turner, P J; Ozcan, S; Murphy, N C; Carrière, P R; Thewalt, E; Morse, K J; Koenig, A J; Sarrao, J L; Broun, D M

2013-01-01

CeCoIn₅ is a heavy fermion superconductor with strong similarities to the high-Tc cuprates, including quasi-two-dimensionality, proximity to antiferromagnetism and probable d-wave pairing arising from a non-Fermi-liquid normal state. Experiments allowing detailed comparisons of their electronic properties are of particular interest, but in most cases are difficult to realize, due to their very different transition temperatures. Here we use low-temperature microwave spectroscopy to study the charge dynamics of the CeCoIn₅ superconducting state. The similarities to cuprates, in particular to ultra-clean YBa₂Cu₃O(y), are striking: the frequency and temperature dependence of the quasiparticle conductivity are instantly recognizable, a consequence of rapid suppression of quasiparticle scattering below T(c); and penetration-depth data, when properly treated, reveal a clean, linear temperature dependence of the quasiparticle contribution to superfluid density. The measurements also expose key differences, including prominent multiband effects and a temperature-dependent renormalization of the quasiparticle mass.

Structural classification and a binary structure model for superconductors

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Dong Cheng

2006-01-01

Based on structural and bonding features, a new classification scheme of superconductors is proposed to classify conductors can be partitioned into two parts, a superconducting active component and a supplementary component.Partially metallic covalent bonding is found to be a common feature in all superconducting active components, and the electron states of the atoms in the active components usually make a dominant contribution to the energy band near the Fermi surface. Possible directions to explore new superconductors are discussed based on the structural classification and the binary structure model.

Doping evolution of the electronic structure in the single-layer cuprates Bi2Sr2−xLaxCuO6 delta: Comparison with other single-layer cuprates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashimoto, M.

2010-04-30

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission and core-level x-ray photoemission studies of the single-layer cuprate Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2-x}La{sub x}CuO{sub 6+{delta}} (Bi2201) and revealed the doping evolution of the electronic structure from the lightly-doped to optimally-doped regions. We have observed the formation of the dispersive quasi-particle band, evolution of the Fermi 'arc' into the Fermi surface and the shift of the chemical potential with hole doping as in other cuprates. The doping evolution in Bi2201 is similar to that in Ca{sub 2-x}Na{sub x}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} (Na-CCOC), where a rapid chemical potential shift toward the lower Hubbard band of the parent insulator has been observed, but is quite different from that in La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (LSCO), where the chemical potential does not shift, yet the dispersive band and the Fermi arc/surface are formed around the Fermi level already in the lightly-doped region. The (underlying) Fermi surface shape and band dispersions are quantitatively analyzed using tightbinding fit, and the deduced next-nearest-neighbor hopping integral t also confirm the similarity to Na-CCOC and the difference from LSCO.

Coherent lattice vibrations in superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadin, Alan M.

2008-01-01

A recent analysis has shown that the pair wavefunction within the BCS theory may be represented in real-space as a spherical electronic orbital (on the scale of the coherence length ξ 0 ) coupled to a standing-wave lattice vibration with wavevector 2k F and a near-resonant phonon frequency. The present paper extends this picture to a coherent pattern of phonon standing-waves on the macroscopic scale, with electrons forming Bloch waves and an energy gap much like those in the classic band theory of crystals. These parallel planes form a diffractive waveguide permitting electron waves to traveling parallel to the planes, corresponding to lossless supercurrent. A similar picture may be extended to unconventional superconductors such as the cuprates, with an array of standing spin waves rather than phonons. Such coherent lattice vibrations should be universal indicators of the superconducting state, and should be observable below T c using X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques. Further implications of this picture are discussed

Non-universality of critical exponents in the paraconductivity of short-coherence-length superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gauzzi, A.

1993-01-01

The Aslamazov-Larkin paraconductivity term is calculated in the case of sufficiently small superconducting coherence length. It is found that the critical exponent of paraconductivity depends on the short-wavelength cut-off of the fluctuation spectrum in the whole Ginzburg-Landau mean-field region. Hence, it is predicted that the Aslamazov-Larkin universal relation between the critical exponent of paraconductivity and the dimensionality of the superconducting state is no longer valid in short-coherence-length superconductors. This prediction is confirmed by paraconductivity measurements on cuprate superconductors. (orig.)

A universal explanation of tunneling conductance in exotic superconductors

OpenAIRE

Hong, Jongbae; Abergel, D. S. L.

2016-01-01

A longstanding mystery in understanding cuprate superconductors is the inconsistency between the experimental data measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In particular, the gap between prominent side peaks observed in STS is much bigger than the superconducting gap observed by ARPES measurements. Here, we reconcile the two experimental techniques by generalising a theory which was previously applied to zero-dimensional mesoscop...

Electronic structure and superconductivity of FeSe-related superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xu; Zhao, Lin; He, Shaolong; He, Junfeng; Liu, Defa; Mou, Daixiang; Shen, Bing; Hu, Yong; Huang, Jianwei; Zhou, X J

2015-05-13

FeSe superconductors and their related systems have attracted much attention in the study of iron-based superconductors owing to their simple crystal structure and peculiar electronic and physical properties. The bulk FeSe superconductor has a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of ~8 K and it can be dramatically enhanced to 37 K at high pressure. On the other hand, its cousin system, FeTe, possesses a unique antiferromagnetic ground state but is non-superconducting. Substitution of Se with Te in the FeSe superconductor results in an enhancement of Tc up to 14.5 K and superconductivity can persist over a large composition range in the Fe(Se,Te) system. Intercalation of the FeSe superconductor leads to the discovery of the AxFe2-ySe2 (A = K, Cs and Tl) system that exhibits a Tc higher than 30 K and a unique electronic structure of the superconducting phase. A recent report of possible high temperature superconductivity in single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films with a Tc above 65 K has generated much excitement in the community. This pioneering work opens a door for interface superconductivity to explore for high Tc superconductors. The distinct electronic structure and superconducting gap, layer-dependent behavior and insulator-superconductor transition of the FeSe/SrTiO3 films provide critical information in understanding the superconductivity mechanism of iron-based superconductors. In this paper, we present a brief review of the investigation of the electronic structure and superconductivity of the FeSe superconductor and related systems, with a particular focus on the FeSe films.

Metal–insulator crossover in high c cuprates: A gauge field ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A metal–insulator crossover appears in the experimental data for in-plane resistivity of underdoped cuprates and a range of superconducting cuprates in the presence of a strong magnetic field suppressing superconductivity. We propose an explanation for this phenomenon based on a gauge field theory approach to the t-J ...

Theory of high-T{sub C} superconductivity: transition temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harshman, Dale R [Physikon Research Corporation, Lynden, WA 98264 (United States); Fiory, Anthony T [Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Dow, John D, E-mail: drh@physikon.net [Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)

2011-07-27

It is demonstrated that the transition temperature (T{sub C}) of high-T{sub C} superconductors is determined by their layered crystal structure, bond lengths, valency properties of the ions, and Coulomb coupling between electronic bands in adjacent, spatially separated layers. Analysis of 31 high-T{sub C} materials (cuprates, ruthenates, ruthenocuprates, iron pnictides, organics) yields the universal relationship for optimal compounds, k{sub B}T{sub C0} ={beta}/{iota}{zeta}, where {iota} is related to the mean spacing between interacting charges in the layers, {zeta} is the distance between interacting electronic layers, {beta} is a universal constant and T{sub C0} is the optimal transition temperature (determined to within an uncertainty of {+-} 1.4 K by this relationship). Non-optimum compounds, in which sample degradation is evident, e.g. by broadened superconducting transitions and diminished Meissner fractions, typically exhibit reduced T{sub C} < T{sub C0}. It is shown that T{sub C0} may be obtained from an average of the Coulomb interaction forces between the two layers.

An Angle Resolved Photoemission Study of a Mott Insulator and Its Evolution to a High Temperature Superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronning, Filip

2002-03-19

One of the most remarkable facts about the high temperature superconductors is their close proximity to an antiferromagnetically ordered Mott insulating phase. This fact suggests that to understand superconductivity in the cuprates we must first understand the insulating regime. Due to material properties the technique of angle resolved photoemission is ideally suited to study the electronic structure in the cuprates. Thus, a natural starting place to unlocking the secrets of high Tc would appears to be with a photoemission investigation of insulating cuprates. This dissertation presents the results of precisely such a study. In particular, we have focused on the compound Ca{sub 2-x}Na{sub x}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}. With increasing Na content this system goes from an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator with a Neel transition of 256K to a superconductor with an optimal transition temperature of 28K. At half filling we have found an asymmetry in the integrated spectral weight, which can be related to the occupation probability, n(k). This has led us to identify a d-wave-like dispersion in the insulator, which in turn implies that the high energy pseudogap as seen by photoemission is a remnant property of the insulator. These results are robust features of the insulator which we found in many different compounds and experimental conditions. By adding Na we were able to study the evolution of the electronic structure across the insulator to metal transition. We found that the chemical potential shifts as holes are doped into the system. This picture is in sharp contrast to the case of La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} where the chemical potential remains fixed and states are created inside the gap. Furthermore, the low energy excitations (ie the Fermi surface) in metallic Ca{sub 1.9}Na{sub 0.1}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} is most well described as a Fermi arc, although the high binding energy features reveal the presence of shadow bands. Thus, the results in this dissertation provide a

Bosonic excitations and electron pairing in an electron-doped cuprate superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, M. C.; Yu, H. S.; Xiong, J.; Yang, Y.-F.; Luo, S. N.; Jin, K.; Qi, J.

2018-04-01

By applying ultrafast optical spectroscopy to electron-doped La1.9Ce0.1CuO4 ±δ , we discern a bosonic mode of electronic origin and provide the evolution of its coupling with the charge carriers as a function of temperature. Our results show that it has the strongest coupling strength near Tc and can fully account for the superconducting pairing. This mode can be associated with the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin correlations emerging below a critical temperature T† larger than Tc. Our work may help to establish a quantitative relation between bosonic excitations and superconducting pairing in electron-doped cuprates.

Structure and stoichiometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gai, P.L.

1992-01-01

Structural and stoichiometric variations and their role in superconducting properties of bulk cuprate ceramics are elucidated. Atomic structure and chemistry of defect microstructures, including vacancy and interstitial defects, weak-link problems, structural modulations and coherent intergrowths leading to new structures are studies and quantitatively interpreted. They are shown to play a critical role in controlling hole concentration, critical currents and flux pinning. These phenomena underpin the solid state chemistry which determines the physical properties of the nonstoichiometric oxide superconductors. In this paper technological implications, synthesis of related novel materials and recent developments are discussed

Identification of Raman peaks of high-T{sub c} cuprates in normal state through density of states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishoyi, K.C. [P.G. Department of Physics, F.M. College (Auto.), Balasore 756 001 (India)]. E-mail: bishoyi@iopb.res.in; Rout, G.C. [Condensed Matter Physics Group, Govt. Science College, Chatrapur 761 020, Orissa (India); Behera, S.N. [Physics Enclave, H.I.G.-23/1, Housing Board Phase-I, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar 7510016 (India)

2007-05-31

We present a microscopic theory to explain and identify the Raman spectral peaks of high-T{sub c} cuprates R{sub 2-x}M{sub x}CuO{sub 4} in the normal state. We used electronic Hamiltonian prescribed by Fulde in presence of anti-ferromagnetism. Phonon interaction to the hybridization between the conduction electrons of the system and the f-electrons has been incorporated in the calculation. The phonon spectral density is calculated by the Green's function technique of Zubarev at zero wave vector and finite (room) temperature limit. The four Raman active peaks (P{sub 1}-P{sub 4}) representing the electronic states of the atomic sub-systems of the cuprate system are identified by the calculated quasi-particle energy bands and electron density of states (DOS). The effect of interactions on these peaks are also explained.

Critical-temperature inhomogeneities and resistivity rounding in copper oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maza, J.; Vidal, F.

1991-01-01

By using effective-medium approaches, we obtain the onset of the electrical-resistivity rounding, above the normal-superconducting transition, associated with inhomogeneities of the mean-field critical temperature T c0 at scales larger than the superconducting correlation length. These results are compared with available data in single-crystal and single-phase (to within 4%) polycrystalline YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ samples. This comparison shows that the measured resistivity rounding cannot be explained by these types of local T c0 inhomogeneities. Complementarily, our calculations allow us to check some proposals on T c0 inhomogeneities associated with local sample strains or oxygen-content variations. The interplay between T c0 inhomogeneities and superconducting order-parameter fluctuations (SCOPF) leads to the conclusion that in the mean-field-like region (MFR) above the superconducting transition, the T c0 inhomogeneity contribution to the measured resistivity rounding in high-quality (single-phase) cuprate oxide superconductors is negligible. In contrast, our analysis confirms that in the MFR these effects may be explained quantitatively on the grounds of the Lawrence-Doniach theory for SCOPF

Junction structures based on the high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-δ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gijs, M.A.M.

1993-01-01

An overview is given of the investigations of the Josephson effect in junction structures based on the high-T c superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ , which were carried out at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven in the 1988-1990 period. The reported results are presented in their international scientific context, without attempting a complete review of the subject. However, the various junction types studied give a good idea of the scientific pursuits of high-T c junction researchers in this period. The following junctions are considered: in the category of 'weak link'-type junctions we have investigated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Ag-Nb point contact junctions, YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ Dayem bridges and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Ag(-Al)-Pb proximity junctions. In these structures we combine a high-T c with a low-T c superconductor. We also fabricated planar 'all high-T c ' YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Ag-YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ junctions using a submicron structuring process. Next we have made tunnel junctions to study density of states effects of the high-T c superconductor : YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Pb junctions using the degraded YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Pb interface as a tunnel barrier, and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ -Ag-Al/Al 2 O 3 /Pb tunnel junctions based on the superconducting proximity effect. Our junction structures are electrically characterized and mostly studied in microwave and magnetic fields. Results are compared with current theoretical models. (orig.)

Theoretical aspects of electronic structure of high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, R.P.

1990-01-01

Although the mechanism responsible for the high T c superconductivity is still unknown, it is nevertheless clear that superconductivity in hole doped materials depends sensitively on the number of holes, C h , per CuO 2 plane. A correlation between C h and T c has been established. In this paper we present several examples of the critical dependence of the charge transfer and thus the value of C h on the cristallographic characteristics. For example, our electronic structure investigations of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6.5 using several configurations of the oxygen atoms on the chains show that the order-disorder phenomena of the oxygen atoms play a crucial role on the value of C h and T c . We have also studied the variation of the charge transfer and C h as a function of hydrostatic pressure for several cuprates: La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 (ΔT c /Δp ∼ 0.3 - 0.4 K/kbar); YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 (ΔT c /Δp ∼ 5.5 K/kbar). We show that the values of C h increase under pressure [fr

Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the many-body effects in the electronic structure of high-T{sub c} cuprates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inosov, Dmytro S.

2008-06-18

In the present work some steps are done towards understanding the anomalous effects observed in the single-particle excitation spectra of cuprates. First, the electronic properties of BSCCO are considered. The main result of this part of the work is a model of the Green's function that is later used for calculating the two-particle excitation spectrum. Then, the matrix element effects in the photoemission spectra of cuprates are discussed. After a general introduction to the problem, the thesis focuses on the recently discovered anomalous behavior of the ARPES spectra that partially originates from the momentum-dependent photoemission matrix element. The momentum- and excitation energy dependence of the anomalous high-energy dispersion, termed ''waterfalls'', is covered in full detail. Understanding the role of the matrix element effects in this phenomenon proves crucial, as they obstruct the view of the underlying excitation spectrum that is of indisputable interest. For the optimally doped bilayer Bi-based cuprate, the renormalized two-particle correlation function in the superconducting state is calculated from ARPES data within an itinerant model based on the random phase approximation (RPA). (orig.)

New insight on bismuth cuprates with incommensurate modulated structures

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mironov, A. V.; Petříček, Václav; Khasanova, N. R.; Antipov, E. V.

2016-01-01

Roč. 72, č. 3 (2016), s. 395-403 ISSN 2052-5206 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : modulated structure * high Tc superconductor * superspace approach Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.032, year: 2016

Multiple superconducting transition and phase separation in melt-textured YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−d}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menegotto Costa, R. [Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS (Brazil); Dias, F.T. [Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Caixa Postal 354, 96010-900 Pelotas, RS (Brazil); Pureur, P., E-mail: ppureur@if.ufrgs.br [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Caixa Postal 15051, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Obradors, X. [Institut de Ciéncia de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain)

2013-12-15

Highlights: •We report on experimental measurements of the temperature derivative of the resistivity in the region encompassing the superconducting transition in melt-textured samples of the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−d} cuprate superconductor. •A complex and subtle multi-peak structure is observed in d{ρ}/dT. •We develop a new method to quantitatively describe the resistive transition of a multi-phased superconductor. •The pseudo-spectral structure observed in d{ρ}/dT is ascribed to a phase separation phenomenon driven by the ordering of labile oxygen atoms in the Cu–O chain substructure. -- Abstract: We report on careful measurements of the temperature derivative of the resistivity, dρ/dT, in the region encompassing the superconducting transition of melt-textured samples of the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−d} cuprate superconductor. Measurements were carried out in orientations parallel and perpendicular to the Cu − O{sub 2} atomic planes in the presence of small magnetic fields applied parallel to the current orientation. The dρ/dT results reveal the occurrence of complex multi-peak structures that were analyzed with a new method based on the assumption that a simple series association of conductivities is adequate for describing the resistive transition of multiphased superconductors. We ascribe the multi-peak structure observed in the derivative measurements to a subtle and complex phase separation phenomenon leading to the stabilization of domains having slightly different electronic properties that are related to the ordering of labile oxygen atoms in the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−d} chain sub-structure.

Non-separable pairing interaction kernels applied to superconducting cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haley, Stephen B.; Fink, Herman J.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Non-separable interaction kernels with weak interactions produces HTS. • A probabilistic approach is used in filling the electronic states in the unit cell. • A set of coupled equations is derived which describes the energy gap. • SC properties of separable with non-separable interactions are compared. • There is agreement with measured properties of the SC and normal states. - Abstract: A pairing Hamiltonian H(Γ) with a non-separable interaction kernel Γ produces HTS for relatively weak interactions. The doping and temperature dependence of Γ(x,T) and the chemical potential μ(x) is determined by a probabilistic filling of the electronic states in the cuprate unit cell. A diverse set of HTS and normal state properties is examined, including the SC phase transition boundary T C (x), SC gap Δ(x,T), entropy S(x,T), specific heat C(x,T), and spin susceptibility χ s (x,T). Detailed x,T agreement with cuprate experiment is obtained for all properties

Structural priming, action planning, and grammar.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, Maryellen C; Weiss, Daniel J

2017-01-01

Structural priming is poorly understood and cannot inform accounts of grammar for two reasons. First, those who view performance as grammar + processing will always be able to attribute psycholinguistic data to processing rather than grammar. Second, structural priming may be simply an example of hysteresis effects in general action planning. If so, then priming offers no special insight into grammar.

Comparative Review on Thin Film Growth of Iron-Based Superconductors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshinori Imai

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Since the discovery of the novel iron-based superconductors, both theoretical and experimental studies have been performed intensively. Because iron-based superconductors have a smaller anisotropy than high-Tc cuprates and a high superconducting transition temperature, there have been a lot of researchers working on the film fabrication of iron-based superconductors and their application. Accordingly, many novel features have been reported in the films of iron-based superconductors, for example, the fabrication of the epitaxial film with a higher Tc than bulk samples, the extraction of the metastable phase which cannot be obtained by the conventional solid state reaction, and so on. In this paper, we review the progress of research on thin film fabrications of iron-based superconductors, especially the four categories: LnFeAs(O,F (Ln = Lanthanide, AEFe2As2 (AE = Alkaline-earth metal, FeCh (Ch = Chalcogen, and FeSe monolayer. Furthermore, we focus on two important topics in thin films of iron-based superconductors; one is the substrate material for thin film growth on the iron-based superconductors, and the other is the whole phase diagram in FeSe1-xTex which can be obtained only by using film-fabrication technique.

Liver-primed memory T cells generated under noninflammatory conditions provide anti-infectious immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Böttcher, Jan P; Schanz, Oliver; Wohlleber, Dirk; Abdullah, Zeinab; Debey-Pascher, Svenja; Staratschek-Jox, Andrea; Höchst, Bastian; Hegenbarth, Silke; Grell, Jessica; Limmer, Andreas; Atreya, Imke; Neurath, Markus F; Busch, Dirk H; Schmitt, Edgar; van Endert, Peter; Kolanus, Waldemar; Kurts, Christian; Schultze, Joachim L; Diehl, Linda; Knolle, Percy A

2013-03-28

Development of CD8(+) T cell (CTL) immunity or tolerance is linked to the conditions during T cell priming. Dendritic cells (DCs) matured during inflammation generate effector/memory T cells, whereas immature DCs cause T cell deletion/anergy. We identify a third outcome of T cell priming in absence of inflammation enabled by cross-presenting liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. Such priming generated memory T cells that were spared from deletion by immature DCs. Similar to central memory T cells, liver-primed T cells differentiated into effector CTLs upon antigen re-encounter on matured DCs even after prolonged absence of antigen. Their reactivation required combinatorial signaling through the TCR, CD28, and IL-12R and controlled bacterial and viral infections. Gene expression profiling identified liver-primed T cells as a distinct Neuropilin-1(+) memory population. Generation of liver-primed memory T cells may prevent pathogens that avoid DC maturation by innate immune escape from also escaping adaptive immunity through attrition of the T cell repertoire. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Local antiferromagnetic exchange and collaborative Fermi surface as key ingredients of high temperature superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiangping; Ding, Hong

2012-01-01

Cuprates, ferropnictides and ferrochalcogenides are three classes of unconventional high temperature superconductors, who share similar phase diagrams in which superconductivity develops after a magnetic order is suppressed, suggesting a strong interplay between superconductivity and magnetism, although the exact picture of this interplay remains elusive. Here we show that there is a direct bridge connecting antiferromagnetic exchange interactions determined in the parent compounds of these materials to the superconducting gap functions observed in the corresponding superconducting materials: in all high temperature superconductors, the Fermi surface topology matches the form factor of the pairing symmetry favored by local magnetic exchange interactions. We suggest that this match offers a principle guide to search for new high temperature superconductors. PMID:22536479

Models of classical one- and two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays and high-T sub c superconductors

CERN Document Server

Filatrella, G

2002-01-01

The technology to build reproducible and accurately defined structures consisting of many lumped junctions has become available only recently, therefore extended investigations are relatively new. However, beside the interest of such discrete structures per se, it has been suggested soon after the discovery of high-T sub c superconductivity that granular superconductors might be modelled as superconducting islands surrounded by non-superconducting material and weakly coupled to each other. This program has been vigorously carried on, and models of planar Josephson junction arrays (JJAs) have been successfully used to mimic the magnetic behaviour of granular superconductors. The JJA model has been compared to continuous models of non-granular superconductors. We will show how to derive the height of pinning barriers in the JJA model and compare the results with the continuous model. In particular, the existence of current dependent activation energy has been proved to be a key characteristic to understand flux...

The Prime Numbers Hidden Symmetric Structure and its Relation to the Twin Prime Infinitude and an Improved Prime Number Theorem

CERN Document Server

Mikoss, I

2006-01-01

Due to the sieving process represented by a Secondary Sieving Map; during the generation of the prime numbers, geometric structures with definite symmetries are formed which become evident through their geometrical representations. The study of these structures allows the development of a constructive prime generating formula. This defines a mean prime density yielding a second order recursive and discrete prime producing formula and a second order differential equation whose solutions produce an improved Prime Number Theorem. Applying these results to twin prime pairs is possible to generate a Twin Prime Number Theorem and important conclusions about the infinitude of the twin primes.

Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Magnetic superconductor; rutheno cuprates; structural analysis; microstructure. ... The resistance vs. temperature behavior of the samples in applied fields of 0, 3 and 7 T confirmed superconductivity, with a different type of broadening of the superconductivity transition under magnetic fields for Ru-1212 from that known for ...

Quantum oscillations and key theoretical issues in high temperature superconductors from the perspective of density waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakravarty, Sudip

2011-01-01

High temperature superconductivity in cuprate superconductors remains an unsolved problem in theoretical physics. The same statement can also be made about a number of other superconductors that have been dubbed novel. What makes these superconductors so elusive is an interesting question in itself. This paper focuses on the recent magnetic oscillation experiments and how they fit into the broader picture. Many aspects of these experiments can be explained by Fermi liquid theory; the key issue is the extent to which this is true. If true, the entire paradigm developed over the past three decades must be reexamined. A critical analysis of this issue has necessitated a broader analysis of questions about distinct ground states of matter, which may be useful in understanding other novel superconductors.

Similarity in the superconducting properties of chalcogenides, cuprate oxides and fullerides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsendin, K.D.; Popov, B.P.; Denisov, D.V.

2004-01-01

The idea of Anderson pairs has been put forward for explanation of many extraordinary properties of chalcogenides glassy semiconductors. Recent decades made obvious that these pairs localized on the centers with negative effective correlation energy (negative-U centers) really exist in chalcogenides. If the concentration of negative-U centers is enough to create the pair band states, this can lead to superconductivity because Anderson pairs are Bose particles. In the present paper we show that several puzzling superconductivity properties of chalcogenides, high-temperature cuprate superconductors and fullerides are similar for these three groups of materials and can be naturally explained in the frame of negative-U centers model of superconductivity

Partially spin-polarized Josephson tunneling between non-centrosymmetric superconductors like CePt3Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandal, S.S.; Mukherjee, S.P.

2007-01-01

Full text: The recent discovery of the superconductivity in the heavy fermionic compound CePt 3 Si have attracted much of the attention of the physics community. The presence of strong Rashba kind of spin-orbit coupling in them split the otherwise degenerate electronic band into two nondegenerate bands. This peculiarity in the band structure gives rise to complicated kind of order parameter whose exact nature is unknown till date. Traditionally Josephson junctions in superconductors draw interest both scientifically and its applicability in making devices. It has been used in several cases as a probe to the order parameter symmetry of the superconductor. It has also been studied in unconventional superconductors like spin-singlet cuprate and spin-triplet Sr 2 RuO 4 superconductors. However no Josephson junction between nonmagnetic superconductors is known to generate spin-polarized current. The purpose of this work is to theoretically show that the direction dependent tunneling matrix element across the junction between two recently discovered non-centrosymmetric superconductors like CePt 3 Si, leads to tunneling of both spin-singlet and spin-triplet Cooper pairs. As a consequence, nonvanishing spin-Josephson current is viable along with the usual charge-Josephson current. This novel spin-Josephson current depends on the relative angle xi between the axes of non-centrosymmetry {n} L and that {n} R in the left and right side of the junction respectively. This angular dependence may be used to make Josephson spin switch. (authors)

Bec Model of HIGH-Tc Superconductivity in Layered Cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Lomnitz, M.; Villarreal, C.; de Llano, M.

2013-11-01

High-Tc superconductivity in layered cuprates is described in a BCS-BEC formalism with linearly-dispersive s- and d-wave Cooper pairs moving in quasi-2D finite-width layers around the CuO2 planes. This yields a closed formula for Tc involving the layer width, the Debye frequency, the pairing energy and the in-plane penetration depth. The new formula has no free parameters and reasonably reproduces empirical values of superconducting Tcs for 11 different layered superconductors over a wide doping regime including YBCO itself as well as other compounds like LSCO, BSCCO and TBCCO. In agreement with the London formalism, the formula also yields a fair description of the Tc dependence of the lower critical magnetic field in highly underdoped YBCO.

First-principles calculation of the transition temperature Tc for HgBa2CuO4+δ high-temperature superconductors via dipolon theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downs, D.; Sharma, R.R.

1995-01-01

First numerical evaluations of T c for oxygenated and argon-reduced single-layered HgBa 2 CuO 4+δ superconductors have been presented. Our calculations are based on the dipolon theory and are found to provide an explanation for the occurrence of superconductivity in single-layered high-T c superconductors. Relevant expressions useful for the evaluation of T c have been given. Since the polarizabilities of the ions are not known exactly for the present systems we have performed calculations making use of Pauling's as well as Tessman, Kahn, and Shockley's polarizabilities in order to estimate the uncertainties in the calculated values of T c associated with uncertainties in the polarizabilities. The effective charges on the ions required for the evaluation of dipoles and dipolon frequencies have been obtained by means of the bond-valence sums. Without fitting with any parameters, our calculations yield T c values equal to 80±21 K for the oxygenated and 50±27 K for the argon-reduced HgBa 2 CuO 4+δ superconductors, in agreement with the corresponding experimental values 95 and 59 K. The uncertainties in the calculated values of T c arise because of the uncertainties in various physical parameters (including polarizabilities) used and due to errors involved in the calculations. The present results are consistent with the observed electronic Raman-scattering intensities which show anomalously broad peaks extended up to several electron volts in cuprate high-T c superconductors. Our calculated dipolon density of states predict four optical absorption peaks at about 77 cm -1 , 195 cm -1 , 1.6 eV, and 2.5 eV

Campbell penetration depth in Fe-based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prommapan, Plegchart

2011-01-01

A 'true' critical current density, j c , as opposite to commonly measured relaxed persistent (Bean) current, j B , was extracted from the Campbell penetration depth, λ c (T,H) measured in single crystals of LiFeAs, and optimally electron-doped Ba(Fe 0.954 Ni 0.046 ) 2 As 2 (FeNi122). In LiFeAs, the effective pinning potential is nonparabolic, which follows from the magnetic field - dependent Labusch parameter α. At the equilibrium (upon field - cooling), α(H) is non-monotonic, but it is monotonic at a finite gradient of the vortex density. This behavior leads to a faster magnetic relaxation at the lower fields and provides a natural dynamic explanation for the fishtail (second peak) effect. We also find the evidence for strong pinning at the lower fields.The inferred field dependence of the pinning potential is consistent with the evolution from strong pinning, through collective pinning, and eventually to a disordered vortex lattice. The value of j c (2 K) ≅ 1.22 x 10 6 A/cm 2 provide an upper estimate of the current carrying capability of LiFeAs. Overall, vortex behavior of almost isotropic, fully-gapped LiFeAs is very similar to highly anisotropic d-wave cuprate superconductors, the similarity that requires further studies in order to understand unconventional superconductivity in cuprates and pnictides. In addition to LiFeAs, we also report the magnetic penetration depth in BaFe 2 As 2 based superconductors including irradiation of FeNi122. In unirradiated FeNi122, the maximum critical current value is, j c (2K) ≅ 3.3 x 10 6 A/cm 2 . The magnetic-dependent feature was observed near the transition temperature in FeTe 0.53 Se 0.47 and irradiated FeNi122. Because of this feature, further studies are required in order to properly calibrate the Campbell penetration depth. Finally, we detected the crossing between the magnetic penetration depth and London penetration depth in optimally hold-doped Ba 0.6 K 0.4 Fe 2 As 2 (BaK122) and isovalent doped BaFe 2 (As 0

Quasi-particles ultrafastly releasing kink bosons to form Fermi arcs in a cuprate superconductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishida, Y; Saitoh, T; Mochiku, T; Nakane, T; Hirata, K; Shin, S

2016-01-05

In a conventional framework, superconductivity is lost at a critical temperature (Tc) because, at higher temperatures, gluing bosons can no longer bind two electrons into a Cooper pair. In high-Tc cuprates, it is still unknown how superconductivity vanishes at Tc. We provide evidence that the so-called ≲ 70-meV kink bosons that dress the quasi-particle excitations are playing a key role in the loss of superconductivity in a cuprate. We irradiated a 170-fs laser pulse on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+δ) and monitored the responses of the superconducting gap and dressed quasi-particles by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observe an ultrafast loss of superconducting gap near the d-wave node, or light-induced Fermi arcs, which is accompanied by spectral broadenings and weight redistributions occurring within the kink binding energy. We discuss that the underlying mechanism of the spectral broadening that induce the Fermi arc is the undressing of quasi-particles from the kink bosons. The loss mechanism is beyond the conventional framework, and can accept the unconventional phenomena such as the signatures of Cooper pairs remaining at temperatures above Tc.

Bosonic Spectral Function and the Electron-Phonon Interaction in HTSC Cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maksimov, E. G.; Tamm, I. E.; Kulic, M.L.; Kulic, M.L.; Dolgov, O. V.

2010-01-01

In this paper we discuss experimental evidence related to the structure and origin of the bosonic spectral function a2F(ο) in high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) cuprates at and near optimal doping. Global properties of a2F(ο), such as number and positions of peaks, are extracted by combining optics, neutron scattering, ARPES and tunnelling measurements. These methods give evidence for strong electron-phonon interaction (EPI) with 1<λep <3.5 in cuprates near optimal doping. We clarify how these results are in favor of the modified Migdal-Eliashberg (ME) theory for HTSC cuprates near optimal doping. In Section 2 we discuss theoretical ingredients such as strong EPI, strong correlations which are necessary to explain the mechanism of d-wave pairing in optimally doped cuprates. These comprise the ME theory for EPI in strongly correlated systems which give rise to the forward scattering peak. The latter is supported by the long-range part of EPI due to the weakly screened Madelung interaction in the ionic-metallic structure of layered HTSC cuprates. In this approach EPI is responsible for the strength of pairing while the residual Coulomb interaction and spin fluctuations trigger the d-wave pairing.

Optical conductivity and electronic Raman response of cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanyolos, A.; Dora, B.; Virosztek, A.

2010-01-01

We present the results of detailed analytical calculations for the in-plane optical conductivity and the electronic Raman susceptibility in quasi two-dimensional systems possessing a ground state with two competing order parameters: a d-wave density wave (dDW) and d-wave superconductor (dSC). In the coexisting dDW+dSC phase we determine the frequency dependence of these correlation functions in the presence of randomly distributed non-magnetic impurities in the unitary limit.

Application of ESCA spectroscopy to the study of electronic structure of high temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dagoury, G.

1988-01-01

Characteristics of high T c oxide superconductors are very sensitive to slight variation of chemical composition, ESCA spectroscopy is used for identification of YBaCuO superconductivity. Binding energy of the different electronic levels and structure of valence band are determined [fr

Semiempirical search for oxide superconductors based on bond valence sums

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, S.; Fukushima, N.; Niu, H.; Ando, K.

1992-01-01

Relationships between crystal structures and electronic states of layered transition-metal oxides are analyzed in the light of bond valence sums. Correlations between the superconducting transition temperature T c and the bond-valence-sum parameters are investigated for the high-T c cuprate compounds. Possibility of making nonsuperconducting oxides superconducting is discussed. (orig.)

Evidence for phononic pairing in extremely overdoped ``pure'' d-wave superconductor Bi2212

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yu; Hishimoto, Makoto; Song, Dongjoon; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Shen, Zhi-Xun

2015-03-01

Recent advancement in High Tc cuprate superconductor research has elucidated strong interaction between superconductivity and competing orders. Therefore, the mechanism behind the 'pure' d-wave superconducting behavior becomes the next stepping stone to further the understanding. We have performed photoemission study on extremely overdoped Bi2212 single crystal synthesized via high pressure method. In this regime, we demonstrate the much reduced superconducting gap and the absence of pseudogap. Clear gap shifted bosonic mode coupling is observed throughout the entire Brillouin zone. Via full Eliashberg treatment, we find the electron-phonon coupling strength capable of producing a transition temperature very close to Tc. This strongly implies bosonic contribution to cuprate superconductivity's pairing glue.

The structure factor of primes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G.; Martelli, F.; Torquato, S.

2018-03-01

Although the prime numbers are deterministic, they can be viewed, by some measures, as pseudo-random numbers. In this article, we numerically study the pair statistics of the primes using statistical-mechanical methods, particularly the structure factor S(k) in an interval M ≤slant p ≤slant M + L with M large, and L/M smaller than unity. We show that the structure factor of the prime-number configurations in such intervals exhibits well-defined Bragg-like peaks along with a small ‘diffuse’ contribution. This indicates that primes are appreciably more correlated and ordered than previously thought. Our numerical results definitively suggest an explicit formula for the locations and heights of the peaks. This formula predicts infinitely many peaks in any non-zero interval, similar to the behavior of quasicrystals. However, primes differ from quasicrystals in that the ratio between the location of any two predicted peaks is rational. We also show numerically that the diffuse part decays slowly as M and L increases. This suggests that the diffuse part vanishes in an appropriate infinite-system-size limit.

Low-energy physics of high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emery, V.J.; Kivelson, S.A.

1992-01-01

It is argued that the low-energy properties of high temperature superconductors are dominated by the interaction between the mobile holes and a particular class of collective modes, corresponding to local large-amplitude low-energy fluctuations in the hole density. The latter are a consequence of the competition between the effects of long-range Coulomb interactions and the tendency of a low concentration of holes in an antiferromagnet to phase separate. The low-energy behavior of the system is governed by the same fixed point as the two-channel Kondo problem, which accounts for the ''universality'' of the properties of the cuprate superconductors. Predictions of the optical properties and the spin dynamics are compared with experiment. The pairing resonance of the two Kondo problem gives a mechanism of high temperature superconductivity with an unconventional symmetry of the order parameter

Electronic structure of the cuprate superconducting and pseudogap phases from spectroscopic imaging STM

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, A. R.; Fujita, K.; Kim, E.-A.; Lawler, M. J.; Eisaki, H.; Uchida, S.; Lee, D.-H.; Davis, J. C.

2011-06-01

We survey the use of spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM) to probe the electronic structure of underdoped cuprates. Two distinct classes of electronic states are observed in both the d-wave superconducting (dSC) and the pseudogap (PG) phases. The first class consists of the dispersive Bogoliubov quasiparticle excitations of a homogeneous d-wave superconductor, existing below a lower energy scale E=Δ0. We find that the Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference (QPI) signatures of delocalized Cooper pairing are restricted to a k-space arc, which terminates near the lines connecting k=±(π/a0,0) to k=±(0,π/a0). This arc shrinks continuously with decreasing hole density such that Luttinger's theorem could be satisfied if it represents the front side of a hole-pocket that is bounded behind by the lines between k=±(π/a0,0) and k=±(0,π/a0). In both phases, the only broken symmetries detected for the |E|modulations, locally breaking both rotational and translational symmetries, coexist with this intra-unit-cell electronic symmetry breaking at E=Δ1. Their characteristic wavevector Q is determined by the k-space points where Bogoliubov QPI terminates and therefore changes continuously with doping. The distinct broken electronic symmetry states (intra-unit-cell and finite Q) coexisting at E~Δ1 are found to be indistinguishable in the dSC and PG phases. The next challenge for SI-STM studies is to determine the relationship of the E~Δ1 broken symmetry electronic states with the PG phase, and with the E<Δ0 states associated with Cooper pairing.

Ceramic superconductors II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, M.F.

1988-01-01

This volume compiles papers on ceramic superconductors. Topics include: structural patterns in High-Tc superconductors, phase equilibria of barium oxide superconductors, localized electrons in tetragonal YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-δ/, lattice and defect structure and properties of rare earth/alkaline earth-copper-oxide superconductors, alternate candidates for High-Tc superconductors, perovskite-structure superconductors; superconductive thin film fabrication, and superconductor/polymer composites

Low-energy excitations and Fermi surface topology of parent cobaltate superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasan, M.Z. [Department of Physics, Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)], E-mail: mzhasan@princeton.edu; Qian, D. [Department of Physics, Joseph Henry Laboratories, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Foo, M.; Cava, R.J. [Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2007-09-01

The essential framework for cuprate superconductivity is that of a spin-1/2 electron system in the vicinity of a half filled (Mott limit) lattice. Of all oxide superconductors, this framework is most closely matched in the sodium doped cobalt oxides except that it is realized on a triangular lattice. We employ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the quasiparticle dynamics of the parent cobaltate superconductor. Results reveal a single hole-like Fermi surface generated by the crossing of heavy ({approx}15 m{sub e} {approx} 3m{sub LDA}) quasiparticles with a negative effective hopping (t{sub eff} < 0). The observed ground state as given by the topology of the Fermi surface is found be very close to a collective charge instability with {radical}(3)x{radical}(3) symmetry. The measured electron dynamic parameters reveal the unusual character of the parent cobaltate class likely due to small and almost isotropic Fermi velocity (v{sub F}(k{sup {yields}}){approx}v{sub F}{approx}0.4{+-}0.1 eV A) observed. ARPES data is consistent with bulk thermodynamic specific heat and quantum oscillation measurements.

Modulation-free bismuth-lead cuprate superconductors: BiPbSr1+xL1-xCuO6 and BiPbSr2Y1-xCaxCu2O8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manivannan, V.; Gopalakrishnan, J.; Rao, C.N.R.

1991-01-01

Modulation-free BiPbSrLCuO 6 (L=La, Pr, Nd) and BiPbSr 2 YCu 2 O 8 , which are isotypic with the n=1 and 2 members of the Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca n-1 Cu n O 2n+4 family, have been prepared and characterized. These parent compounds are nonsuperconducting, but when doped with holes by substitution chemistry give modulation-free superconducting cuprates of the general formulas BiPbSr 1+xL1-x CuO 6 and BiPbSr 2 Y 1-x Ca x Cu 2 O 8 , exhibiting maximum T c 's of 24 and 85 K, respectively. Significantly, the hole concentration at the maximum T c is 0.12 in the cuprate family with a single Cu-O layer and 0.22 in that with two Cu-O layers

The rich variety of cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, T.M.

1997-01-01

The discovery of high-T c superconductivity focussed attention on the cuprates. Square planar coordinated Cu 2+ -ions are ideal S=1/2 ions. The exchange interaction between neighboring ions is very different for edge sharing (weak and ferromagnetic) and corner sharing (strong and antiferromagnetic) configurations. Many different magnetic structures are possible, e.g. chains, zig-zag chains, ladders, etc., weakly coupled to each other. The spin-liquid state of the two-leg ladder is especially interesting, not least because of the possible quantum critical point separating the spin liquid and long-range ordered states as the interladder coupling is increased. Hole doping to introduce mobile Cu 3+ -ionic configuration opens new possibilities. The recent discovery of superconductivity under pressure in a doped ladder system is encouraging. (orig.)

Anisotropy of the Seebeck Coefficient in the Cuprate Superconductor YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y}: Fermi-Surface Reconstruction by Bidirectional Charge Order

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Cyr-Choinière

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Seebeck coefficient S of the cuprate YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y} is measured in magnetic fields large enough to suppress superconductivity, at hole dopings p=0.11 and p=0.12, for heat currents along the a and b directions of the orthorhombic crystal structure. For both directions, S/T decreases and becomes negative at low temperature, a signature that the Fermi surface undergoes a reconstruction due to broken translational symmetry. Above a clear threshold field, a strong new feature appears in S_{b}, for conduction along the b axis only. We attribute this feature to the onset of 3D-coherent unidirectional charge-density-wave modulations seen by x-ray diffraction, also along the b axis only. Because these modulations have a sharp onset temperature well below the temperature where S/T starts to drop towards negative values, we infer that they are not the cause of Fermi-surface reconstruction. Instead, the reconstruction must be caused by the quasi-2D bidirectional modulations that develop at significantly higher temperature. The unidirectional order only confers an additional anisotropy to the already reconstructed Fermi surface, also manifest as an in-plane anisotropy of the resistivity.

Dynamics of the vortex state in high temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapitulnik, A.

1991-01-01

The large thermal energy available, the strong anisotropy, and short coherence lengths of high temperature superconductors give rise to new phenomena in the mixed state. The author discusses transport and thermodynamic measurements of high-Tc materials and of model systems. In particular, he uses experiments on two dimensional films to compare and isolate two dimensional effects in the cuprates. By using multilayer systems with similar parameters, he identifies decoupling of the superconducting planes in magnetic fields at temperatures much above the irreversibility line. He shows that if the irreversibility line is to be considered a melting transition line, it implies melting of the solid state into a liquid of three dimensional flux lines. He further uses Monte Carlo simulations to study the structure of the vortex state as well as melting

Practical superconductor development for electrical power applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goretta, K.C.

1991-10-01

Development of useful high-critical-temperature (high-T c ) superconductors requires synthesis of superconducting compounds; fabrication of wires, tapes, and films from these compounds; production of composite structures that incorporate stabilizers or insulators; and design and testing of efficient components. This report describes technical progress of research and development efforts aimed at producing superconducting components based on the Y-Ba-Cu, Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu, Bi-Pb-Sr-Ca-Cu, and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu oxides systems. Topics discussed are synthesis and heat treatment of high-T c superconductors, formation of monolithic and composite wires and tapes, superconductor/metal connectors, characterization of structures and superconducting and mechanical properties, and fabrication and properties of thin films. Collaborations with industry and academia are also documented. 10 figs

A simple model for normal state in- and out-of-plane resistivities of hole doped cuprates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqib, S.H., E-mail: shnaqib.physicsru@gmail.com [Department of Physics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 (Bangladesh); Azam, M. Afsana [Department of Physics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 (Bangladesh); Department of Physics, DUET, Gazipur, Dhaka (Bangladesh); Uddin, M. Borhan [Department of Physics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 (Bangladesh); Department of CSE, International Islamic University Chittagong, Sitakunda, IIUC Rd, Kumira 4314 Bangladesh (Bangladesh); Cole, J.R. [Cambridge Flow Solutions Ltd., Histon, Cambridge CB24 9AD (United Kingdom)

2016-05-15

Highlights: • In- and out-of-plane charge transport have been investigated for hole doped cuprates. • Effect of quantum critical point (QCP) on non-Fermi liquid behavior has been explored. • The impact of pseudogap (PG) on carrier scattering rate has been studied. • In- and out-of plane resistivities have been modeled by considering the QCP and the PG. • The model explains the non-Fermi liquid charge transport in hole doped cuprates. - Abstract: The highly anisotropic and qualitatively different nature of the normal state in- and out-of-plane charge dynamics in high-T{sub c} cuprates cannot be accommodated within the conventional Boltzmann transport theory. The variation of in-plane and out-of-plane resistivities with temperature and hole content are anomalous and cannot be explained by Fermi-liquid theory. In this study, we have proposed a simple phenomenological model for the dc resistivity of cuprates by incorporating two firmly established generic features of all hole doped cuprate superconductors—(i) the pseudogap in the quasiparticle energy spectrum and (ii) the T-linear resistivity at high temperatures. This T-linear behavior over an extended temperature range can be attributed to a quantum criticality, affecting the electronic phase diagram of cuprates. Experimental in-plane and out-of-plane resistivities (ρ{sub p}(T) and ρ{sub c}(T), respectively) of double-layer Y(Ca)123 have been analyzed using the proposed model. This phenomenological model describes the temperature and the hole content dependent resistivity over a wide range of temperature and hole content, p. The characteristic PG energy scale, ε{sub g}(p), extracted from the analysis of the resistivity data, agrees quite well with those found in variety of other experiments. Various other extracted parameters from the analysis of ρ{sub p}(T) and ρ{sub c}(T) data showed systematic trends with changing hole concentration. We have discussed important features found from the analysis in

Strain-Induced Enhancement of the Electron Energy Relaxation in Strongly Correlated Superconductors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Gadermaier

2014-03-01

Full Text Available We use femtosecond optical spectroscopy to systematically measure the primary energy relaxation rate Γ_{1} of photoexcited carriers in cuprate and pnictide superconductors. We find that Γ_{1} increases monotonically with increased negative strain in the crystallographic a axis. Generally, the Bardeen-Shockley deformation potential theorem and, specifically, pressure-induced Raman shifts reported in the literature suggest that increased negative strain enhances electron-phonon coupling, which implies that the observed direct correspondence between a and Γ_{1} is consistent with the canonical assignment of Γ_{1} to the electron-phonon interaction. The well-known nonmonotonic dependence of the superconducting critical temperature T_{c} on the a-axis strain is also reflected in a systematic dependence T_{c} on Γ_{1}, with a distinct maximum at intermediate values (∼16  ps^{−1} at room temperature. The empirical nonmonotonic systematic variation of T_{c} with the strength of the electron-phonon interaction provides us with unique insight into the role of electron-phonon interaction in relation to the mechanism of high-T_{c} superconductivity as a crossover phenomenon.

Vortex configuration and vortex-vortex interaction in nano-structured superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Masaru; Niwa, Yuhei; Suematsu, Hisataka; Ishida, Takekazu

2012-01-01

We study the vortex structures and quasi-particle structures in nano-structured superconductors. We used the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and the finite element method and obtained stable magnetic flux structures and the quasi-particle states. We found the vortex configurations are affected by the interference of the quasi-particle bound states around the vortices. In order to clarify the interference between the quasi-particle wave-functions around two vortices we have developed a numerical method using the elliptic coordinates and the Mathieu functions. We apply this method to two singly quantized vortex state in a conventional s-wave superconductor and a pair of half-quantum vortices in a chiral p-wave superconductor.

Neutron diffraction studies of high-T/sub c/ superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorgensen, J.D.

1988-03-01

Neutron powder diffraction techniques have been used extensively for the study of high-T/sub c/ oxide superconductors because of the need to locate oxygen atoms and accurately determine the oxygen site occupancies, and the difficulty in obtaining single crystals. For example, in the case of YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-δ/, neutron powder diffraction and Rietveld structural refinement were used to obtain the first complete structural information. Subsequent experiments focussed on determining the relationship of superconducting properties to the number and distribution of oxygen vacancies on the Cu-O sublattice with measurements being done on samples in thermodynamic equilibrium, at high temperature in controlled oxygen atmospheres, and on metastable, oxygen-deficient samples produced by quenching. Neutron powder diffraction has also been used to determine the structures of compounds in which the properties have been modified by substitution on the Y, Ba, or Cu sites. This paper briefly reviews some of the neutron powder diffraction results in these areas. 17 refs

Phonon-induced anomalous Raman spectra in undoped high-Tc cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.D.; Min, B.I.

1997-01-01

In order to describe a shoulder peak structure near 4J in the magnon Raman spectra of undoped high-T c cuprates, we have explored the phonon contribution to the Raman spectra. Incorporating the magnon-phonon Hamiltonian in the spin-wave theory, we have evaluated the two-magnon Raman spectral function originating from the lowest-order magnon-phonon-magnon scattering. It is found that phonons induce a shoulder peak near 4J besides the dominant two-magnon peak near 3J, in agreement with experiments. (orig.)

Antiferromagnetic and superconducting gaps and their interrelation in high-T sub c cuprates

CERN Document Server

Arrigoni, E; Eckl, T; Hanke, W

2003-01-01

We propose a phenomenological model, comprising a microscopic SO(5) model plus the on-site Hubbard interaction U (projected SO(5) model) to understand the interrelation between the d-wave-gap modulation observed by recent angle-resolved photoemission experiments in the insulating antiferromagnet Ca sub 2 CuO sub 2 Cl sub 2 and the d-wave gap of high-T sub c superconducting materials. The on-site interaction U is important in order to produce a Mott gap of the correct order of magnitude, which would be absent in an exact SO(5) theory. The projected SO(5)-model explains the gap characteristics, namely both the symmetry and the different order of magnitude of the gap modulations between the AF and the SCc phases. Furthermore, it is shown that the projected SO(5) theory can provide an explanation for a recent observation [E. Pavarini et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 47003 (2001)], i. e. that the maximum T sub c observed in a large variety of high-T sub c cuprates scales with the next-nearest-neighbor hopping matrix e...

Photothermal measurements of high T/sub c/ superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fanton, J.T.; Mitzi, D.B.; Kapitulnik, A.; Khuri-Yakub, B.T.; Kino, G.S.; Gazit, D.; Feigelson, R.S.; Center for Materials Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4085)

1989-01-01

We demonstrate a photothermal method for making point measurements of the thermal conductivities of high T/sub c/ superconductors. Images made at room temperature on polycrystalline materials show the thermal inhomogeneities. Measurements on single-crystal Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O/sub x/ compounds reveal a very large anisotropy of about 7:1 in the thermal conductivity

Gossamer superconductivity, new paradigm?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Won, Hyekyung [Department of Physics, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-702 (Korea); Haas, Stephan; Parker, David [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484 (United States); Maki, Kazumi [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484 (United States); Max-Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Noethnitzer Str. 38, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Dora, Balazs [Department of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1521 Budapest (Hungary); Virosztek, Attila [Department of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1521 Budapest (Hungary); Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, P.O. Box 49, 1525 Budapest (Hungary)

2006-01-01

We review our recent works on d-wave density wave (dDW) and gossamer superconductivity (i.e. d-wave superconductivity in the presence of dDW) in high-T{sub c} cuprates and CeCoIn{sub 5}. a) We show that both the giant Nernst effect and the angle dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) in the pseudogap phases of the cuprates and CeCoIn{sub 5} are manifestations of dDW. b) The phase diagram of high-T{sub c} cuprates is understood in terms of mean field theory, which includes two order parameters {delta}{sub 1} and {delta}{sub 2}, where one order paremeter is from dDW and the other from d-wave superconductivity. c) In the optimally to the overdoped region we find the spatially periodic dDW, an analogue of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state, becomes more stable. d) In the underdoped region where {delta}{sub 2}/{delta}{sub 1}<<1 the Uemera relation is obtained within the present model. We speculate that the gossamer superconductivity is at the heart of high-T{sub c} cuprate superconductors, the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn{sub 5} and the organic superconductors {kappa}-(ET){sub 2}Cu(NCS){sub 2} and (TMTSF){sub 2}PF{sub 6}. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Glass formability of high T(sub c) Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Kaukler, William F.

1992-01-01

A number of compositions of ceramic oxide high T(sub c) superconductors were evaluated for their glass formation ability by means of rapid thermal analysis during quenching, optical and electron microscopy of the quenched samples, and with subsequent DSC measurements. Correlations between experimental measurements and the methodical composition changes identified the formulations of superconductors that can easily form glass. The superconducting material was first formed as a glass, then with subsequent devitrification it was formed into bulk crystalline superconductor by a series of processing methods.

Nonlinear optical effects and third-harmonic generation in superconductors: Cooper pairs versus Higgs mode contribution

Science.gov (United States)

Cea, T.; Castellani, C.; Benfatto, L.

2016-05-01

The recent observation of a transmitted THz pulse oscillating at three times the frequency of the incident light paves the way to a powerful protocol to access resonant excitations in a superconductor. Here we show that this nonlinear optical process is dominated by light-induced excitation of Cooper pairs, while the collective amplitude (Higgs) fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter give in general a negligible contribution. We also predict a nontrivial dependence of the signal on the direction of the light polarization with respect to the lattice symmetry, which can be tested in systems such as, e.g., cuprate superconductors.

The local structure of high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustre de Leon, J.; Conradson, S.D.; Bishop, A.R.; Raistrick, I.D.

1992-01-01

We show how x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) has been successfully used in the determination of the local crystal structure of high-temperature superconductors, with advantages over traditional diffraction techniques. We review the experimental results that yielded the first evidence for an axial-oxygen-centered lattice instability connected with the superconductivity transition. The interpretation of this instability in terms of a dynamical tunneling model suggests the presence of polarons in these materials. XAFS on Tl 2 Ba 2 CuO 6 and other Tl-based superconductors indicate the presence of local instabilities in the CuO 2 planes of these materials, in addition to axial-oxygen instabilities

On the interplay of Jahn-Teller physics and Mott physics in cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamimura, H; Ushio, H

2008-01-01

The extended two-story house model which is now called the Kamimura-Suwa (K-S) model has clarified how the interplay of Mott physics and Jahn-Teller physics plays an important role in determining the superconducting as well as metallic state of underdoped cuprates. In this paper it is first pointed out for underdoped cuprates that Mott physics leads to the existence of local antiferromagnetic order constructed from the localized spins while that the anti-Jahn-Teller effect as a central issue of Jahn-Teller physics leads to the existence of two kinds of orbitals parallel and perpendicular to a CuO 2 plane whose states have nearly the same energy. As a result of the interplay of both physics the K-S model has shown that the exchange interactions between the spins of a localized hole and of a carrier hole play an important role in producing the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in underdoped cuprates. The appearance of d-wave superconductivity even in the phonon-involved mechanism is also shown to be due to the interplay of Jahn-Teller physics and Mott Physics. Brief review of these facts as well as the K-S model is given in this paper. More outstanding result in this paper is that the origin of pseudogap in the deeply underdoped regime has been clarified. In this paper it is shown theoretically for the first time that the so-called T* pseudogap observed in ARPES, STM and tunneling experiments below T c in underdoped cuprates corresponds to the real transition of photo-excited electrons from the occupied states in the originally conduction band below the superconducting gap to a free-electron state above the vacuum level. Thus we conclude that the T* pseudogap in the underdoped cuprates which increases with decreasing the hole concentration is not 'pseudo', but a real gap which exists even below T c

Distinct Nature of Static and Dynamic Magnetic Stripes in Cuprate Superconductors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, H.; Holm, S. L.; Lăcătuşu, M. E.

2018-01-01

We present detailed neutron scattering studies of the static and dynamic stripes in an optimally doped high-Temperature superconductor, La2CuO4+y. We observe that the dynamic stripes do not disperse towards the static stripes in the limit of vanishing energy transfer. Therefore, the dynamic stripes...

Study of apical oxygen atoms in a spin-ladder cuprate compound by X-ray absorption spectroscopy near the Cu K edge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hatterer, C.J.; Eustache, B.; Collin, L.; Beuran, C.F.; Partiot, C.; Germain, P.; Xu, X.Z.; Lagues, M. [CNRS, Paris (France). Surfaces et Supraconducteurs; Michalowicz, A. [Laboratoire de Physique des Milieux Desordonnes, Universite Paris XII Val-de-Marne, 61 avenue du general de Gaulle, 94010, Creteil Cedex (France)]|[LURE, Universite Paris Sud, 91405, Orsay Cedex (France); Moscovici, J. [Laboratoire de Physique des Milieux Desordonnes, Universite Paris XII Val-de-Marne, 61 avenue du general de Gaulle, 94010, Creteil Cedex (France); Deville Cavellin, C. [CNRS, Paris (France). Surfaces et Supraconducteurs]|[Laboratoire d`Electronique, Universite Paris XII Val-de-Marne, 61 av. du general de Gaulle, 94010, Creteil Cedex (France); Traverse, A. [LURE, Universite Paris Sud, 91405, Orsay Cedex (France)

1997-04-01

The structure of high-T{sub c} superconducting cuprate compounds is based on CuO{sub 2} planes alternating with blocks that behave as charge reservoirs. The apical oxygen atoms which belong to these reservoirs are suspected to play a role in the mechanism of superconductivity. It thus seems necessary to measure the amount of apical oxygen atoms in various compounds, as a function of the superconducting properties. Polarisation dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements were performed near the Cu K-edge on three types of phases. We collected information about the neighbourhood of the copper atom in the cuprate planes and in the direction perpendicular to these planes. Two of these phases have well known structures: Bi2212 in which copper atoms are on a pyramidal site and infinite layer phase, a square planar cuprate without apical oxygen. We used the obtained results as reference data to study a new copper-rich phase related to the spin-ladder series. (orig.)

Cu k-edge studies of the charge carries in Th-doped cuprate system R2-xThxCuO4-δ (R = Nd, Sm and Gd)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, G.; Yi, Y.; Jardim, R.F.; Wang, L.V.

1999-01-01

To further study the charge carrier concentration in electron doped cuprate superconductors, a systematic x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurement has been carried out on Th-doped superconductor system R 2-x Th x CuO 4-δ (R = Nd, Sm, and Gd). The XANES results show that, similar to the Ce-doped compounds, while the intensity of the Cu 1+ 4p π feature increase with the increase of the Th doping level x, the intensities of the Cu 2+ 4p π and 4p σ features decreases. This clearly indicates that the electrons doped by the Th atoms are injected into the local Cu 3d-orbitals. The normalized Cu 1+ 4p π intensity data show that the Cu 1+ concentration in the Th-doped compound series with different R-elements is linearly proportional to the Th doping-level x. The data suggest that both Ce and Th donate the same fraction of electrons into the Cu sites

A tale of two metals: contrasting criticalities in the pnictides and hole-doped cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Hussey, N. E.; Buhot, J.; Licciardello, S.

2018-05-01

The iron-based high temperature superconductors share a number of similarities with their copper-based counterparts, such as reduced dimensionality, proximity to states of competing order, and a critical role for 3d electron orbitals. Their respective temperature-doping phase diagrams also contain certain commonalities that have led to claims that the metallic and superconducting (SC) properties of both families are governed by their proximity to a quantum critical point (QCP) located inside the SC dome. In this review, we critically examine these claims and highlight significant differences in the bulk physical properties of both systems. While there is now a large body of evidence supporting the presence of a (magnetic) QCP in the iron pnictides, the situation in the cuprates is much less apparent, at least for the end point of the pseudogap phase. We argue that the opening of the normal state pseudogap in cuprates, so often tied to a putative QCP, arises from a momentum-dependent breakdown of quasiparticle coherence that sets in at much higher doping levels but which is driven by the proximity to the Mott insulating state at half filling. Finally, we present a new scenario for the cuprates in which this loss of quasiparticle integrity and its evolution with momentum, temperature and doping plays a key role in shaping the resultant phase diagram. This key issues review is dedicated to the memory of Dr John Loram whose pioneering measurements, analysis and ideas inspired much of its content.

New superconductors from granular to high T$_{c}$

CERN Document Server

Deutscher, Guy

2018-01-01

How new are the high Tc superconductors, as compared to the conventional low Tc ones? In what sense are these oxides different from regular metals in their normal state? How different is the mechanism for high Tc superconductivity from the well-known electron-phonon interaction that explains so well superconductivity in metals and alloys? What are the implications of the new features of the high Tc oxides for their practical applications? This interesting book aims to provide some answers to those questions, drawing particularly on similarities between the high Tc oxides and granular superconductors, which also present a short coherence length, a small superfluid density and an inhomogeneous structure.

The evidence of unconventional pairing in heavy fermion superconductors and high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tien, C.; Wur, C.S.; Jiang, I.M.

1989-01-01

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in two classes of superconductors, heavy fermion superconductors and high T c copper oxide superconductors. The behavior and nature of superconductivity in these two classes of materials are very similar. The temperature dependences of spin-lattice relaxation time (T 1 ) and spin-spin relaxation time (T 2 ) of 9 Be in UBe 13 are quite similar to those of 63 Cu and 89 Y in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ . The Knight shift of UBe 13 is unchanged during the superconducting phase transition. The Knight shift of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ changes from the value in the normal state K n /K s = 1 at T ≥ T c to K n /K s = 0.5 at T = 6 K. Both do not approach zero as expected in BCS theory. The acoustic attenuation is enhanced just below T c instead of rapid drop near T c for these two superconducting system. Neither the enhancement, the temperature variation, nor any other anomalous behaviors appear to be mirrored in EPR data for heavy Fermion superconductors and high T c superconductors. This strongly suggests that the unconventional pairing mechanism which induces superconductivity in heavy fermion materials might also involve in high T c superconductors

Zeeman and orbital limiting magnetic fields in cuprates: The ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

1IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, ... In cuprates, in a view where pairing correlations set in at the pseudogap ... the field Hc2 bounding the superconducting response and the pseudogap closing field.

The rate of quasiparticle recombination probes the onset of coherence in cuprate superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinton, J P; Thewalt, E; Alpichshev, Z; Mahmood, F; Koralek, J D; Chan, M K; Veit, M J; Dorow, C J; Barišić, N; Kemper, A F; Bonn, D A; Hardy, W N; Liang, Ruixing; Gedik, N; Greven, M; Lanzara, A; Orenstein, J

2016-04-13

In the underdoped copper-oxides, high-temperature superconductivity condenses from a nonconventional metallic "pseudogap" phase that exhibits a variety of non-Fermi liquid properties. Recently, it has become clear that a charge density wave (CDW) phase exists within the pseudogap regime. This CDW coexists and competes with superconductivity (SC) below the transition temperature Tc, suggesting that these two orders are intimately related. Here we show that the condensation of the superfluid from this unconventional precursor is reflected in deviations from the predictions of BSC theory regarding the recombination rate of quasiparticles. We report a detailed investigation of the quasiparticle (QP) recombination lifetime, τqp, as a function of temperature and magnetic field in underdoped HgBa2CuO(4+δ) (Hg-1201) and YBa2Cu3O(6+x) (YBCO) single crystals by ultrafast time-resolved reflectivity. We find that τqp(T) exhibits a local maximum in a small temperature window near Tc that is prominent in underdoped samples with coexisting charge order and vanishes with application of a small magnetic field. We explain this unusual, non-BCS behavior by positing that Tc marks a transition from phase-fluctuating SC/CDW composite order above to a SC/CDW condensate below. Our results suggest that the superfluid in underdoped cuprates is a condensate of coherently-mixed particle-particle and particle-hole pairs.

A formulation for the critical temperature T/sub c/ of Ll2-type superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Rong-Yao; Zhang Xiao

1985-01-01

From the examination of Ll 2 type superconductors, the superconducting critical temperature T/sub b/ of Ll 2 -type superconductors is obtained by: T/sub c/ = 15.9T/sub B/V(B)G/sub A//(√M/sub m/) V(Ll 2 )/sub m/ G/sub B/ where T/sub B/ is the superconducting critical temperature of pure B, V(B) the atomic volume in pure B, V(Ll 2 )/sub m/ the average atomic volume in the Ll 2 type compound, M/sub m/ the average atomic weight of the compound, and G/sub A/, G/sub B/ are the Gordy electronegative values. (author)

Role of Van Hove singularities and momentum-space structure in high-temperature superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radtke, R.J.; Levin, K.; Schuettler, H.; Norman, M.R.

1993-01-01

There is a great deal of interest in attributing the high critical temperatures of the cuprates to either the proximity of the Fermi level to a Van Hove singularity or to structure of the superconducting pairing potential in momentum space far from the Fermi surface; the latter is particularly important for spin-fluctuation-mediated pairing mechanisms. We examine these ideas by calculating the critical temperature T c for model Einstein-phonon- and spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductors within both the standard, Fermi-surface-restricted Eliashberg theory and the exact Eliashberg theory, which accounts for the full momentum structure of the pairing potential and the energy dependence of the density of states. Our computations employ band structures chosen to model both the La 2 Sr 2-x CuO 4 and YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ families. For our spin fluctuation calculations, we take the dynamical susceptibility to be the pairing potential and examine two models of this susceptibility in the cuprates. We compare and contrast these models with available magnetic neutron-scattering data, since these data provide the most direct constraints on the susceptibility. We conclude that a model constrained by neutron-scattering measurements will not yield the observed 90-K T c 's regardless of the strength of the electron-spin fluctuation coupling, even when the Van Hove singularity and momentum-space structure are accounted for; moreover, when transport constraints are applied to this type of model, we expect T c ∼10 K, as was found in an earlier paper. We also find that the Van Hove singularity enhances T c much less effectively than weak-coupling calculations would suggest

Structural studies of metal oxides related to High-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hjorth, M.

1990-02-01

The project was started in order to investigate metal oxide structures related in some way to high-T c superconductors, using the crystallographic methods available; and in order to be able to use crystallographic methods in ways that go beyond routine applications in order to contribute to the crystallographic knowledge concerning these oxides. The project goes a step outside the boarders normally defined by using the term ''high-T c superconductors'', thus studying metal oxides from a more general crystallographic viewpoint. The methods used are the expansions of the spherical atom model, and of the thermal probability density function, and combination of X-ray work with high resolution electron microscopy. The use of the expanded diffraction models presents problems such as bad convergence in least squares refinement, physical unreasonable parameters, problems with interpretation of the results and difficulties due to missing or insufficient computer programs. The use of these models is discussed. Dynamical theory is applied when considering electron diffraction results. The theory is presented, focusing on the modifications of the standard theory used for some of the structures considered in the thesis, and in overview on other theoretical topics is given. A presentation is given of the structures which have been considered and of earlier work on related compounds, of the problems and solutions applied to the compound discussed and of the results obtained. The results are discussed. The appendices describe published papers and the work not directly connected to the main topics, e.g. implementation and development of computer programs. (AB) 172 refs

Ag induced suppression of irradiation response in YBCO/Ag composite thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behera, D.; Mohanty, T.; Mohanta, D.; Patnaik, K.; Mishra, N.C.; Senapati, L.; Kanjilal, D.; Mehta, G.K.; Pinto, R.

1999-01-01

Practical application of cuprate superconductors in radiation environment demands that these systems remain insensitive to the irradiation induced defects. The cuprate superconductors however are many orders of magnitude more sensitive than the conventional low T c superconductors. To suppress the irradiation sensitivity of cuprates we consider a crystal engineering approach where metal ions as Ag is made to occupy inter and intra-granular sites of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 thin films. We show that superconducting and normal state properties of YBCO/Ag composite thin films prepared by laser ablation remain unchanged under 140 MeV Si ion irradiation up to fluence of 8 x 10 14 ions/cm 2 . The inter- and intra-granular occupancy of Ag is shown to induce microstructural modifications and rigidity to the CuO chains respectively which in turn lead to the radiation insensitivity of the composite films. (author)

Unified Phase Diagram for Iron-Based Superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yanhong; Liu, Zhaoyu; Xie, Tao; Zhang, Wenliang; Gong, Dongliang; Hu, Ding; Ma, Xiaoyan; Li, Chunhong; Zhao, Lingxiao; Lin, Lifang; Xu, Zhuang; Tan, Guotai; Chen, Genfu; Meng, Zi Yang; Yang, Yi-Feng; Luo, Huiqian; Li, Shiliang

2017-10-13

High-temperature superconductivity is closely adjacent to a long-range antiferromagnet, which is called a parent compound. In cuprates, all parent compounds are alike and carrier doping leads to superconductivity, so a unified phase diagram can be drawn. However, the properties of parent compounds for iron-based superconductors show significant diversity and both carrier and isovalent dopings can cause superconductivity, which casts doubt on the idea that there exists a unified phase diagram for them. Here we show that the ordered moments in a variety of iron pnictides are inversely proportional to the effective Curie constants of their nematic susceptibility. This unexpected scaling behavior suggests that the magnetic ground states of iron pnictides can be achieved by tuning the strength of nematic fluctuations. Therefore, a unified phase diagram can be established where superconductivity emerges from a hypothetical parent compound with a large ordered moment but weak nematic fluctuations, which suggests that iron-based superconductors are strongly correlated electron systems.

Unified Phase Diagram for Iron-Based Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yanhong; Liu, Zhaoyu; Xie, Tao; Zhang, Wenliang; Gong, Dongliang; Hu, Ding; Ma, Xiaoyan; Li, Chunhong; Zhao, Lingxiao; Lin, Lifang; Xu, Zhuang; Tan, Guotai; Chen, Genfu; Meng, Zi Yang; Yang, Yi-feng; Luo, Huiqian; Li, Shiliang

2017-10-01

High-temperature superconductivity is closely adjacent to a long-range antiferromagnet, which is called a parent compound. In cuprates, all parent compounds are alike and carrier doping leads to superconductivity, so a unified phase diagram can be drawn. However, the properties of parent compounds for iron-based superconductors show significant diversity and both carrier and isovalent dopings can cause superconductivity, which casts doubt on the idea that there exists a unified phase diagram for them. Here we show that the ordered moments in a variety of iron pnictides are inversely proportional to the effective Curie constants of their nematic susceptibility. This unexpected scaling behavior suggests that the magnetic ground states of iron pnictides can be achieved by tuning the strength of nematic fluctuations. Therefore, a unified phase diagram can be established where superconductivity emerges from a hypothetical parent compound with a large ordered moment but weak nematic fluctuations, which suggests that iron-based superconductors are strongly correlated electron systems.

Theory of superconductivity and spin excitations in cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Plakida, Nikolay M.

2018-06-01

A microscopic theory of high-temperature superconductivity in strongly correlated systems as cuprates is presented. The two-subband extended Hubbard model is considered where the intersite Coulomb repulsion and electron-phonon interaction are taken into account. The low-energy spin excitations are considered within the t-J model.

The superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lad, J.K.

1979-01-01

Techniques for fabrication of a few important superconductors like Nb, Ti and Nb 3 Sn are described. Copper or bronze or both can be used as a matrix in the superconductor. Current densities obtained for different ratios of copper to superconductor are studied. The specifications of multi-filament Nb 3 Sn superconductors are given. The relative merits of the two superconductors are discussed. The temperature range obtained is approximately 3 0 K and a magnetic field of 9T(tesla) can be achieved. (A.K.)

Orbitals, correlation, valencies in high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khomskii, D.I.

1990-09-01

The survey is given of certain properties of high-Tc superconductors connected with the details of their electronic structure such as the kind of orbitals involved and the degree of correlation. Special attention is paid to the properties of cuprates at high doping level. The problem whether there exists a ''Mott transition'' at high electron or a hole concentration is discussed. We also discuss physical factors (d-p Coulomb interaction, orbital mixing) leading to the partial occupation of copper d x 2 -orbital. In particular we show that in localized picture (x 2 -y 2 ) and z 2 -levels in La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 may cross at x approx. 0.4 which may be responsible for a marked change of many properties at this doping. The possible role of x 2 -electrons in pairing is discussed in connection with some recent experiments. (author). 28 refs, 6 figs, 1 tab

Anomalous High-Energy Waterfall-Like Electronic Structure in 5 d Transition Metal Oxide Sr2IrO4 with a Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan; Yu, Li; Jia, Xiaowen; Zhao, Jianzhou; Weng, Hongming; Peng, Yingying; Chen, Chaoyu; Xie, Zhuojin; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Liu, Xu; Feng, Ya; Yi, Hemian; Zhao, Lin; Liu, Guodong; He, Shaolong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Xu, Zuyan; Chen, Chuangtian; Cao, Gang; Dai, Xi; Fang, Zhong; Zhou, X. J.

2015-08-01

The low energy electronic structure of Sr2IrO4 has been well studied and understood in terms of an effective Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulator model. However, little work has been done in studying its high energy electronic behaviors. Here we report a new observation of the anomalous high energy electronic structure in Sr2IrO4. By taking high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on Sr2IrO4 over a wide energy range, we have revealed for the first time that the high energy electronic structures show unusual nearly-vertical bands that extend over a large energy range. Such anomalous high energy behaviors resemble the high energy waterfall features observed in the cuprate superconductors. While strong electron correlation plays an important role in producing high energy waterfall features in the cuprate superconductors, the revelation of the high energy anomalies in Sr2IrO4, which exhibits strong spin-orbit coupling and a moderate electron correlation, points to an unknown and novel route in generating exotic electronic excitations.

Anomalous High-Energy Waterfall-Like Electronic Structure in 5 d Transition Metal Oxide Sr2IrO4 with a Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yan; Yu, Li; Jia, Xiaowen; Zhao, Jianzhou; Weng, Hongming; Peng, Yingying; Chen, Chaoyu; Xie, Zhuojin; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Liu, Xu; Feng, Ya; Yi, Hemian; Zhao, Lin; Liu, Guodong; He, Shaolong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Xu, Zuyan; Chen, Chuangtian; Cao, Gang; Dai, Xi; Fang, Zhong; Zhou, X J

2015-08-12

The low energy electronic structure of Sr2IrO4 has been well studied and understood in terms of an effective Jeff = 1/2 Mott insulator model. However, little work has been done in studying its high energy electronic behaviors. Here we report a new observation of the anomalous high energy electronic structure in Sr2IrO4. By taking high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on Sr2IrO4 over a wide energy range, we have revealed for the first time that the high energy electronic structures show unusual nearly-vertical bands that extend over a large energy range. Such anomalous high energy behaviors resemble the high energy waterfall features observed in the cuprate superconductors. While strong electron correlation plays an important role in producing high energy waterfall features in the cuprate superconductors, the revelation of the high energy anomalies in Sr2IrO4, which exhibits strong spin-orbit coupling and a moderate electron correlation, points to an unknown and novel route in generating exotic electronic excitations.

Temperature and doping dependence of the high-energy kink in cuprates.

Science.gov (United States)

Zemljic, M M; Prelovsek, P; Tohyama, T

2008-01-25

It is shown that spectral functions within the extended t-J model, evaluated using the finite-temperature diagonalization of small clusters, exhibit the high-energy kink in single-particle dispersion consistent with recent angle-resolved photoemission results on hole-doped cuprates. The kink and waterfall-like features persist up to large doping and to temperatures beyond J; hence, the origin can be generally attributed to strong correlations and incoherent hole propagation at large binding energies. In contrast, our analysis predicts that electron-doped cuprates do not exhibit these phenomena in photoemission.

Enhancement in the high-T{sub c} phase of BSCCO superconductors by Nb addition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soezeri, Hueseyin [TUBITAK-UME, National Metrology Institute, PO Box 54 TR-41470, Gebze Kocaeli (Turkey); Ghazanfari, Nader [Middle East Technical University, Physics Department, 06531 Ankara (Turkey); Oezkan, Huesnue [Middle East Technical University, Physics Department, 06531 Ankara (Turkey); Kilic, Ahmet [Middle East Technical University, Physics Department, 06531 Ankara (Turkey)

2007-06-15

Pure and Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} added Bi{sub 1.6}Pb{sub 0.4}Nb{sub x}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub {delta}} superconductors (x varies up to 0.30) were synthesized by the solid state reaction method. Structural and superconducting properties of the samples were investigated. The fraction of the high-T{sub c} phase (2223) increases with Nb addition up to x = 0.10, for which a nearly single 2223 phase was obtained. The critical temperature of the samples increases from 96 to 104 K with doping up to x = 0.20 and a further increase in Nb decreases the T{sub c} sharply. Similarly, there is a considerable enhancement in the critical current density (j{sub c}) of the samples in the same doping range. Both AC susceptibility and transport measurements showed that the optimum Nb concentration is x = 0.20. The out-of-phase component of the AC susceptibility measurements showed that inter-grain coupling was enhanced up to the same doping level. Nb additions above x = 0.30 decrease the fraction of the high-T{sub c} phase and degrade the superconducting properties. Present measurements indicate that x = 0.20 is the optimum Nb concentration in the BSCCO superconductor to enhance phase purity, inter-grain coupling and superconducting parameters (T{sub c} and j{sub c})

Structural phase transitions and superconductivity in lanthanum copper oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, M.K.; Harlow, R.L.; McCarron, E.M.

1996-01-01

Despite the enormous effort expended over the past ten years to determine the mechanism underlying high temperature superconductivity in cuprates there is still no consensus on the physical origin of this fascinating phenomenon. This is a consequence of a number of factors, among which are the intrinsic difficulties in understanding the strong electron correlations in the copper oxides, determining the roles played by antiferromagnetic interactions and low dimensionality, analyzing the complex phonon dispersion relationships, and characterizing the phase diagrams which are functions of the physical parameters of temperature and pressure, as well as the chemical parameters of stoichiometry and hole concentration. In addition to all of these intrinsic difficulties, extrinsic materials issues such as sample quality and homogeneity present additional complications. Within the field of high temperature superconductivity there exists a subfield centered around the material originally reported to exhibit high temperature superconductivity by Bednorz and Mueller, Ba doped La 2 CuO 4 . This is structurally the simplest cuprate superconductor. The authors report on studies of phase differences observed between such base superconductors doped with Ba or Sr. What these studies have revealed is a fascinating interplay of structural, magnetic and superconducting properties which is unique in the field of high temperature superconductivity and is summarized in this paper

Surface cleaning and adsorbate layer formation: Dual role of alkylamines in the formation of self-assembled monolayers on cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritchie, J.E.; Murray, W.R.; Kershan, K.; Diaz, V.; Tran, L.; McDevitt, J.T.

1999-01-01

The development of monolayer adsorption chemistry for superconductor surfaces is particularly important for a number of practical and fundamental reasons. As high-T c superconductors begin to approach the marketplace in areas of communications, power industries, medical applications, and scientific instrumentation, the development of new soft chemistry approaches for the surface modification of these technologically relevant electronic materials becomes increasingly important. Monolayer adsorption chemistry has been developed extensively for electronic materials such as metals, semiconductors, and insulators. These methodologies have been expanded recently to include a variety of high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs). The authors describe a series of new X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), four-point conductivity, critical current, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), grazing angle infrared spectroscopy, and GE--MS experiments, which lead the suggestion that an entirely different mechanism is involved in the formation of HTSC-localized monolayers. According to the new model, the amine reagents serve two chemically distinct roles. In the initial phase, the degraded superconductor exteriors is etched away with the help of the amine compounds. The etching process proceeds to the point where fresh YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 is exposed, and only at this point do the amines adsorb and remain at the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 surface. As the adsorption process continues, there is an accumulation of an organized monolayer at the surface, which prevents further etching of the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 material

Electronic Identification of the Parental Phases and Mesoscopic Phase Separation of K_{x}Fe_{2-y}Se_{2} Superconductors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Chen

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The nature of the parent compound of a high-temperature superconductor (HTS often plays a pivotal role in determining its superconductivity. The parent compounds of the cuprate HTSs are antiferromagnetically ordered Mott insulators, while those of the iron-pnictide HTSs are metals with spin-density-wave order. Here we report the electronic identification of two insulating parental phases and one semiconducting parental phase of the newly discovered family of K_{x}Fe_{2-y}Se_{2} superconductors. The two insulating phases exhibit Mott-insulator-like signatures, and one of the insulating phases is even present in the superconducting and semiconducting K_{x}Fe_{2-y}Se_{2} compounds. However, it is mesoscopically phase-separated from the superconducting or semiconducting phase. Moreover, we find that both the superconducting and semiconducting phases are free of the magnetic and vacancy orders present in the insulating phases, and that the electronic structure of the superconducting phase could be developed by doping the semiconducting phase with electrons. The rich electronic properties discovered in these parental phases of the K_{x}Fe_{2-y}Se_{2} superconductors provide the foundation for studying the anomalous behavior in this new class of iron-based superconductors.

Current correlations in superconductor - normal metal mesoscopic structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bignon, Guillaume

2005-01-01

Thanks to the experimental progress in miniaturization and cryogenics over the last twenty years, it is now possible to build sufficiently small electric circuits where the wave like nature of electron becomes significant. In such electric circuit transport properties like current and noise are modified. It corresponds to the mesoscopic scale. Moreover, connecting a mesoscopic circuit to a superconductor enhances the effects due to interference between electrons since a superconductor is a macroscopic source of coherent electrons pairs: the Cooper pairs. In this thesis, we study current correlations in mesoscopic normal metal - superconductor structures. First, the energy dependence of current noise in a normal metal - superconductor tunnel junction is analysed taking into account weak disorder and interactions. We show that if the normal metal is out of equilibrium, current and noise become independent. Next, we consider the case of a superconductor connected to two normal metals by tunnel junctions. We show that it is possible to change the sign of current crossed correlation by tuning the voltages and that it can be used to probe the size of the Cooper pairs. Lastly, using Usadel's quasi-classic theory, we study the energy dependence of noise in a normal metal - normal metal - superconductor double junction. We show that barrier's transparencies modifies significantly both current and noise. (author) [fr

Photoemission perspective on pseudogap, superconducting fluctuations, and charge order in cuprates: a review of recent progress

Science.gov (United States)

Vishik, I. M.

2018-06-01

In the course of seeking the microscopic mechanism of superconductivity in cuprate high temperature superconductors, the pseudogap phase— the very abnormal ‘normal’ state on the hole-doped side— has proven to be as big of a quandary as superconductivity itself. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is a powerful tool for assessing the momentum-dependent phenomenology of the pseudogap, and recent technological developments have permitted a more detailed understanding. This report reviews recent progress in understanding the relationship between superconductivity and the pseudogap, the Fermi arc phenomena, and the relationship between charge order and pseudogap from the perspective of ARPES measurements.

The Goettingen high-Tc superconductivity research pool: the effects of structure and structural defects on the performance of high-Tc superconductors. Final reports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-02-01

The compilation presents the final reports prepared by the various teams of the Goettingen research pool for high-Tc superconductivity. The reports are entitled: Structure and phase transition in high-Tc superconductors (Krebs/Freyhardt). Preparation and critical properties of high-Tc superconductors (Freyhardt/Heinemann/Zimmermann). EMC measurements in high-Tc superconductors (Bormann/Noelting). Phase analysis of the various phases observed in the preparation of high-Tc superconductors (Faupel/Hehenkamp). Positron annihilation in high-Tc superconductors (Hehenkamp). Preparation and characterization of thin films consisting of superconducting oxide ceramics (v. Minnigerode/Samwer). High-Tc superconductivity in monocrystals (Winzer/Beuermann). Microwave conductivity in high-Tc superconductors (Helberg). High-resolution structural analyses in high-Tc superconductors (Kupcik/Bente). Synthesis, structural analyses and spectroscopy of high-Tc superconductors (Bente). Synthesis, monocrystal growing, crystal structure of high-Tc superconductors (Schwarzmann). Ion-beam-aided studies in high-Tc superconductors (Uhrmacher). (orig./MM) [de

High-Tc cuprate superconductivity in a nutshell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Won, Hyekyung; Haas, Stephan; Parker, David; Maki, Kazumi

2005-01-01

Since the discovery of high-T c cuprate superconductivity in 1986 many new experimental techniques and theoretical concepts have been developed. In particular it was shown that the BCS theory of d-wave superconductivity describes semi-quantitatively the high-T c superconductivity. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that Volovik's approach is extremely useful for finding the quasiparticle properties in the vortex state. Here we survey these developments and forecast future directions. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Electronic structure of Fe-based superconductors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. Fe-based superconductors have drawn much attention during the last decade due to the presence of superconductivity in materials containing the magnetic element, Fe, and the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism. Extensive study of the electronic structure of these systems suggested the dominant ...

Tunneling conductance in semiconductor-superconductor hybrid structures

Science.gov (United States)

Stenger, John; Stanescu, Tudor D.

2017-12-01

We study the differential conductance for charge tunneling into a semiconductor wire-superconductor hybrid structure, which is actively investigated as a possible scheme for realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes. The calculations are done based on a tight-binding model of the heterostructure using both a Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk approach and a Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function method. The dependence of various tunneling conductance features on the coupling strength between the semiconductor and the superconductor, the tunnel barrier height, and temperature is systematically investigated. We find that treating the parent superconductor as an active component of the system, rather than a passive source of Cooper pairs, has qualitative consequences regarding the low-energy behavior of the differential conductance. In particular, the presence of subgap states in the parent superconductor, due to disorder and finite magnetic fields, leads to characteristic particle-hole asymmetric features and to the breakdown of the quantization of the zero-bias peak associated with the presence of Majorana zero modes localized at the ends of the wire. The implications of these findings for the effort toward the realization of Majorana bound states with true non-Abelian properties are discussed.

Positron-annihilation studies on the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundar, C.S.; Bharathi, A.; Ching, W.Y.; Jean, Y.C.; Hor, P.H.; Meng, R.L.; Huang, Z.J.; Chu, C.W.

1991-01-01

The results of positron-lifetime measurements as a function of temperature, across T c , and as a function of heat treatment are presented. The lifetime in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O does not show any variation with temperature in the range of 10 to 300 K, a result that is in contrast with other cuprate superconductors. The absence of lifetime variation across T c is understood in terms of the calculated positron-density distribution, which indicates that the maximum of the positron density is in the region between the Bi-O layers with no significant density in the superconducting CuO 2 layers. Positron-lifetime measurements as a function of heat treatment indicate a decrease in lifetime as the annealing temperature is lowered from 800 degree C to 100 degree C. The decrease in lifetime, which is correlated with the increase in the weight of the sample, is explained in terms of the intercalation of the excess oxygen in the region between the Bi-O layers, which is the region probed by the positron

Exploring the phase diagram of the Bi-cuprates by photoemission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janowitz, C.

2004-01-01

High temperature superconductivity is achieved by hole doping of parent compounds, which undergo a phase transition from the antiferromagnetic, insulating state to the metallic and superconducting state. This development can only be studied continuously on few members of the cuprate family: Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1-x Y x Cu 2 O 8+δ single crystals, where the hole concentration in the two CuO 2 -planes per unit cell (n=2) is controlled by the substitution of Ca by Y, and Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1- x La x CuO 6+δ single crystals, where this concentration in the one CuO 2 -plane per unit cell (n=1) is controlled by the substitution of Sr by La enable this study of the doping dependence over a wide range of hole concentrations with ARPES. Investigations of antiferromagnetic parent compounds have so far mostly been reported for oxychlorides, like e.g. Sr 2 CuO 2 Cl 2 and discussed within the t-t'-t'''-J model. Since the character of the CuO derived states near the Fermi level is decisive for the electronic structure, it will be discussed, whether this or other models like the generalized tight binding method (GTBM) give an appropriate description. A detailed treatment by this method with a five band Hubbard Hamiltonian, i.e. involving planar and off planar states of the CuO-planes shows, that the first removal state is composed not only from the Zhang-Rice singlet state but also from states with spin triplet character. In the second part of the talk the electronic structure for hole concentrations in the vicinity of the optimum transition temperature is addressed. It is general consensus that in this region the electronic structure can no longer be described by Fermi liquid (FL) theory. Instead various other non-FL theories are discussed. A class of these models deals with reduced dimensionality in the CuO 2 - planes, leading to Luttinger liquid like behaviour with spin and charge separation. Another route to one-dimensionality comes from the so called striped phase with spin and charge

Persistent Structural Priming from Language Comprehension to Language Production

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, Kathryn; Dell, Gary S.; Chang, Franklin; Onishi, Kristine H.

2007-01-01

To examine the relationship between syntactic processes in language comprehension and language production, we compared structural persistence from sentence primes that speakers heard to persistence from primes that speakers produced. [Bock, J. K., & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit…

Pressure effect on iron based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arumugam, S.; Kanagaraj, M.

2011-01-01

A tuning of macroscopic thermo dynamical parameters such as temperature, pressure and volume play a crucial role in strongly correlated electron systems especially high T c superconductors, which leads to increasing conductivity as well as effective way of reducing intrinsic magnetic moments. Application of chemical and external pressure exhibits significant increases of critical temperature of recently discovered iron pnictides and chalcogenides superconductors. In this present report, we have investigated hydrostatic pressure effects on resistivity and magnetization of some 1111 type based oxypnictide superconductors such as Co doped CeFeAsO, La 0.8 Th 0.2 FeAsO, Ce 0.6 Y 0.4 FeAsO 0.8 F 0.2 and Yb doped CeFeAsO systems respectively. The initially applied pressure increases the T c and its down to lower value when beyond increasing pressure also has been observed and pressure effects on crystal structure were also discussed. From that all the obtained results reveal that controlling of magnetic instability and structure distortion at higher pressure is a dominant way to further developing of T c of these new ferropnictides compounds. (author)

Electronic structure of Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} by DFT and QMC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghafari, Aliakbar; Janowitz, Christoph; Manzke, Recardo [Institute of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Haghighi Mood, Kaveh [Dept. of Physics, Science and Research Branch (IAU), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-07-01

The electronic structure of high-T{sub c} cuprates superconductors (HTCS) is among the most interesting issues of condensed matter physics since their discovery by Bednorz and Mueller. It has been proven that the antiferromagnetic ground state of the parent compound of the HTCS is not accessible by using local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) as exchange-correlation energy functionals within density functional theory (DFT). Therefore, we calculated the electronic structure of Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} by adding the Hubbard parameter to DFT(GGA+U) and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. The calculations have been performed by Wien2k and Casino codes for GGA+U and QMC, respectively.

Electronic structure of Fe-based superconductors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2015-05-29

May 29, 2015 ... Fe-based superconductors have drawn much attention during the last decade due to the presence of superconductivity in materials containing the magnetic element, Fe, and the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism. Extensive study of the electronic structure of these systems suggested the ...

First-principles study on the creation of holes in high Tc cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambrosch-Draxl, C.; Sherman, E.Ya.; Auer, H.; Thonhauser, T.

2004-01-01

We investigate the charge redistribution in high T c cuprates as a function of pressure, composition, and doping. To this extent we have performed first-principles calculations based on density functional theory for several representatives of the Hg based cuprates. In particular, we focus on the creation of holes in the copper-oxygen planes. Conclusions are drawn about the similarities and differences between the three parameters influencing the superconducting transition temperature. (copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Magic Doping Fractions in High-Temperature Superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Komiya, Seiki; /CRIEPI, Tokyo; Chen, Han-Dong; Zhang, Shou-Cheng; /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Ando, Yoichi; /CRIEPI, Tokyo

2010-01-15

We report hole-doping dependence of the in-plane resistivity {rho}{sub ab} in a cuprate superconductor La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4}, carefully examined using a series of high-quality single crystals. Our detailed measurements find a tendency towards charge ordering at particular rational hole doping fractions of 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, and 3/16. This observation appears to suggest a specific form of charge order and is most consistent with the recent theoretical prediction of the checkerboard-type ordering of the Cooper pairs at rational doping fractions x = (2m + 1)/2{sup n}, with integers m and n.

Tricrystal tunneling evidence for d-wave pairing symmetry in cuprate superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuei, C.C.; Kirtley, J.R.

1997-01-01

Strong evidence for d-wave pairing symmetry in high-temperature superconductors such as YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and Tl 2 Ba 2 CuO 6+δ has been obtained by monitoring the presence or absence of the half-integer flux quantum effect in various controlled - orientation tricrystal superconducting systems. New results of a tricrystal tunneling experiment with Gd Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 will also be presented. (orig.)

Theoretical approach to direct resonant inelastic X-ray scattering on magnets and superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marra, Pasquale

2015-10-26

The capability to probe the dispersion of elementary spin, charge, orbital, and lattice excitations has positioned resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the forefront of photon science. In this work, we will investigate how RIXS can contribute to a deeper understanding of the orbital properties and of the pairing mechanism in unconventional high-temperature superconductors. In particular, we show how direct RIXS spectra of magnetic excitations can reveal long-range orbital correlations in transition metal compounds, by discriminating different kind of orbital order in magnetic and antiferromagnetic systems. Moreover, we show how RIXS spectra of quasiparticle excitations in superconductors can measure the superconducting gap magnitude, and reveal the presence of nodal points and phase differences of the superconducting order parameter on the Fermi surface. This can reveal the properties of the underlying pairing mechanism in unconventional superconductors, in particular cuprates and iron pnictides, discriminating between different superconducting order parameter symmetries, such as s,d (singlet pairing) and p wave (triplet pairing).

Interplay of superconductivity and bosonic coupling in the peak-dip-hump structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 +δ

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Tristan L.; Zhang, Wentao; Ma, Jonathan; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Moore, Joel E.; Lanzara, Alessandra

2018-04-01

Because of the important role of electron-boson interactions in conventional superconductivity, it has long been asked whether any similar mechanism is at play in high-temperature cuprate superconductors. Evidence for strong electron-boson coupling is observed in cuprates with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), in the form of a dispersion kink and peak-dip-hump structure. What is missing is evidence of a causal relation to superconductivity. Here we revisit the problem using the technique of time-resolved ARPES on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 +δ . We focus on the peak-dip-hump structure, and show that laser pulses shift spectral weight into the dip as superconductivity is destroyed on picosecond time scales. We compare our results to simulations of Eliashberg theory in a superconductor with an Einstein boson, and find that the magnitude of the shift in spectral weight depends on the degree to which the bosonic mode contributes to superconductivity. Further study could address one of the longstanding mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.

Termination of T cell priming relies on a phase of unresponsiveness promoting disengagement from APCs and T cell division.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohineust, Armelle; Garcia, Zacarias; Beuneu, Hélène; Lemaître, Fabrice; Bousso, Philippe

2018-05-07

T cells are primed in secondary lymphoid organs by establishing stable interactions with antigen-presenting cells (APCs). However, the cellular mechanisms underlying the termination of T cell priming and the initiation of clonal expansion remain largely unknown. Using intravital imaging, we observed that T cells typically divide without being associated to APCs. Supporting these findings, we demonstrate that recently activated T cells have an intrinsic defect in establishing stable contacts with APCs, a feature that was reflected by a blunted capacity to stop upon T cell receptor (TCR) engagement. T cell unresponsiveness was caused, in part, by a general block in extracellular calcium entry. Forcing TCR signals in activated T cells antagonized cell division, suggesting that T cell hyporesponsiveness acts as a safeguard mechanism against signals detrimental to mitosis. We propose that transient unresponsiveness represents an essential phase of T cell priming that promotes T cell disengagement from APCs and favors effective clonal expansion. © 2018 Bohineust et al.

Pair-density waves, charge-density waves, and vortices in high-Tc cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Zhehao; Zhang, Ya-Hui; Senthil, T.; Lee, Patrick A.

2018-05-01

A recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiment reports the observation of a charge-density wave (CDW) with a period of approximately 8a in the halo region surrounding the vortex core, in striking contrast to the approximately 4a period CDWs that are commonly observed in the cuprates. Inspired by this work, we study a model where a bidirectional pair-density wave (PDW) with period 8 is at play. This further divides into two classes: (1) where the PDW is a competing state of the d -wave superconductor and can exist only near the vortex core where the d -wave order is suppressed and (2) where the PDW is the primary order, the so-called "mother state" that persists with strong phase fluctuations to high temperature and high magnetic field and lies behind the pseudogap phenomenology. We study the charge-density wave structures near the vortex core in these models. We emphasize the importance of the phase winding of the d -wave order parameter. The PDW can be pinned by the vortex core due to this winding and become static. Furthermore, the period-8 CDW inherits the properties of this winding, which gives rise to a special feature of the Fourier transform peak, namely, it is split in certain directions. There is also a line of zeros in the inverse Fourier transform of filtered data. We propose that these are key experimental signatures that can distinguish between the PDW-driven scenario from the more mundane option that the period-8 CDW is primary. We discuss the pro's and con's of the options considered above. Finally, we attempt to place the STM experiment in the broader context of pseudogap physics of underdoped cuprates and relate this observation to the unusual properties of x-ray scattering data on CDW carried out to very high magnetic field.

Growth and characterization of bulk superconductor material

CERN Document Server

Chen, Dapeng; Maljuk, Andrey; Zhou, Fang

2016-01-01

This book focuses on recently developed crystal growth techniques to grow large and high quality superconducting single crystals. The techniques applied are traveling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) with infrared image furnace, Bridgeman, solution/flux and top seeded solution growth (TSSG) methods. The materials range from cuprates, cobaltates to pnictides including La2CuO4-based (LCO), YBa2Cu3O7-d (YBCO), Bi2Sr2Can−1CunO2n+4+δ (n=1,2,3) (BSCCO) to NaxCoO2. The modified Bridgman “cold finger” method is devoted to the pnictide system with the best quality (transition width DTc~0.5 K) with highest Tc~38.5 K of Ba0.68K0.32Fe2A2. The book presents various iron-based superconductors with different structures, such as 1111, 122, 111, 11 and 42622,10-3-8. Detailed single crystal growth methods (fluxes, Bridgman, floating zone), the associated procedures and their impact to crystal size and quality are presented. The book also describes the influence of doping on the structure and the electric, magnetic, and supe...

Kinetics-Driven Superconducting Gap in Underdoped Cuprate Superconductors Within the Strong-Coupling Limit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yucel Yildirim

2011-09-01

Full Text Available A generic theory of the quasiparticle superconducting gap in underdoped cuprates is derived in the strong-coupling limit, and found to describe the experimental “second gap” in absolute scale. In drastic contrast to the standard pairing gap associated with Bogoliubov quasiparticle excitations, the quasiparticle gap is shown to originate from anomalous kinetic (scattering processes, with a size unrelated to the pairing strength. Consequently, the k dependence of the gap deviates significantly from the pure d_{x^{2}-y^{2}} wave of the order parameter. Our study reveals a new paradigm for the nature of the superconducting gap, and is expected to reconcile numerous apparent contradictions among existing experiments and point toward a more coherent understanding of high-temperature superconductivity.

Finding new superconductors: the spin-fluctuation gateway to high Tc and possible room temperature superconductivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Pines, David

2013-10-24

We propose an experiment-based strategy for finding new high transition temperature superconductors that is based on the well-established spin fluctuation magnetic gateway to superconductivity in which the attractive quasiparticle interaction needed for superconductivity comes from their coupling to dynamical spin fluctuations originating in the proximity of the material to an antiferromagnetic state. We show how lessons learned by combining the results of almost three decades of intensive experimental and theoretical study of the cuprates with those found in the decade-long study of a strikingly similar family of unconventional heavy electron superconductors, the 115 materials, can prove helpful in carrying out that search. We conclude that, since Tc in these materials scales approximately with the strength of the interaction, J, between the nearest neighbor local moments in their parent antiferromagnetic state, there may not be a magnetic ceiling that would prevent one from discovering a room temperature superconductor.

Phonon characteristics of high Tc superconductors from neutron Doppler broadening measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trela, W.J.; Kwei, G.H.; Lynn, J.E.; Meggers, K.

1994-01-01

Statistical information on the phonon frequency spectrum of materials can be measured by neutron transmission techniques if they contain nuclei with low energy resonances, narrow enough to be Doppler-broadened, in their neutron cross sections. The authors have carried out some measurements using this technique for materials of the lanthanum barium cuprate class, La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 . Two samples with slightly different concentrations of oxygen, one being superconductive, the other not, were examined. Pure lanthanum cuprate was also measured. Lanthanum, barium and copper all have relatively low energy narrow resonances. Thus it should be possible to detect differences in the phonons carried by different kinds of atom in the lattice. Neutron cross section measurements have been made with high energy resolution and statistical precision on the 59m flight path of LANSCE, the pulsed spallation neutron source at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Measurements on all three materials were made over a range of temperatures from 15K to 300K, with small steps through the critical temperature region near 27K. No significant changes in the mean phonon energy of the lanthanum atoms were observed near the critical temperature of the super-conducting material. It appears however that the mean phonon energy of lanthanum in the superconductor is considerably higher than that in the non-superconductors. The samples used in this series of experiments were too thin in barium and copper to determine anything significant about their phonon spectra

Phonon characteristics of high {Tc} superconductors from neutron Doppler broadening measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trela, W.J.; Kwei, G.H.; Lynn, J.E. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Meggers, K. [Univ. of Kiel (Germany)

1994-12-01

Statistical information on the phonon frequency spectrum of materials can be measured by neutron transmission techniques if they contain nuclei with low energy resonances, narrow enough to be Doppler-broadened, in their neutron cross sections. The authors have carried out some measurements using this technique for materials of the lanthanum barium cuprate class, La{sub 2{minus}x}Ba{sub x}CuO{sub 4}. Two samples with slightly different concentrations of oxygen, one being superconductive, the other not, were examined. Pure lanthanum cuprate was also measured. Lanthanum, barium and copper all have relatively low energy narrow resonances. Thus it should be possible to detect differences in the phonons carried by different kinds of atom in the lattice. Neutron cross section measurements have been made with high energy resolution and statistical precision on the 59m flight path of LANSCE, the pulsed spallation neutron source at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Measurements on all three materials were made over a range of temperatures from 15K to 300K, with small steps through the critical temperature region near 27K. No significant changes in the mean phonon energy of the lanthanum atoms were observed near the critical temperature of the super-conducting material. It appears however that the mean phonon energy of lanthanum in the superconductor is considerably higher than that in the non-superconductors. The samples used in this series of experiments were too thin in barium and copper to determine anything significant about their phonon spectra.

Antisuperconductors: Properties of Layered Compounds with Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Carton, J.-P.; Lammert, P. E.; Prost, J.

1995-11-01

In this note, we consider properties of a hypothetical superconductor composed of Josephson-coupled microscopic layers with tunneling energy minimized at a phase difference of π. The non-zero phase offset in the ground state engenders an intriguing interplay between the superconductive ordering and structural lattice defects. Unusual magnetic properties are expected in the case of highly disordered crystals, which are consistent with observations of a “paramagnetic Meissner” or “Wohlleben” effect in high-T_c cuprate superconductors. Dans cette note, nous considérons les propriétés d'un supraconducteur hypothétique composé de couches microscopiques, couplées par effet Josephson, mais dont l'énergie de couplage est minimisée pour une différence de phase de π. L'état de base a des propriétés fascinantes dues à l'effet combiné de l'ordre supraconducteur et des défauts structuraux du cristal. Dans le cas de cristaux très désordonnés, on attend des propriétés magnétiques exceptionnelles, qui sont compatibles avec les observations dans quelques supraconducteurs cuprate haute-T_c d'un effet “Meissner paramagnétique” ou “Wohlleben”.

Effect of exciton pairing on the stationary Josephson current in superconductor-semimetal-superconductor junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itskovich, I.F.; Shekhter, R.I.

1983-01-01

The effect of exciton pairing of charge carriers in a semimetal on the stationary Josephson current in superconductor-semimetal-superconductor junctions is considered. It is shown that the phase transition of the semimetal interlayer into an exciton dielectric state for T/sub γ/< T/sub c/ (T/sub γ/, T/sub c/ are the superconducting and exciton transition temperatures, respectively) is accompanied by a kink on the critical current j/sub c/ versus temperature curve at the point T = T/sub γ/. A sharp nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the reduced current j/sub c//j/sub c/0 (j/sub c/0 is the critical current at T/sub γ/ = 0) is also possible in the range T< T/sub γ/. At low temperatures T<< v/sub 1,2//d<< T/sub γ/ (v/sub 1,2/ are the Fermi velocities of the carriers in the semimetal, d is the thickness of the interlayer) the critical current of the superconductor-semimetal-superconductor junction is exponentially smaller than the current in the absence of exciton pairing

Two-band superconductor magnesium diboride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi, X X

2008-01-01

This review focuses on the most important features of the 40 K superconductor MgB 2 -the weakly interacting multiple bands (the σ and π bands) and the distinct multiple superconducting energy gaps (the σ and π gaps). Even though the pairing mechanism of superconductor MgB 2 is the conventional electron-phonon coupling, the prominent influence of the two bands and two gaps on its properties sets it apart from other superconductors. It leads to markedly different behaviors in upper critical field, vortex structure, magnetoresistance and many other superconducting and normal-state properties in MgB 2 from single-band superconductors. Further, it gives rise to new physics that does not exist in single-band superconductors, such as the internal Josephson effects between the two order parameters. These unique phenomena depend sensitively on scattering inside and between the two bands, and the intraband and interband scattering can be modified by chemical substitution and irradiation. MgB 2 has brought unprecedented attention to two-band superconductivity, which has been found to exist in other old and new superconductors. The legacy of MgB 2 will be long lasting because of this, as well as the lessons it teaches in terms of the search for new phonon-mediated higher T c superconductors

Synthesis, structural and physico-chemical studies of the monocrystal superconductor oxides Hg Ba{sub 2} Ca{sub n-1} Cu{sub n} O{sub 2n+2+{delta}}; Synthese, etudes structurales et physico-chimiques de monocristaux d`oxydes supraconducteurs Hg Ba{sub 2} Ca{sub n-1} Cu{sub n} O{sub 2n+2+{delta}}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viallet-Guillen, Virginie [Dept. de Recherche sur l` Etat Condense, CEA Centre d` Etudes de Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

1998-01-01

The thesis presents the synthesis and the structural and physico-chemical properties of the mercury-based monocrystal superconductor oxides. The results reported in the first chapter refer to the first three members of the mercury cuprate series Hg-1201, Hg-1212 and Hg-1223. In the second chapter detailed results concerning the structure of these compounds are given highlighting the features common to all cuprates and pointing out the peculiarities of mercury phases. The third chapter presents the phase diagrams ({delta}, T, p(O{sub 2})) of the compounds HgBa{sub 2}CuO{sub 4+{delta}} and HgBa{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 8+{delta}} obtained by thermogravimetry under controlled atmosphere between 150 deg.C and 500 deg.C and thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. In the case of Hg-1201, the critical temperature shows a variation close to a parabolic law, with an optimal Tc of 96 K ({delta}{approx_equal}0.10) while in Hg-1223 the Tc increases linearly with the O content up to the optimal Tc of 135 K ({delta}{approx_equal}0.19) and decreases only by 2 K in the over-doped regime. Finally, in the fourth chapter different physical properties are reviewed. The obtained monocrystals allowed studying the resistive transitory anisotropy, the torque, the specific heat, the nuclear magnetic resonance and the Raman diffusion 212 refs., 106 figs., 30 tabs.

Effect of strong correlations on the high energy anomaly in hole- and electron-doped high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moritz, B; Johnston, S; Greven, M; Shen, Z-X; Devereaux, T P; Schmitt, F; Meevasana, W; Motoyama, E M; Lu, D H; Kim, C; Scalettar, R T

2009-01-01

Recently, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has been used to highlight an anomalously large band renormalization at high binding energies in cuprate superconductors: the high energy 'waterfall' or high energy anomaly (HEA). This paper demonstrates, using a combination of new ARPES measurements and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, that the HEA is not simply the by-product of matrix element effects, but rather represents a cross-over from a quasi-particle band at low binding energies near the Fermi level to valence bands at higher binding energy, assumed to be of strong oxygen character, in both hole- and electron-doped cuprates. While photoemission matrix elements clearly play a role in changing the aesthetic appearance of the band dispersion, i.e. the 'waterfall'-like behavior, they provide an inadequate description for the physics that underlies the strong band renormalization giving rise to the HEA. Model calculations of the single-band Hubbard Hamiltonian showcase the role played by correlations in the formation of the HEA and uncover significant differences in the HEA energy scale for hole- and electron-doped cuprates. In addition, this approach properly captures the transfer of spectral weight accompanying both hole and electron doping in a correlated material and provides a unifying description of the HEA across both sides of the cuprate phase diagram.

Vibrational spectra and lattice instabilities in the high-T/sub c/ superconductors YBa2Cu3O7 and GdBa2Cu3O7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozovic, I.; Mitzi, D.; Beasley, M.

1987-01-01

The exceptionally high T/sub c/ of layered cuprates was proposed recently as originating from electronically driven structural instabilities. We have studied the infrared and Raman spectra of YBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-//sub δ/ and GdBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub 7-//sub δ/ over a broad range of temperatures, from 10 to 300 K. We observed neither mode softening nor any other spectroscopic signature of lattice instabilities

Magnetic field-induced Landau Fermi liquid in high-T{sub c} metals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amusia, M.Ya.; Shaginyan, V.R

2003-08-25

We consider the behavior of strongly correlated electron liquid in high-temperature superconductors within the framework of the fermion condensation model. We show that at low temperatures the normal state recovered by the application of a magnetic field larger than the critical field can be viewed as the Landau Fermi liquid induced by the magnetic field. In this state, the Wiedemann-Franz law and the Korringa law are held and the elementary excitations are the Landau Fermi liquid quasiparticles. Contrary to what might be expected from the Landau theory, the effective mass of quasiparticles depends on the magnetic field. The recent experimental verifications of the Wiedemann-Franz law in heavily hole-overdoped, overdoped and optimally doped cuprates and the verification of the Korringa law in the electron-doped copper oxide superconductor strongly support the existence of fermion condensate in high-T{sub c} metals.

Anisotropic superconducting state parameters of Tl-2212 superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaskalam, Amit K.; Singh, R.K.; Varshney, Dinesh

2001-01-01

We have estimated the superconducting state parameters and their anisotropy in thallium based superconductors (Tl-2212), in the frame work of Fermi liquid approach. Determination of the effective mass of the charge carriers from the Fermi velocity and estimated anisotropic superconducting state parameters, particularly, the magnetic penetration depth along and perpendicular to the conducting plane. The coherence length along and perpendicular to the ab plane is evaluated and appears to be higher. The temperature dependence of penetration depth, their anisotropy and Ginsburg Landau parameter for optimised doped Tl based cuprates shows the power law. The technique permits a consistency with the reported data. (author)

Extreme and Local 3rd Harmonic Response of Niobium (Nb) Superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Oripov, Bakhrom; Tai, Tamin; Anlage, Steven

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities are being widely used in new generation particle accelerators. These SRF cavities are based on bulk Nb. Based on the needs of the SRF community to identify defects on Nb surfaces, a novel near-field magnetic microwave microscope was successfully built using a magnetic writer from a conventional magnetic recording hard-disk drive1. This magnetic writer can create an RF magnetic field, localized and strong enough to drive Nb into the vortex state. This probe enables us to locate defects through scanning and mapping of the local electrodynamic response in the multi-GHz frequency range. Recent measurements have shown that 3rd harmonic nonlinear response is far more sensitive to variations in input power and temperature then linear response, thus we mainly study the 3rd harmonic response. Moreover, the superconductor is usually the only source for nonlinear response in our setup, thus there is less chance of having noise or background signal. Understanding the mechanism responsible for this non-linear response is important for improving the performance of SRF cavities. Besides Nb we also study various other superconductors such as MgB2 and the cuprate Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O (BSCCO) for potential applications in SRF cavities. This work is funded by US Department of Energy through Grant # DE-SC0012036T and CNAM.

Ultrasonic attenuation in cuprate superconductors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

limits the applicability only to the cleanest samples. (b) We have ignored the incoherent part of the spectral function whose inclusion would require a microscopic theory incorpo- rating strong electronic correlations. Acknowledgements. One of us (DMG) would like to thank T V Ramakrishnan for useful comments. References.

Theoretical studies of unconventional superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Groensleth, Martin Sigurd

2008-07-01

This thesis presents four research papers. In the first three papers we have derived analytical results for the transport properties in unconventional superconductors and ferromagnetic systems with multiple broken symmetries. In Paper I and parts of Paper II we have studied tunneling transport between two non-unitary ferromagnetic spin-triplet superconductors, and found a novel interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity manifested in the Josephson effect as a spin- and charge-current in the absence of an applied voltage across the junction. The critical amplitudes of these currents can be adjusted by the relative magnetization direction on each side of the junction. Furthermore, in Paper II, we have found a way of controlling a spin-current between two ferromagnets with spin-orbit coupling. Paper III considers a junction consisting of a ferromagnet and a non-unitary ferromagnetic superconductor, and we show that the conductance spectra contains detailed information about the superconducting gaps and pairing symmetry of the Cooper-pairs. In the last paper we present a Monte Carlo study of an effective Hamiltonian describing orbital currents in the CuO2 layers of high-temperature superconductive cuprates. The model features two intrinsically anisotropic Ising models, coupled through an anisotropic next-nearest neighbor interaction, and an Ashkin-Teller nearest neighbor fourth order coupling. We have studied the specific heat anomaly, as well as the anomaly in the staggered magnetization associated with the orbital currents and its susceptibility. We have found that in a limited parameter regime, the specific heat anomaly is substantially suppressed, while the susceptibility has a non-analytical peak across the order-disorder transition. The model is therefore a candidate for describing the breakup of hidden order when crossing the pseudo-gap line on the under-doped side in the phase diagram of high-temperature superconductors. (Author) 64 refs., figs

Antigen-primed helper T cell function in CBA/N mice is radiosensitive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, N.E.; Campbell, P.A.

1981-01-01

CBA/N mice have an X-linked immunodeficiency that includes a deficient humoral response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC). In order to study the cellular mechanisms of this deficiency we have examined helper T cell function to SRBC in an adoptive transfer system by using 2 different sources of helper T cells. When thymocytes were used as the source of helper T cell precursors in an adoptive transfer system, CBA/N thymocytes were as effective as CBA/Ca thymocytes in inducing CBA/Ca bone marrow cells to develop into both direct and indirect anti-SRBC plaque-forming cells (PFC). However, when SRBC-primed, irradiated recipient mice were used as the source of helper T cells, primed and irradiated CBA/N recipiets developed significantly fewer direct and indirect anti-SRBC PFC than similarly treated CBA/CA recipients when reconstituted with CBA/Ca bone marrow cells and challenged with SRBC. We conclude that antigen-primed helper T cell function in CBA/N mice is radiosensitive. Possible reasons for this are evaluated and discussed

High temperature bismuth cuprate superconductors synthesis and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansori, M.; Satre, P.; Breandon, C.; Roubin, M.; Sebaoun, A.

1993-01-01

High temperature superconductor phases synthesis by coprecipitation in alkaline solution is reported. (Bi 1.6 Pb 0.4 )Sr 2 Ca 1 Cu 2 O 8+x and (Bi 1.6 Pb 0.4 )Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10+y noted (2212) and (2223) have been prepared and studied. From aqueous nitrate solutions of Bi, Pb, Sr, Ca and Cu and oxalic acid aqueous solution as well as ethylene glycol, using an organic base (the triethylamine), the pH was increased up to the path of the precipitation zone (pH = 10.5-11.2). This method assures a good granulometric homogeneity of powders. Thermal analysis and characterization of the different components produced during the synthesis have been studied by DTA (differential thermal analysis)- TGA (thermogravimetric analysis), X-ray diffraction at different temperatures and by Infrared spectroscopy with a Fourier transformation. The measurements of magnetic susceptibility for the 2212 (with and without lead) and 2223 (with lead) phases have permitted us to observe the critical temperatures of 84 K, 87 K and 114 K. (author). 29 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs

Landau levels from neutral Bogoliubov particles in two-dimensional nodal superconductors under strain and doping gradients

Science.gov (United States)

Nica, Emilian M.; Franz, Marcel

2018-02-01

Motivated by recent work on strain-induced pseudomagnetic fields in Dirac and Weyl semimetals, we analyze the possibility of analogous fields in two-dimensional nodal superconductors. We consider the prototypical case of a d -wave superconductor, a representative of the cuprate family, and find that the presence of weak, spatially varying strain leads to pseudomagnetic fields and Landau quantization of Bogoliubov quasiparticles in the low-energy sector. A similar effect is induced by the presence of generic, weak doping gradients. In contrast to genuine magnetic fields in superconductors, the strain- and doping-gradient-induced pseudomagnetic fields couple in a way that preserves time-reversal symmetry and is not subject to the screening associated with the Meissner effect. These effects can be probed by tuning weak applied supercurrents which lead to shifts in the energies of the Landau levels and hence to quantum oscillations in thermodynamic and transport quantities.

Strain effects on point defects and chain-oxygen order-disorder transition in 123 cuprate compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Haibin; Welch, David O.; Wong-Ng, Winnie

2004-01-01

The energetics of Schottky defects in 123 cuprate superconductor series RBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (where R=lanthandies) and YA 2 Cu 3 O 7 (A=alkali earths), were found to have unusual relations if one considers only the volumetric strain. Our calculations reveal the effect of nonuniform changes of interatomic distances within the R-123 structures, introduced by doping homovalent elements, on the Schottky defect formation energy. The energy of formation of Frenkel pair defects, which is an elementary disordering event, in 123 compounds can be substantially altered under both stress and chemical doping. Scaling the oxygen-oxygen short-range repulsive parameter using the calculated formation energy of Frenkel pair defects, the transition temperature between orthorhombic and tetragonal phases is computed by quasichemical approximations (QCA's). The theoretical results illustrate the same trend as the experimental measurements in that the larger the ionic radius of R, the lower the orthorhombic/tetragonal phase transition temperature. This study provides strong evidence of the strain effects on order-disorder transition due to oxygens in the CuO chain sites

Superconducting fluctuation effect in CaFe0.88Co0.12AsF

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, H.; Gao, B.; Ma, Y. H.; Li, X. J.; Mu, G.; Hu, T.

2016-11-01

Out-of-plane angular dependent torque measurements were performed on CaFe0.88Co0.12AsF single crystals. Superconducting fluctuations, featured by magnetic field enhanced and exponential temperature dependent diamagnetism, are observed above the superconducting transition temperature T c, which is similar to that of cuprate superconductors, but less pronounced. In addition, the ratio of T c versus superfluid density follows well the Uemura line of high-T c cuprates, which suggests the exotic nature of the superconductivity in CaFe0.88Co0.12AsF.

Superconductivity and ceramic superconductors II; Proceedings of the Symposium, Orlando, FL, Nov. 12-15, 1990. Ceramic transactions. Vol. 18

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, K.M.; Balachandran, U.; Chiang, Y.-M.; Bhalla, A.S.

1991-01-01

The present symposium on superconductivity and ceramic superconductors discusses fundamentals and general principles, powder processing and properties, fabrication and properties, and device reliability and applications. Attention is given to phase formation in the Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O system, comparative defect studies in La2CuO4 and La2NiO4, solid solution and defect behavior in high Tc oxides, oxygen ion transport and disorder in cuprates, and Sr-free Bi-Ln-Ca-Cu-O superconductors. Topics addressed include the preparation of superconductor Y-Ba-Cu-O powder by single-step calcining in air, low-temperature synthesis of YBa2Cu3O(7-x), synthesis of high-phase purity ceramic oxide superconductors by the xerogel method, and the preparation and characterization of the BYa2Cu4O8 superconductor. Also discussed are optical studies of humidity-based corrosion effects on thin film and bulk ceramic YBa2Cu3O(7-delta), thermomechanical processing of YBa2Cu3O(x)/Ag sheathed wires, and the expansion of high-Tc superconducting ceramics

DAMPING MECHANISM OF THE STRONGLY RENORMALIZED C-AXIS PLASMA FREQUENCY IN HIGH-T-C CUPRATES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

VANDERMAREL, D; KIM, JH; SOMAL, HS; FEENSTRA, BJ; WITTLIN, A; DUIJN, AVHM; MENOVSKY, A; LEE, WY

1994-01-01

We study the charge dynamics of high-T-c superconductors with the electric field perpendicular to the planes, using polarized oblique-incidence reflectometry for thin films of Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu(3)O(10) and normal incidence reflectometry for single crystals of La1.85Sr0.15CuO4. In Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 we

New world of Gossamer superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maki, Kazumi; Haas, Stephan; Parker, David; Won, Hyekyung; Dora, Balazs; Virosztek, Attila

2006-01-01

Since the discovery of the high-T c cuprate superconductor La 2-x BaCuO 4 in 1986 by Bednorz and Mueller, controversy regarding the nature or origin of this remarkable superconductivity has continued. However, d-wave superconductivity in the hole-doped cuprates, arising due to the anti-paramagnon exchange, was established around 1994. More recently we have shown that the mean field theory, like the BCS theory of superconductivity and Landau's Fermi liquid theory are adequate to describe the cuprates. The keys for this development are the facts that a) the pseudogap phase is d-wave density wave (dDW) and that the high-T c cuprate superconductivity is gossamer (i.e. it exists in the presence of dDW). (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Point-contact electron tunneling into the high-T/sub c/ superconductor Y-Ba-Cu-O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirk, M.D.; Smith, D.P.E.; Mitzi, D.B.

1987-01-01

We report results of a study of electron tunneling into bulk samples of the new high-T/sub c/ superconductor Y-Ba-Cu-O using point-contact tunneling. Based on a superconductive tunneling interpretation, the results show exceptionally large energy gaps in these materials (roughly 2Δ = 100 meV), implying 2Δ/k/sub C/T/sub c/--13. Similar values were found previously by us for La-Sr-Cu-O. We also see Structure in the I-V curves similar to that seen in La-Sr-Cu-O. On the basis of the asymmetries observed in the I-V characteristics, we believe that the natural tunneling barrier on this material is of the Schottky type

Contact spectroscopy of high-temperature superconductors. Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanson, I.K.

1991-01-01

We have attempted to systematize the research of high temperature superconductors by means of tunneling and point-contact spectroscopy. The theoretical grounds of the methods are briefly described. The deviations of current-voltage characteristics from ordinary superconductors are considered. The properties of point contacts with direct energy gap measurfements and the fine structure of derivatives of i(v) curves at the overlap energies are reviewed for the high-T c La 2-x Sr x CuO 4 materials

Proximity effect in normal metal-multiband superconductor hybrid structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brinkman, Alexander; Golubov, Alexandre Avraamovitch; Kupriyanov, M. Yu

2004-01-01

A theory of the proximity effect in normal metal¿multiband superconductor hybrid structures is formulated within the quasiclassical Green's function formalism. The quasiclassical boundary conditions for multiband hybrid structures are derived in the dirty limit. It is shown that the existence of

Nematic quantum critical point without magnetism in FeSe1-xSx superconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosoi, Suguru; Matsuura, Kohei; Ishida, Kousuke; Wang, Hao; Mizukami, Yuta; Watashige, Tatsuya; Kasahara, Shigeru; Matsuda, Yuji; Shibauchi, Takasada

2016-07-19

In most unconventional superconductors, the importance of antiferromagnetic fluctuations is widely acknowledged. In addition, cuprate and iron-pnictide high-temperature superconductors often exhibit unidirectional (nematic) electronic correlations, including stripe and orbital orders, whose fluctuations may also play a key role for electron pairing. In these materials, however, such nematic correlations are intertwined with antiferromagnetic or charge orders, preventing the identification of the essential role of nematic fluctuations. This calls for new materials having only nematicity without competing or coexisting orders. Here we report systematic elastoresistance measurements in FeSe1-xSx superconductors, which, unlike other iron-based families, exhibit an electronic nematic order without accompanying antiferromagnetic order. We find that the nematic transition temperature decreases with sulfur content x; whereas, the nematic fluctuations are strongly enhanced. Near [Formula: see text], the nematic susceptibility diverges toward absolute zero, revealing a nematic quantum critical point. The obtained phase diagram for the nematic and superconducting states highlights FeSe1-xSx as a unique nonmagnetic system suitable for studying the impact of nematicity on superconductivity.

Unconventional superconductivity in cuprates, cobaltates and graphene. What is universal and what is material-dependent in strongly versus weakly correlated materials?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiesel, Maximilian Ludwig

2013-01-01

A general theory for all classes of unconventional superconductors is still one of the unsolved key issues in condensed-matter physics. Actually, it is not yet fully settled if there is a common underlying pairing mechanism. Instead, it might be possible that several distinct sources for unconventional (not phonon-mediated) superconductivity have to be considered, or an electron-phonon interaction is not negligible. The focus of this thesis is on the most probable mechanism for the formation of Cooper pairs in unconventional superconductors, namely a strictly electronic one where spin fluctuations are the mediators. Studying different superconductors in this thesis, the emphasis is put on material-independent features of the pairing mechanism. In addition, the investigation of the phase diagrams enables a view on the vicinity of superconductivity. Thus, it is possible to clarify which competing quantum fluctuations enhance or weaken the propensity for a superconducting state. The broad range of superconducting materials requires the use of more than one numerical technique to study an appropriate microscopic description. This is not a problem but a big advantage because this facilitates the approach-independent description of common underlying physics. For this evaluation, the strongly correlated cuprates are simulated with the variational cluster approach. Especially the question of a pairing glue is taken into consideration. Furthermore, it is possible to distinguish between retarded and non-retarded contributions to the gap function. The cuprates are confronted with the cobaltate Na x CoO 2 and graphene. These weakly correlated materials are investigated with the functional renormalization group (fRG) and reveal a comprehensive phase diagram, including a d+id-wave superconductivity, which breaks time-reversal symmetry. The corresponding gap function is nodeless, but for NaCoO, it features a doping-dependent anisotropy. In addition, some general considerations on

Unconventional superconductivity in cuprates, cobaltates and graphene. What is universal and what is material-dependent in strongly versus weakly correlated materials?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiesel, Maximilian Ludwig

2013-02-08

A general theory for all classes of unconventional superconductors is still one of the unsolved key issues in condensed-matter physics. Actually, it is not yet fully settled if there is a common underlying pairing mechanism. Instead, it might be possible that several distinct sources for unconventional (not phonon-mediated) superconductivity have to be considered, or an electron-phonon interaction is not negligible. The focus of this thesis is on the most probable mechanism for the formation of Cooper pairs in unconventional superconductors, namely a strictly electronic one where spin fluctuations are the mediators. Studying different superconductors in this thesis, the emphasis is put on material-independent features of the pairing mechanism. In addition, the investigation of the phase diagrams enables a view on the vicinity of superconductivity. Thus, it is possible to clarify which competing quantum fluctuations enhance or weaken the propensity for a superconducting state. The broad range of superconducting materials requires the use of more than one numerical technique to study an appropriate microscopic description. This is not a problem but a big advantage because this facilitates the approach-independent description of common underlying physics. For this evaluation, the strongly correlated cuprates are simulated with the variational cluster approach. Especially the question of a pairing glue is taken into consideration. Furthermore, it is possible to distinguish between retarded and non-retarded contributions to the gap function. The cuprates are confronted with the cobaltate Na{sub x}CoO{sub 2} and graphene. These weakly correlated materials are investigated with the functional renormalization group (fRG) and reveal a comprehensive phase diagram, including a d+id-wave superconductivity, which breaks time-reversal symmetry. The corresponding gap function is nodeless, but for NaCoO, it features a doping-dependent anisotropy. In addition, some general

PdTe: a 4.5 K type-II BCS superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, Brajesh; Goyal, Reena; Jha, Rajveer; Awana, V P S; Dixit, Ambesh

2015-01-01

We report on the structure and physical properties of the polycrystalline PdTe superconductor, which is synthesized by the solid state reaction route via the quartz vacuum encapsulation technique at 750 °C. The as synthesized compound is crystallized in hexagonal crystal structure with P63/mmc space group. Both transport and magnetic measurements showed that PdTe is a bulk superconductor below 4.5 K. Isothermal magnetization (MH) and magneto-transport (R(T)H) measurements provided the values of the lower (H c1 ) and upper (H c2 ) critical fields as 250 Oe and 1200 Oe respectively at 2 K, establishing that the compound is clearly a type-II superconductor. The coherence length (ξ 0 ) and Ginzburg–Landau parameter (κ) are estimated from the experimentally determined upper and lower critical fields, and are 449 Å and 1.48 respectively. Thermodynamic heat capacity measurements under different magnetic fields, i.e. C p (T)H, showed a clear transition at 4.5 K (T c ), which shifts gradually to lower temperatures with application of field. The values of Debye temperature (Θ D ) and electronic specific heat coefficient (γ) obtained from C p (T) data are found to be 203 K and 6.01 mJ mol −1 K −2 . The observed specific heat jump (ΔC/γT c ) is 1.33, thus suggesting a possible weak coupling case for the PdTe superconductor. (paper)

Phenomenology and characterization of high T sub c superconductors. Phenomenologie et caracterisation des supraconducteurs a haute T sub c

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peyral, P; Lebeau, C; Rosenblatt, J; Burin, J P; Raboutou, A; Pena, Q; Perrin, C [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 35 - Rennes (FR)

1991-11-01

Transport properties of high T{sub c} superconductors depend on the microscopic structure of the ideal material and on the mesoscopic characteristics of each sample. From an experimental point of view it is essential to separate their effects. This can be done by describing quantitatively the resistive transition in zero field as a two-step process: a superconducting intragranular transition and an intergranular coherence transition. Well-known theories of critical fluctuations and Gaussian fluctuations allow us to obtain important characteristic parameters of the intragranular material such as the critical temperature, the normal resistivity and the width of the critical region. 20 refs.; 2 figs.

Interplay of CDW, SDW and superconductivity in high-T{sub c} cuprates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panda, S K [K.D. Science College, Pochilima, Hinjilicut 761 101, Ganjam, Orissa (India); Rout, G.C., E-mail: gcr@iopb.res.i [Condensed Matter Physics Group, Dept. of Applied Physics and Ballistics, F.M. University, Balasore 756 019, Orissa (India)

2009-07-01

We present a model calculation of the interplay of the charge density wave (CDW), spin density wave (SDW) and superconductivity in high temperature superconductors. In low doping situation the long range antiferromagnetic order is destroyed to give rise to SDW state accompanied by a CDW state in the system due to doping. For suitable doping the superconductivity appears in the system. The CDW state may describe the pseudogap phenomenon which co-exists with the superconducting phase and extends to normal phase in high-T{sub c} systems. These three competiting interactions co-exist together. These three gap parameters are calculated from the model Hamiltonian and solved self-consistently. By varying their coupling constants their interplay are investigated. Finally density of states is calculated for the conduction band which displays the experimental conductance data of Ekino et al. [T. Ekino, Y. Sezaki, H. Fujji, Phys. Rev. B 60 (1999) 6916].

Valence band electronic structure of Pd based ternary chalcogenide superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lohani, H. [Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751005 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400085 (India); Mishra, P. [Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751005 (India); Goyal, R.; Awana, V.P.S. [National Physical Laboratory(CSIR), Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Sekhar, B.R., E-mail: sekhar@iopb.res.in [Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751005 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400085 (India)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • VB Photoemission study and DFT calculations on Pd based ternary superconductors are presented. • Nb{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.95}S{sub 5} shows a temperature dependent pseudogap. • VB spectral features of ternary superconductors are correlated to their structural geometry. - Abstract: We present a comparative study of the valence band electronic structure of Pd based ternary chalcogenide superconductors Nb{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.95}S{sub 5}, Ta{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.97}S{sub 6} and Ta{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.97}Te{sub 6} using experimental photoemission spectroscopy and density functional based theoretical calculations. We observe a qualitatively similarity between valence band (VB) spectra of Nb{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.95}S{sub 5} and Ta{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.97}S{sub 6}. Further, we find a pseudogap feature in Nb{sub 2}Pd{sub 0.95}S{sub 5} at low temperature, unlike other two compounds. We have correlated the structural geometry with the differences in VB spectra of these compounds. The different atomic packing in these compounds could vary the strength of inter-orbital hybridization among various atoms which leads to difference in their electronic structure as clearly observed in our DOS calculations.

Monte Carlo studies of diamagnetism and charge density wave order in the cuprate pseudogap regime

Science.gov (United States)

Hayward Sierens, Lauren; Achkar, Andrew; Hawthorn, David; Melko, Roger; Sachdev, Subir

2015-03-01

The pseudogap regime of the hole-doped cuprate superconductors is often characterized experimentally in terms of a substantial diamagnetic response and, from another point of view, in terms of strong charge density wave (CDW) order. We introduce a dimensionless ratio, R, that incorporates both diamagnetic susceptibility and the correlation length of CDW order, and therefore reconciles these two fundamental characteristics of the pseudogap. We perform Monte Carlo simulations on a classical model that considers angular fluctuations of a six-dimensional order parameter, and compare our Monte Carlo results for R with existing data from torque magnetometry and x-ray scattering experiments on YBa2Cu3O6+x. We achieve qualitative agreement, and also propose future experiments to further investigate the behaviour of this dimensionless ratio.

Advantageous grain boundaries in iron pnictide superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Katase, Takayoshi; Ishimaru, Yoshihiro; Tsukamoto, Akira; Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Kamiya, Toshio; Tanabe, Keiichi; Hosono, Hideo

2011-01-01

High critical temperature superconductors have zero power consumption and could be used to produce ideal electric power lines. The principal obstacle in fabricating superconducting wires and tapes is grain boundaries—the misalignment of crystalline orientations at grain boundaries, which is unavoidable for polycrystals, largely deteriorates critical current density. Here we report that high critical temperature iron pnictide superconductors have advantages over cuprates with respect to these grain boundary issues. The transport properties through well-defined bicrystal grain boundary junctions with various misorientation angles (θGB) were systematically investigated for cobalt-doped BaFe2As2 (BaFe2As2:Co) epitaxial films fabricated on bicrystal substrates. The critical current density through bicrystal grain boundary (JcBGB) remained high (>1 MA cm−2) and nearly constant up to a critical angle θc of ∼9°, which is substantially larger than the θc of ∼5° for YBa2Cu3O7–δ. Even at θGB>θc, the decay of JcBGB was much slower than that of YBa2Cu3O7–δ. PMID:21811238

Electronic Structure of the Bismuth Family of High Temperature Superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunn, Lisa

2002-03-07

High temperature superconductivity remains the central intellectual problem in condensed matter physics fifteen years after its discovery. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) directly probes the electronic structure, and has played an important role in the field of high temperature superconductors. With the recent advances in sample growth and the photoemission technique, we are able to study the electronic structure in great detail, and address regimes that were previously inaccessible. This thesis work contains systematic photoemission studies of the electronic structure of the Bi-family of high temperature superconductors, which include the single-layer system (Bi2201), the bi-layer system (Bi2212), and the tri-layer system (Bi2223). We show that, unlike conventional BCS superconductors, phase coherence information emerges in the single particle excitation spectrum of high temperature superconductors as the superconducting peak in Bi2212. The universality and various properties of this superconducting peak are studied in various systems. We argue that the origin of the superconducting peak may provide the key to understanding the mechanism of High-Tc superconductors. In addition, we identified a new experimental energy scale in the bilayer material, the anisotropic intra-bilayer coupling energy. For a long time, it was predicted that this energy scale would cause bilayer band splitting. We observe this phenomenon, for the first time, in heavily overdoped Bi2212. This new observation requires the revision of the previous picture of the electronic excitation in the Brillouin zone boundary. As the first ARPES study of a trilayer system, various detailed electronic proper- ties of Bi2223 are examined. We show that, comparing with Bi2212, both superconducting gap and relative superconducting peak intensity become larger in Bi2223, however, the strength of the interlayer coupling within each unit cell is possibly weaker. These results suggest that the

Variational study of the stability of the Nagaoka state against single-spin flips in the two-dimensional t-t#prime# Hubbard model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bajdich, M.; Hlubina, R.

2001-01-01

Making use of variational wave functions of the Basile-Elser type we study the stability of the Nagaoka state against single-spin flips in the two-dimensional t-t#prime# Hubbard model for t#prime#/t∼0.5. In the low-density limit the variational estimate of the stability region of the Nagaoka state is in qualitative agreement with the predictions of the T-matrix approximation

Pseudogap and competing states in underdoped cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Patrick A.

2004-01-01

I shall argue that the high T c problem is the problem of doping into a Mott insulator. Furthermore, the well documented pseudo-gap phenomenon in underdoped cuprates holds the key to understanding this physics. Phase fluctuation alone cannot explain this phenomenon, but there is a clear need to identify a competing state which lives in the vortex core. The staggered flux state is a good candidate for the competing state and experimental tests of these ideas will be discussed

The intercalation chemistry of layered iron chalcogenide superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vivanco, Hector K.; Rodriguez, Efrain E., E-mail: efrain@umd.edu

2016-10-15

The iron chalcogenides FeSe and FeS are superconductors composed of two-dimensional sheets held together by van der Waals interactions, which makes them prime candidates for the intercalation of various guest species. We review the intercalation chemistry of FeSe and FeS superconductors and discuss their synthesis, structure, and physical properties. Before we review the latest work in this area, we provide a brief background on the intercalation chemistry of other inorganic materials that exhibit enhanced superconducting properties upon intercalation, which include the transition metal dichalcogenides, fullerenes, and layered cobalt oxides. From past studies of these intercalated superconductors, we discuss the role of the intercalates in terms of charge doping, structural distortions, and Fermi surface reconstruction. We also briefly review the physical and chemical properties of the host materials—mackinawite-type FeS and β-FeSe. The three types of intercalates for the iron chalcogenides can be placed in three categories: 1.) alkali and alkaline earth cations intercalated through the liquid ammonia technique; 2.) cations intercalated with organic amines such as ethylenediamine; and 3.) layered hydroxides intercalated during hydrothermal conditions. A recurring theme in these studies is the role of the intercalated guest in electron doping the chalcogenide host and in enhancing the two-dimensionality of the electronic structure by spacing the FeSe layers apart. We end this review discussing possible new avenues in the intercalation chemistry of transition metal monochalcogenides, and the promise of these materials as a unique set of new inorganic two-dimensional systems.

Radio frequency self-resonant coil for contactless AC-conductivity in 100 T class ultra-strong pulse magnetic fields

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, D.; Altarawneh, M. M.; Takeyama, S.

2018-03-01

A contactless measurement system of electrical conductivity was developed for application under pulsed high magnetic fields over 100 T by using a self-resonant-type, high-frequency circuit. Electromagnetic fields in the circuit were numerically analysed by the finite element method, to show how the resonant power spectra of the circuit depends on the electrical conductivity of a sample set on the probe-coil. The performance was examined using a high-temperature cuprate superconductor, La2-x Sr x CuO4, in magnetic fields up to 102 T with a high frequency of close to 800 MHz. As a result, the upper critical field could be determined with a good signal-to-noise ratio.

Role of the lattice dynamics in La2-xBaxCuO4 superconductor based on DFT method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Tavana

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Electron-phonon coupling parameters are calculated for La2-x BaxCuO4 cuprate superconductor in a wide range of dopings, from undoped to overdoped compounds. In this study we aim to study the quality of such calculations based on DFT method so, the results of σ GGA+U electronic structure calculations are also investigated. The obtained value for electron-phonon coupling is in the same order of previous calculations but, the value obtained for the Hubbard U parameter shows that, such methods are poor in the estimation of electronic correlations to decide about the role of phonons in these compounds based on their results. Moreover, existence of several structural phase transitions with temperature and doping, lead to larger error in these calculations. Based on the calculated phonon dispersions, structural phase transitions can be resulted which shows the ability of DFT in the study of structural properties and the weakness of the strongly correlations in this properties.

Redox mechanisms and superconductivity in layered copper oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raveau, B.; Michel, C.; Hervieu, M.; Provost, J.

1992-01-01

Redox reactions in high T c superconductors cuprates are complex and play an important role in superconductivity: oxygen non-stoichiometry is influencing the critical temperature, and rock salt layers interact with copper layers. 25 refs., 7 figs

Effect of shear stress on electromagnetic behaviors in superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Huadong; Zhao, Meng; Jing, Ze; Zhou, Youhe

2014-09-01

In this paper, the electromagnetic response and shielding behaviour of superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure are studied. The magnetomechanical coupling in ferromagnetic materials is also considered. Based on the linear piezomagnetic coupling model and anti-plane shear deformation, the current density and magnetic field in superconducting strip are obtained firstly. The effect of shear stress on the magnetization of strip is discussed. Then, we consider the magnetic cloak for superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure. The magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic material is obtained for perfect cloaking in uniform magnetic field with magnetomechanical coupling in ferromagnet. The simulation results show that the electromagnetic response in superconductors will change by applying the stress only to the ferromagnetic material. In addition, the performance of invisibility of structure for non-uniform field will be affected by mechanical stress. It may provide a method to achieve tunability of superconducting properties with mechanical loadings.

Experimental constraints on theories of high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Little, W.A.

1989-01-01

Recent experiments on the high-T c superconductors have begun to narrow the possible theoretical explanations of the phenomenon. Experimental evidence on the size, structure and symmetry of the charge carriers will be reviewed; evidence for and against strong coupling; and, recent results on a search for direct evidence of magnetic signature in the coupling mechanism will be presented. The authors show how these experiments impose strong constraints on the theories of these superconductors. A new type of experiment is also discussed which appears capable of identifying the true nature of the coupling mechanism if the superconductors prove to be BCS-like in nature

Studies of nonlinear electrodynamics of high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, Q.H.

1991-01-01

Nonlinear electrodynamics of high-Tc superconductors are studied theoretically and experimentally. For powdered samples, a novel model is presented in which the metallographically observed superconducting grains in the powder are modeled as superconducting current loops of various areas with weak links. Surprising harmonic generation behavior in an ac field, H 1 cos(ωt), is predicted by the model; the power at high harmonics show sharp dips almost periodic in a super-posing dc magnetic field, revealing flux quantization in the prototype loops in the model. Such oscillation of the harmonic power in dc magnetic field, P nf (H dc ), is experimentally observed in powdered YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 . For bulk sintered cylindrical samples, a generalized critical state model is presented. The nonlinear electrodynamics are due to flux-pinning. Experiments in ac and dc magnetic fields on a sintered cylindrical rod of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 yield unambiguous evidence of independent inter- and intragranular contributions to the complex harmonic permeability μ n = μ' n - iμ double-prime n . These data, together with P nf (H dc ), are explained quantitatively by the generalized critical state model, yielding a dependence on magnetic field of J c (H) ∼ H 02 local for the intergranular component, a steeper field dependence than for conventional type-II superconductors. Temperature-dependence measurements reveal that, while the intragranular supercurrents disappear at T c ≥ 91.2 K, the intergranular supercurrents disappear at T ≥ 86.6 K

Charge transport in junctions between d-wave superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barash, Y.S.; Galaktionov, A.V.; Zaikin, A.D.

1995-01-01

We develop a microscopic analysis of superconducting and dissipative currents in junctions between superconductors with d-wave symmetry of the order parameter. We study the proximity effect in such superconductors and show that for certain crystal orientations the superconducting order parameter can be essentially suppressed in the vicinity of a nontransparent specularly reflecting boundary. This effect strongly influences the value and the angular dependence of the dc Josephson current j S . At T∼T c it leads to a crossover between j S ∝T c -T and j S ∝(T c -T) 2 respectively for homogeneous and nonhomogeneous distribution of the order parameter in the vicinity of a tunnel junction. We show that at low temperatures the current-phase relation j S (cphi) for superconductor--normal-metal--superconductor junctions and short weak links between d-wave superconductors is essentially nonharmonic and contains a discontinuity at cphi=0. This leads to further interesting features of such systems which can be used for pairing symmetry tests in high-temperature superconductors (HTSC). We also investigated the low-temperature I-V curves of normal-metal--superconductor and superconductor-superconductor tunnel junctions and demonstrated that depending on the junction type and crystal orientation these curves show zero-bias anomalies I∝V 2 , I∝V 2 ln(1/V), and I∝V 3 caused by the gapless behavior of the order parameter in d-wave superconductors. Many of our results agree well with recent experimental findings for HTSC compounds

Structures of single vortex and vortex lattice in a d-wave superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.; Ren, Y.; Ting, C.

1996-01-01

The structures of a single vortex and vortex lattice in a superconductor with d x 2 -y 2 symmetry are studied self-consistently employing a recently developed Ginzburg-Landau theory. Near a single vortex, we found that an s-wave component of the order parameter is always induced, and it causes the local magnetic-field distribution and the d-wave order parameter to have a fourfold anisotropy. It is shown that there is a strong correlation between the structure of a single vortex and the shape of the vortex lattice. Our numerical calculation indicates that the structure of the vortex lattice is always oblique except for temperatures very close to T c where it becomes triangular. The possible connection of the result with experiment is also discussed. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Electron-$\\gamma$ - perturbed angular correlation studies on high-T$_{C}$ superconductors

CERN Document Server

Correia, J G; Marques, J G; Ramos, A R; Lourenço, A A; Amaral, V S; Galindo, V; Senateur, J P; Weiss, F; Wahl, U; Melo, A A; Soares, J C; Sousa, J B

2000-01-01

Recent results on the study of high-T$_{c}$ superconductors using the e$^-\\!-\\gamma$ perturbed angular correlation technique are presented. The basic features of the experimental equipment and its installation at the ISOLDE facility are briefly described. Results obtained from $^{197m}$Hg implanted into high quality Y$_{1}$Ba$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+\\delta}$ epitaxy thin films are presented and discussed.

New world of Gossamer superconductivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maki, Kazumi; Haas, Stephan; Parker, David [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0484 (United States); Won, Hyekyung [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik komplexer Systeme, Noethnitzer Str. 38, 01187, Dresden (Germany); Department of Physics, Hallym University, Chuncheon 200-702 (Korea); Dora, Balazs; Virosztek, Attila [Department of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1521 Budapest (Hungary)

2006-09-15

Since the discovery of the high-T {sub c} cuprate superconductor La{sub 2-x}BaCuO{sub 4} in 1986 by Bednorz and Mueller, controversy regarding the nature or origin of this remarkable superconductivity has continued. However, d-wave superconductivity in the hole-doped cuprates, arising due to the anti-paramagnon exchange, was established around 1994. More recently we have shown that the mean field theory, like the BCS theory of superconductivity and Landau's Fermi liquid theory are adequate to describe the cuprates. The keys for this development are the facts that a) the pseudogap phase is d-wave density wave (dDW) and that the high-T{sub c} cuprate superconductivity is gossamer (i.e. it exists in the presence of dDW). (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Doping and temperature dependence of incommensurate antiferromagnetism in underdoped lanthanum cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Feng; Feng Shiping; Su Zhaobin; Yu Lu

2001-08-01

The doping, temperature and energy dependence of the dynamical spin structure factors of the underdoped lanthanum cuprates in the normal state is studied within the t-J model using the fermion-spin transformation technique. Incommensurate peaks are found at [(1±δ)π, π], [π, (1±δ)π] at relatively low temperatures with δ linearly increasing with doping at the beginning and then saturating at higher dopings. These peaks broaden and weaken in amplitude with temperature and energy, in good agreement with experiments. The theory also predicts a rotation of these peaks by π/4 at even higher temperatures, being shifted to [(1±δ/√2)π, (1±δ/√2)π]. (author)

Quantitative magneto-optical investigation of superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, G; Brisbois, J; Pinheiro, L B G L; Müller, J; Blanco Alvarez, S; Devillers, T; Dempsey, N M; Scheerder, J E; Van de Vondel, J; Melinte, S; Vanderbemden, P; Motta, M; Ortiz, W A; Hasselbach, K; Kramer, R B G; Silhanek, A V

2018-02-01

We present a detailed quantitative magneto-optical imaging study of several superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures, including Nb deposited on top of thermomagnetically patterned NdFeB and permalloy/niobium with erasable and tailored magnetic landscapes imprinted in the permalloy layer. The magneto-optical imaging data are complemented with and compared to scanning Hall probe microscopy measurements. Comprehensive protocols have been developed for calibrating, testing, and converting Faraday rotation data to magnetic field maps. Applied to the acquired data, they reveal the comparatively weaker magnetic response of the superconductor from the background of larger fields and field gradients generated by the magnetic layer.

Quantitative magneto-optical investigation of superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, G.; Brisbois, J.; Pinheiro, L. B. G. L.; Müller, J.; Blanco Alvarez, S.; Devillers, T.; Dempsey, N. M.; Scheerder, J. E.; Van de Vondel, J.; Melinte, S.; Vanderbemden, P.; Motta, M.; Ortiz, W. A.; Hasselbach, K.; Kramer, R. B. G.; Silhanek, A. V.

2018-02-01

We present a detailed quantitative magneto-optical imaging study of several superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures, including Nb deposited on top of thermomagnetically patterned NdFeB and permalloy/niobium with erasable and tailored magnetic landscapes imprinted in the permalloy layer. The magneto-optical imaging data are complemented with and compared to scanning Hall probe microscopy measurements. Comprehensive protocols have been developed for calibrating, testing, and converting Faraday rotation data to magnetic field maps. Applied to the acquired data, they reveal the comparatively weaker magnetic response of the superconductor from the background of larger fields and field gradients generated by the magnetic layer.

On the limits of consistency of Eliashberg theory and the density of states of high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varelogiannis, G.

1997-01-01

We make a detailed study of the Eliashberg theory in the coupling region where some fundamental qualitative deviations from the conventional BCS- like behavior begin to appear. These deviations are identified as the onset of a cross-over from BCS superconductivity to Bose condensation. We point out that the beginning of this cross-over occurs when the gap Δ g becomes comparable to the boson energies Ω ph . This condition traduces the physical constraint that the distance the paired electron covers during the absorption of the virtual boson, cannot be larger than the coherence length. The frontier region of couplings is of the order of λ∼3, and high-T c , materials are concerned. A clear qualitative indication of the occurrence of a cross-over regime should be a dip structure above the gap in the density of states of excitations, and this is one of the most robust characteristics of the high-T c , superconducting state. Comparing our results with tunneling and photoemission experiments we conclude that high-T c materials (cuprates and fullerides) are indeed at the beginning of a cross-over from BCS superconductivity to Bose condensation, even though the fermionic nature still prevails. If the Uemura plot is relevant, then the dip should also be present in the other materials that are close to the cross-over regime like heavy Fermion and organic superconductors. In all these materials Ginzburg Landau equations are irrelevant. (orig.)

Fractional vortex lattice structures in spin-triplet superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Suk Bum; Agterberg, Daniel F; Kim, Eun-A

2009-01-01

Motivated by recent interest in spin-triplet superconductors, we investigate the vortex lattice structures for this class of unconventional superconductors. We discuss how the order parameter symmetry can give rise to U(1)xU(1) symmetry in the same sense as in spinor condensates, making half-quantum vortices (HQVs) topologically stable. We then calculate the vortex lattice structure of HQVs, with particular attention on the roles of the crystalline lattice, the Zeeman coupling and Meissner screening, all absent in spinor condensates. Finally, we consider how spin-orbit coupling leads to a breakdown of the U(1)xU(1) symmetry in free energy and whether the HQV lattice survives this symmetry breaking. As examples, we examine simpler spin-triplet models proposed in the context of Na x CoO 2 ·yH 2 O and Bechgaard salts, as well as the better known and more complex model for Sr 2 RuO 4 .

Vortex transport entropy in the H-T diagram of high T{sub c} superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bridoux, G; Nieva, G; Cruz, F de la, E-mail: gbridoux@yahoo.com.a [Centro Atomico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro, Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Av. E. Bustillo 9500, R84002AGP S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina)

2009-05-01

The combination of Nernst effect and electrical resistivity measurements allows to extract the transport entropy carried by moving vortices. In high T{sub c} superconductors, the vortex-like fluctuations close and above T{sub c} can be detected with these tools if local phase coherence is still present. In this work we study the vortex transport entropy in the two milestone high T{sub c}, YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-d}elta (YBCO) and Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+d}elta (BSCCO). While below T{sub c} the YBCO entropy displays a mean field like behavior, close and above T{sub c} the entropy reveals typical features of strong superconducting fluctuations. The lower dimensionality in BSCCO enhances the strength of superconducting fluctuations in a wider region of the H - Tdiagram and a mean field treatment can not be applied. In this region the vortex transport entropy remains unaffected by the presence of correlated defects.

RF properties of high-T/sub c/ superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohn, C.L.; Delayen, J.R.; Dos Santos, D.I.; Lanagan, M.T.; Shepard, K.W.

1988-01-01

We have investigated the rf properties of high-T/sub c/ superconductors over a wide range of temperature, frequency, and rf field amplitude. We have tested both bulk polycrystalline samples and thick films on silver substrates. At 150 MHz and 4.2 K, we have measured a surface resistance of 18 μ/sup /OMEGA// at low rf field and 3.6 m/sup /OMEGA// at an rf field of 270 gauss. All samples showed a strong dependence of the surface resistance on rf field; however, no breakdown of the superconducting state has been observed up to the highest field achieved (320 gauss). 9 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Normal state Raman spectra of high-Tc cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bishoyi, K.C.; Rout, G.C.; Behera, S.N.

2003-01-01

We present a microscopic theory to explain Raman spectra of high-T c cuprates R 2-x M x CuO 4 in the normal state. We used electronic Hamiltonian prescribed by Fulde in presence of anti-ferromagnetism. Phonon interaction to the hybridization between the conduction electrons of the system and the f-electrons has been incorporated in the calculation. The phonon spectral density is calculated by the Green function technique of Zubarev at zero wave vector and finite (room) temperature limit. Parameter dependence of Raman active phonon frequencies are studied by varying model parameters of the system i.e. the position of f-level (ε f ), the effective electron-phonon coupling strength (g), the staggered magnetic field (h 1 ), and the hybridization parameter (v). The four Raman active peaks (P 1 to P 4 ) represent the electronic states of the atomic sub-systems of the cuprate systems. They show up as phonon excitations due to the coupling of the phonon to the electrons and the anti-ferromagnetic gap. (author)

Holographic complexity in gauge/string superconductors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davood Momeni

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Following a methodology similar to [1], we derive a holographic complexity for two dimensional holographic superconductors (gauge/string superconductors with backreactions. Applying a perturbation method proposed by Kanno in Ref. [2], we study behaviors of the complexity for a dual quantum system near critical points. We show that when a system moves from the normal phase (T>Tc to the superconductor phase (T

Candidate muon-probe sites in oxide superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, W.K.; Tibbs, K.; Weathersby, S.P.; Boekema, C.; Chan, K.B.

1988-01-01

Two independent search methods (potential-energy and magnetic-dipole-field calculations) are used to determine muon stop sites in the RBa 2 Cu 3 O/sub x/ (x≅7) superconductors. Possible sites, located about 1 A away from oxygen ions, have been found and are prime candidates as muon-probe locations. The results are discussed in light of existing muon-spin-relaxation (μSR) data of these exciting oxides, and compared to H- and positron-oxide superconductor studies. Further work is in progress to establish in detail the muon-probe sites; this knowledge is an essential ingredient for a correct interpretation of μSR data of high-temperature superconducting oxides

Interplay of superconductivity and magnetism in presence of inter sub-lattice effect in cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bishoyi, K.C.; Mohapatra, S.P.; Rout, G.C.

2010-01-01

In the present communication, we report a model Hamiltonian to study the interplay between the two long range orders of anti-ferromagnetism (AFM) and superconductivity (SC) in cuprate superconductors in presence of the intersite pairing effect. The BCS type but non-phonon pairing mechanism is considered among the electrons of two equivalent Cu sites. The pairing among the electrons of two nearest neighbour non-equivalent Cu sites is included in the Hamiltonian and its effect on the interplay of SC and AFM is investigated. The Hamiltonian is solved by the Green's function method and the corresponding gap equations are calculated and solved self-consistently. The influence of model parameters like AFM coupling (λ), SC coupling (λ 1 ) and the coupling (λ 2 ) for intersite superconducting interactions on the gaps (SC and AFM) are studied numerically and the results are reported. (author)

What can Andreev bound states tell us about superconductors?

Science.gov (United States)

Millo, Oded; Koren, Gad

2018-08-06

Zero-energy Andreev bound states, which manifest themselves in the tunnelling spectra as zero-bias conductance peaks (ZBCPs), are abundant at interfaces between superconductors and other materials and on the nodal surface of high-temperature superconductors. In this review, we focus on the information such excitations can provide on the properties of superconductor systems. First, a general introduction to the physics of Andreev bound states in superconductor/normal metal interfaces is given with a particular emphasis on why they appear at zero energy in d -wave superconductors. Then, specific spectroscopic tunnelling studies of thin films, bilayers and junctions are described, focusing on the corresponding ZBCP features. Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) studies show that the ZBCPs on the c -axis YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7- δ (YBCO) films are correlated with the surface morphology and appear only in proximity to (110) facets. STS on c -axis La 1.88 Sr 0.12 CuO 4 (LSCO) films exhibiting the 1/8 anomaly shows spatially modulated peaks near zero bias associated with the anti-phase ordering of the d -wave order parameter predicted at this doping level. ZBCPs were also found in micrometre-size edge junctions of YBCO/SrRuO 3 /YBCO, where SrRuO 3 is ferromagnetic. Here, the results are consistent with a crossed Andreev reflection effect (CARE) at the narrow domain walls of the SrRuO 3 ZBCPs measured in STS studies of manganite/cuprate bilayers could not be attributed to CARE because the manganite's domain wall is much larger than the coherence length in YBCO, and instead are attributed to proximity-induced triplet-pairing superconductivity with non-conventional symmetry. And finally, ZBCPs found in junctions of non-intentionally doped topological insulator films of Bi 2 Se 3 and the s -wave superconductor NbN are attributed to proximity-induced p x  + ip y triplet order parameter in the topological material.This article is part of the theme issue 'Andreev bound states'. �

Non-equilibrium quasiparticle processes in superconductor tunneling structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perold, W.J.

1990-01-01

A broad overview is presented of the phenomenon of superconductivity. The tunneling of quasiparticles in superconducter-insulator structures is described. Related non-equilibrium processes, such as superconductor bandgap suppresion, quasiparticle diffusion and recombination, and excess quasiparticle collection are discussed. The processes are illustrated with numerical computer simulation data. The importance of the inter-relationship between these processes in practical multiple tunneling junction superconducting device structures is also emphasized. 14 refs., 8 figs

First principles simulation on the K0.8Fe2Se2 high-temperature structural superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Rui; Yang, Shizhong; Khosravi, Ebrahim; Zhao, Guang-Lin; Bagayoko, Diola

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The superconductor K 0.8 Fe 2 Se 2 super cell size, shape, and atomic positions are fully optimized using first principles density functional theory method. • Each K atom donates 0.8 |e| with K vacancies in the supercell, each Fe atom donates 0.4 |e|, while each Se atom gains 0.7 |e| ∼ 0.8 |e|. • Fe atoms show magnetic moment fluctuation and possible strong spin-orbital coupling. -- Abstract: Since the synthesis of the first ones in 2008, iron-based high temperature superconductors have been the subject of many studies. This great interest is partly due to their higher, upper magnetic field, smaller Fermi surface around the Γ point, and a larger coherence length. This work is focused on A x Fe 2 Se 2 structural superconductor (FeSe, 11 hierarchy; A = K, Cs) as recently observed. ARPES data show novel, electronic structure and a hole-free Fermi surface which is different from previously observed Fermi surface images. We use ab initio density functional theory method to simulate the electronic structure of the novel superconductor A x Fe 2 Se 2 . We compare this electronic structure with those of other Fe-based superconductors

Interplay of Phonon and Exciton-Mediated Superconductivity in Hybrid Semiconductor-Superconductor Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Skopelitis, Petros; Cherotchenko, Evgenia D.; Kavokin, Alexey V.; Posazhennikova, Anna

2018-03-01

We predict a strong enhancement of the critical temperature in a conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductor in the presence of a bosonic condensate of exciton polaritons. The effect depends strongly on the ratio of the cutoff frequencies for phonon and exciton-polariton mediated BCS superconductivity, respectively. We also discuss a possible design of hybrid semiconductor-superconductor structures suitable for the experimental observation of such an effect.

Neutron irradiation effects in advanced superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, H.; Kodaka, H.; Miyata, K.; Hayashi, Y.; Atobe, K.

1988-01-01

This paper reports the effects of neutron irradiation on superconducting transitions studied by susceptibility and resistivity measurements for A15 type compounds, Laves-phase compounds and oxide superconductors. For A15 superconductors, the transition temperature (T c ) decreased with increasing neutron fluence and showed large drop started at about 5 x 10 18 n/cm 2 (E > 0.1 MeV). Post-irradiation annealing gave recovery of T c , but the behaviors were different for the materials with different composition and microstructure. The Laves-phase compounds showed less degradation than the A15 superconductors. For oxide superconductors very sensitive transition change was observed, including the radiation-induced superconductivity

Plasmon-phonon pairing mechanism and superconducting state parameters in layered mercury cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varshney, D.; Tosi, M.P.

1999-06-01

An effective two-dimensional dynamic interaction is developed which incorporated screening of holes by plasmons and by optical phonons to discuss the nature of the pairing mechanism leading to superconductivity in layered mercury cuprates. The system is treated as an ionic solid containing layers of charge carriers and a model dielectric function is set up which fulfils the appropriate sum rules on the electronic and ionic polarizabilities. The values of the coupling strength and of the Coulomb interaction parameter indicate that the superconductor is in the strong coupling regime with effective screening of the charge carriers. The superconducting transition temperature of optically doped HgBa 2 CuO 4+δ is estimated as 94 K from Kresin's strong coupling theory and the energy gap ratio is substantially larger than the BCS value. The value of the isotope exponent is severely reduced below the BCS value. The implications of the model and its analysis are discussed. (author)

Electronic structure studies of ferro-pnictide superconductors and their parent compounds using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setti, Thirupathaiah

2011-01-01

The discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the iron pnictide compound LaO 1-x F x FeAs with T c = 26 K as created enormous interest in the high-T c superconductor community. So far, four prototypes of crystal structures have been found in the Fe-pnictide family. All four show a structural deformation followed or accompanied by a magnetic transition from a high temperature paramagnetic conductor to a low temperature antiferromagnetic metal whose transition temperature T N varies between the compounds. Charge carrier doping, isovalent substitution of the As atoms or the application of pressure suppresses the antiferromagnetic spin density wave (SDW) order and leads to a superconducting phase. More recently high Tc superconductivity has been also detected in iron chalchogenides with similar normal state properties. Since superconductivity is instability of the normal state, the study of normal state electronic structure in comparison with superconducting state could reveal important information on the pairing mechanism. Therefore, it is most important to study the electronic structure of these new superconductors, i.e., to determine Fermi surfaces and band dispersions near the Fermi level at the high symmetry points in order to obtain a microscopic understanding of the superconducting properties. Using the technique angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) one measures the electrons ejected from a sample when photons impinge on it. In this way one can map the Fermi surface which provides useful information regarding the physics behind the Fermi surface topology of high T c superconductors. Furthermore, this technique provides information on the band dispersion, the orbital character of the bands, the effective mass, the coupling to bosonic excitations, and the superconducting gap. This emphasizes the importance of studying the electronic structure of the newly discovered Fe-pnictides using ARPES. In this work we have studied the electronic

Circumvention of regulatory CD4(+) T cell activity during cross-priming strongly enhances T cell-mediated immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Heit, Antje; Gebhardt, Friedemann; Lahl, Katharina; Neuenhahn, Michael; Schmitz, Frank; Anderl, Florian; Wagner, Hermann; Sparwasser, Tim; Busch, Dirk H; Kastenmüller, Kathrin

2008-06-01

Immunization with purified antigens is a safe and practical vaccination strategy but is generally unable to induce sustained CD8(+) T cell-mediated protection against intracellular pathogens. Most efforts to improve the CD8(+) T cell immunogenicity of these vaccines have focused on co-administration of adjuvant to support cross-presentation and dendritic cell maturation. In addition, it has been shown that CD4(+) T cell help during the priming phase contributes to the generation of protective CD8(+) memory T cells. In this report we demonstrate that the depletion of CD4(+) T cells paradoxically enhances long-lasting CD8-mediated protective immunity upon protein vaccination. Functional and genetic in vivo inactivation experiments attribute this enhancement primarily to MHC class II-restricted CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Treg), which appear to physiologically suppress the differentiation process towards long-living effector memory T cells. Since, in functional terms, this suppression by Treg largely exceeds the positive effects of conventional CD4(+) T cell help, even the absence of all CD4(+) T cells or lack of MHC class II-mediated interactions on priming dendritic cells result in enhanced CD8(+) T cell immunogenicity. These findings have important implications for the improvement of vaccines against intracellular pathogens or tumors, especially in patients with highly active Treg.

Quenched Magnon excitations by oxygen sublattice reconstruction in (SrCuO2)n/(SrTiO3)2 superlattices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantz, M; Pelliciari, J; Samal, D; Bisogni, V; Huang, Y; Olalde-Velasco, P; Strocov, V N; Koster, G; Schmitt, T

2016-09-12

The recently discovered structural reconstruction in the cuprate superlattice (SrCuO2)n/(SrTiO3)2 has been investigated across the critical value of n = 5 using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). We find that at the critical value of n, the cuprate layer remains largely in the bulk-like two-dimensional structure with a minority of Cu plaquettes being reconstructed. The partial reconstruction leads to quenching of the magnons starting at the Γ-point due to the minority plaquettes acting as scattering points. Although comparable in relative abundance, the doped charge impurities in electron-doped cuprate superconductors do not show this quenching of magnetic excitations.

The apical oxygen influence on critical temperature of Hg-based superconducting cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myasojedov, Yu.M.; Lutsyiv, R.V.; Skyira, A.B.

1997-01-01

The analysis of changes in critical temperature (T c ) as a function of structural parameters is performed for the Hg-based superconductors. We found that there exists a correlation between T c and Madelung potential difference (ΔV) for holes (p) at apical oxygen (O A ) and oxygen (O p ) sites in the (CuO 2 ) plane. A change of the Madelung potential of holes for the varying occupancy factor of oxygen in the Hg-plane was calculated. We showed that a parabolic dependence of T c (p) for Hg-1201 is transformed to a 'boomerang' like dependence for Hg-1223

Temperature dependence of positron lifetime in the two-mixed-phase Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, D.M.; Tang, C.Q.; Gen, T.; Li, G.Y.

1993-01-01

As compared with the YBaCuO(123) system, the studies of positron annihilation performed for other cuprate superconductors, specifically for the BiSrCaCuO and TlBaCa.CuO systems, are very few. Thus further study of positron annihilation in BiSrCaCuO and TlBaCaCuO systems is necessary. In this note, we report the results of the temperature dependence of positron lifetime parameters in the two-mixed-phase system BiSrCaCuO and discuss the results. (orig.)

Evolution of new superconductors. Past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimitsu, Jun

2011-01-01

I present here the past and present situations of new superconductors and also the future prospect. Superconductivity has started since Kamerlingh Onnes first observed the zero resistivity. After that, the critical temperature T c was gradually increased. In the early stage of superconductive material investigations, main contribution has been made by B. Matthias and his group. In 1986, a new superconductor La-Ba-Cu-O, which belongs to new category in the superconducting society, has been found by Bednorz and Mueller. After that T c 's have been drastically increased, and finally reached to T c - 164 K in the Hg-compound. Next, I review several new superconductors discovered within 20 years. Finally, I mention my personal perspective to a high-T c superconductor. (author)

Dephasing in semiconductor-superconductor structures by coupling to a voltage probe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Niels Asger; Jauho, Antti-Pekka; Flensberg, Karsten

2000-01-01

We study dephasing in semiconductor-superconductor structures caused by coupling to a voltage probe. We consider structures where the semiconductor consists of two scattering regions between which partial dephasing is possible. As a particular example we consider a situation with a double barrier...

Scanning X-ray microscopy of superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stahl, Claudia; Ruoss, Stephen; Weigand, Markus; Schuetz, Gisela [Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart (Germany); Zahn, Patrick; Bayer, Jonas [Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart (Germany); Research Institute for Innovative Surfaces, FINO, Aalen University (Germany); Albrecht, Joachim [Research Institute for Innovative Surfaces, FINO, Aalen University (Germany)

2016-07-01

The magnetic flux distribution arising from a high-T{sub c} superconductor is detected and visualized with high spatial resolution using scanning x-ray microscopy (SXM). Therefore, we introduce a sensor layer, namely, an amorphous, soft-magnetic CoFeB cover layer. The magnetic stray fields of the supercurrents lead to a local reorientation of the magnetic moments in the ferromagnet, which is visualized using the large x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) effect of the Co and Fe L3-edge. We show that the XMCD contrast in the sensor layer corresponds to the in-plane magnetic flux distribution of the superconductor and can hence be used to image magnetic structures in superconductors with high spatial resolution. Using the total electron yield (TEY) mode the surface structure and the magnetic domains can be imaged simultaneously and can be correlated. The measurements are carried out at our scanning x-ray microscope MAXYMUS at Bessy II, Berlin with the new low temperature setup.

Finding high-temperature superconductors by metallizing the σ-bonding electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Miao; Lu Zhongyi; Xiang Tao

2015-01-01

Raising superconducting transition temperature (T_c) is an important task of fundamental research on superconductivity. It is also a prerequisite for the large scale application of superconductors. Since the microscopic mechanism of high-T_c superconductivity is unknown, the conventional approach for increasing T_c is either to apply high pressure to a material which has the potential to become superconducting, or to push it close to an antiferromagnetic or some other quantum instability point by chemical doping. In this article, the authors point out that another general approach for raising T_c is to lift the σ-bonding bands to the Fermi level, or to metallize the σ-bonding elections. This approach can increase the probability of finding a novel high-T_c superconductor because the coupling of σ-bonding electrons with phonons is generally strong and the superconducting transition induced by this interaction can occur at relatively high temperatures. After elucidating the underlying mechanism, the authors discuss a number of schemes to metallize σ-bonding electrons, and present their recent prediction for the crystalline and electronic structures of two potential high-T_c superconductors, Li_2B_3C and Li_3B_4C_2, with T_c higher than 50 K. (authors)

Metamorphoses of electronic structure of FeSe-based superconductors (Review Article)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pustovit, Yu.V.; Kordyuk, A.A.

2016-01-01

The electronic structure of FeSe, the simplest iron-based superconductor (Fe-SC), conceals a potential of dramatic increase of Tc that realizes under pressure or in a single layer film. This is also the system where nematicity, the phenomenon of a keen current interest, is most easy to study since it is not accompanied by the antiferromagnetic transition like in all other Fe-SC. Here we overview recent experimental data on electronic structure of FeSe-based superconductors: isovalently doped crystals, intercalates, and single layer films, trying to clarify its topology and possible relation of this topology to superconductivity. We argue that the marked differences between the experimental and calculated band structures for all FeSe compounds can be described by a hoping selective renormalization model for a spin/orbital correlated state that may naturally ex-plain both the evolution of the band structure with temperature and nematicity.

Strongly disordered superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muttalib, K.A.

1982-01-01

We examine some universal effects of strong non-magnetic disorder on the electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions in a superconductor. In particular we explicitly take into account the effect of slow diffusion of electrons in a disordered medium by working in an exact impurity eigenstate representation. We find that the normal diffusion of electrons characterized by a constant diffusion coefficient does not lead to any significant correction to the electron-phonon or the effective electron-electron interactions in a superconductor. We then consider sufficiently strong disorder where Anderson localization of electrons becomes important and determine the effect of localization on the electron-electron interactions. We find that due to localization, the diffusion of electrons becomes anomalous in the sense that the diffusion coefficient becomes scale dependent. This results in an increase in the effective electron-electron interaction with increasing disorder. We propose that this provides a natural explanation for the unusual sensitivity of the transition temperature T/sub c/ of the high T/sub c/ superconductors (T/sub c/ > 10 0 K) to damage effects

Incommensurate Phonon Anomaly and the Nature of Charge Density Waves in Cuprates

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, H.; Ishikawa, D.; Heid, R.; Le Tacon, M.; Fabbris, G.; Meyers, D.; Gu, G. D.; Baron, A. Q. R.; Dean, M. P. M.

2018-01-01

While charge density wave (CDW) instabilities are ubiquitous to superconducting cuprates, the different ordering wave vectors in various cuprate families have hampered a unified description of the CDW formation mechanism. Here, we investigate the temperature dependence of the low-energy phonons in the canonical CDW-ordered cuprate La1.875 Ba0.125 CuO4 . We discover that the phonon softening wave vector associated with CDW correlations becomes temperature dependent in the high-temperature precursor phase and changes from a wave vector of 0.238 reciprocal lattice units (r.l.u.) below the ordering transition temperature to 0.3 r.l.u. at 300 K. This high-temperature behavior shows that "214"-type cuprates can host CDW correlations at a similar wave vector to previously reported CDW correlations in non-214-type cuprates such as YBa2 Cu3 O6 +δ . This indicates that cuprate CDWs may arise from the same underlying instability despite their apparently different low-temperature ordering wave vectors.

Proximity effects in ferromagnet/superconductor structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, H.L.; Sun, G.Y.; Yang, L.Y.; Xing, D.Y.

2004-01-01

The Nambu spinor Green's function approach is applied to study proximity effects in ferromagnet/superconductor (FM/SC) structures. They include the induced superconducting order parameter and density of states (DOS) with superconducting feature on the FM side, and spin-dependent DOS within the energy gap on the SC side. The latter indicates an appearance of gapless superconductivity and a coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in a small regime near the interface. The influence of exchange energy in FM and barrier strength at interface on the proximity effects is discussed

Influence of coupling parameter on current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shukrinov, Yu.M.; Mahfouzi, F.

2006-01-01

We study the current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors by numerical calculations and in framework of capacitively coupled Josephson junctions model we obtain the total number of branches. The influence of the coupling parameter α on the current-voltage characteristics at fixed parameter β (β 2 1/β c , where β c is McCumber parameter) and the influence of α on β-dependence of the current-voltage characteristics are investigated. We obtain the α-dependence of the branch's slopes and branch's endpoints. The presented results show new features of the coupling effect on the scheme of hysteresis jumps in current-voltage characteristics of intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-T c superconductors

High temperature superconductor accelerator magnets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Nugteren, J.

2016-01-01

For future particle accelerators bending dipoles are considered with magnetic fields exceeding 20T. This can only be achieved using high temperature superconductors (HTS). These exhibit different properties from classical low temperature superconductors and still require significant research and

Strong nonequilibrium coherent states in mesoscopic superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor junctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kutchinsky, Jonatan; Wildt, Morten; Taboryski, Rafael Jozef

1999-01-01

A biased superconductor-normal metal-superconductor junction is known to be a strong nonequilibrium system, where Andreev scattering at the interfaces creates a quasiparticle distribution function far from equilibrium, a manifestation of this is the well-known subgap structure in the I...

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy on vortex cores in high-T{sub c} superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogenboom, B.W.; Maggio-Aprile, I.; Fischer, Oe. [Geneva Univ. (Switzerland). Dept. de Physique de la Matiere Condensee; Renner, C. [NEC Research Inst., Princeton, NJ (United States)

2002-07-01

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) with its unique capacity for tunneling spectroscopy with sub-nanometer spatial resolution, has opened new ways to look at the flux lines and their distribution in superconductors. In contrast to all other imaging techniques, which are sensitive to the local magnetic field, STM relies on local changes in the density of states near the Fermi level to generate a real space image of the vortex distribution. It is thus sensitive to the vortex cores, which in high temperature superconductors have a size approaching the interatomic distances. The small size of the vortex cores and the anisotropic character of the high temperature superconductors allow pinning to play a large role in determining the vortex core positions. Vortex hopping between different pinning sites, again down to a sub-nanometer scale, has been studied by STM imaging as a function of time. These studies give microscopic indications for quantum tunneling of vortices. Moreover, STM provides new insights into the detailed electronic vortex core structure, revealing localized quasiparticles. (orig.)

The defect structure of ceramic high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tendeloo, G.; Amelinckx, S.; Zandbergen, H.W.; Verwerft, M.

1989-01-01

In this paper an overview is given of electron microscopy studies on the different ceramic superconductors: YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 , Bi(Tl)-Sr(Ba)- Ca-Cu-O and Pb 2 Sr 2 Y 0.5 Ca 0.5 Cu 3 O x . Planar defects in these materials play an important role in the superconducting properties. Their structural characteristics are discussed

Unconventional superconductivity near inhomogeneities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poenicke, A.F.

2008-01-01

After the presentation of a quasi-classical theory the specific heat of Sr 2 RuO 4 is considered. Then tunneling spectroscopy on cuprate superconductors is discussed. Thereafter the subharmonic gap structure in d-wave superconductors is considered. Finally the application of the S-matrix in superconductivity is discussed with spin mixing, CrO 2 as example, and an interface model. (HSI)

NMR/NQR study of the superconductor Y2Ba4Cu7O15

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, R.

1995-01-01

This dissertation concentrates on several important aspects of the high temperature superconductivity research. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) studies in Y-Ba-O compounds contribute information regarding various aspects, ranging from the direct observation of strong coupling between the adjacent planes in the double plane to conclusions concerning the spatial symmetry of paring state in these cuprates. We report the first results in the 93 K superconductor Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O 15 . This compound turns out to be a structure containing differently doped CuO 2 planes. The planes in the 1-2-3(1-2-4) block are only slightly lower (higher) doped than those in the corresponding parent compounds YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 . The results obtained from measurements on oxygen depleted Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O 15-x show two new features which could explain the dissimilar variation of T c with oxygen content compared to YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x : i) the double chains donate charge carriers to the planes and ii) the chain fragments which survive when emptying single chains are longer than in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x . The pressure induced charge transfer from chain to plane in each block of Y 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O 15 is the same as in the corresponding parent compound. We explore the strong coupling between nonequivalent planes in this compound using the three main NMR/NQR quantities, K spin , 1/T 1 ; and T 2G,ind , and estimate its approximate strength directly from spin-echo double resonance (SEDOR) experiments. We obtain for the ratio of the effective inter- and intraplane exchange-coupling constants the value of 0.3 just above T c . This ratio decreases with increasing temperature. (author) figs., tabs., refs

High-Tc copper oxide superconductors and related novel materials dedicated to prof K. A. Müller on the occasion of his 90th birthday

CERN Document Server

Keller, Hugo; Bianconi, Antonio

2017-01-01

Authored by many of the world's leading experts on high-Tc superconductivity, this volume presents a panorama of ongoing research in the field, as well as insights into related multifunctional materials. The contributions cover many different and complementary aspects of the physics and materials challenges, with an emphasis on superconducting materials that have emerged since the discovery of the cuprate superconductors, for example pnictides, MgB2, H2S and other hydrides. Special attention is also paid to interface superconductivity. In addition to superconductors, the volume also addresses materials related to polar and multifunctional ground states, another class of materials that owes its discovery to Prof. Müller's ground-breaking research on SrTiO3.

Distinct Nature of Static and Dynamic Magnetic Stripes in Cuprate Superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobsen, H.; Holm, S. L.; Lǎcǎtuşu, M.-E.; Rømer, A. T.; Bertelsen, M.; Boehm, M.; Toft-Petersen, R.; Grivel, J.-C.; Emery, S. B.; Udby, L.; Wells, B. O.; Lefmann, K.

2018-01-01

We present detailed neutron scattering studies of the static and dynamic stripes in an optimally doped high-temperature superconductor, La2 CuO4 +y . We observe that the dynamic stripes do not disperse towards the static stripes in the limit of vanishing energy transfer. Therefore, the dynamic stripes observed in neutron scattering experiments are not the Goldstone modes associated with the broken symmetry of the simultaneously observed static stripes, and the signals originate from different domains in the sample. These observations support real-space electronic phase separation in the crystal, where the static stripes in one phase are pinned versions of the dynamic stripes in the other, having slightly different periods. Our results explain earlier observations of unusual dispersions in underdoped La2 -xSrx CuO4 (x =0.07 ) and La2 -xBax CuO4 (x =0.095 ).

Non-equilibrium spectroscopy of high-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krasnov, V M

2009-01-01

In superconductors, recombination of two non-equilibrium quasiparticles into a Cooper pair results in emission of excitation that mediates superconductivity. This is the basis of the proposed new type of 'non-equilibrium' spectroscopy of high T c superconductors, which may open a possibility for direct and unambiguous determination of the coupling mechanism of high T c superconductivity. In case of low T c superconductors, the feasibility of such the non-equilibrium spectroscopy was demonstrated in classical phonon generation-detection experiments almost four decades ago. Recently it was demonstrated that a similar technique can be used for high T c superconductors, using natural intrinsic Josephson junctions both for injection of non-equilibrium quasiparticles and for detection of the non-equilibrium radiation. Here I analyze theoretically non-equilibrium phenomena in intrinsic Josephson junctions. It is shown that extreme non-equilibrium state can be achieved at bias equal to integer number of the gap voltage, which can lead to laser-like emission from the stack. I argue that identification of the boson type, constituting this non-equilibrium radiation would unambiguously reveal the coupling mechanism of high Tc superconductors.

Direct imaging by atomic force microscopy of surface-localized self-assembled monolayers on a cuprate superconductor and surface X-ray scattering analysis of analogous monolayers on the surface of water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schougaard, Steen B.; Reitzel, Niels; Bjørnholm, Thomas

2007-01-01

A self-assembled monolayer of CF3(CF2)(3)(CH2)(11)NH2 atop the (001) surface of the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-x was imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM images provide direct 2D-structural evidence for the epitaxial 5.5 angstrom square root 2 x root 2R45 degrees unit...... was studied by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and specular X-ray reflectivity. Structural differences and similarities between the water-supported and superconductor-localized monolayers are discussed....

In Vitro Priming of Naı̈ve T-cells with p-Phenylenediamine and Bandrowski's Base.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Andrew; Kim, Seung-Hyun; Faulkner, Lee; Evely, Jane; Pirmohamed, Munir; Park, Kevin B; Naisbitt, Dean J

2015-10-19

p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) is a component of hair dye formulations that is associated with T-cell mediated allergic contact dermatitis. Antigen-specific T-cells from allergic contact dermatitis patients are activated with either PPD or the oxidation product, Bandrowski's base. In nonallergic individuals, T-cells that are activated by Bandrowski's base, but not by PPD, are readily detectable. The aim of the current study was to use an in vitro T-cell priming assay to assess the activation of memory and naı̈ve T-cells from healthy donors with PPD and Bandrowski's base, and to compare these responses to those observed from allergic patients. Both PPD and Bandrowski's base-responsive clones were generated from allergic patients. The majority of Bandrowski's base-responsive clones were CD4+ and displayed a lack of PPD reactivity. In contrast, CD4+ and CD8+ clones displaying PPD reactivity were detected. Approximately 25% of these displayed low levels of reactivity to Bandrowski's base. Clones from the allergic patients secreted a range of cytokines including IFN-γ, Il-13, and Il-22. In healthy donors, Bandrowski's base-specific T-cell proliferative responses and cytokine secretion were detected with both naı̈ve and memory T-cells. T-cell clones generated from the Bandrowski's base-responsive cultures responded to Bandrowski's base but not PPD. PPD-specific naı̈ve and memory T-cell responses were not detected from healthy donors. These data show that Bandrowski's base stimulates pre-existing memory T-cells isolated from healthy donors and primes naı̈ve T-cells when the chemical is bound to autologous dendritic cells. Priming naı̈ve T-cells against PPD failed, suggesting an important individual susceptibility factor is missing from the in vitro T-cell priming assay.

Reconstruction of Band Structure Induced by Electronic Nematicity in an FeSe Superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Nakayama, K.; Miyata, Y.; Phan, G. N.; Sato, T.; Tanabe, Y.; Urata, T.; Tanigaki, K.; Takahashi, T.

2014-12-01

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on an FeSe superconductor (Tc˜8 K ), which exhibits a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition at Ts˜90 K . At low temperature, we found splitting of the energy bands as large as 50 meV at the M point in the Brillouin zone, likely caused by the formation of electronically driven nematic states. This band splitting persists up to T ˜110 K , slightly above Ts, suggesting that the structural transition is triggered by the electronic nematicity. We have also revealed that at low temperature the band splitting gives rise to a van Hove singularity within 5 meV of the Fermi energy. The present result strongly suggests that this unusual electronic state is responsible for the unconventional superconductivity in FeSe.

Magnetic relaxation, flux pinning and critical currents in superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lichtenberger, K.S.

1991-01-01

A systematic study of the magnetic flux pinning properties in superconductors has been undertaken in an attempt to understand the differences between the flux creep behavior of classical superconductors and high-temperature superconductors (HTSC's). In HTSC's, the ratio of the effective flux pinning energy to the thermal energy, U 0 /kT, is much smaller than that of conventional superconductors, often approaching unity. This results in much larger creep rates in HTSC's than in conventional superconductors. It is necessary to find suitable models that describe flux creep in both classical superconductors and HTSC's. Results show that while these two classes of materials are quantitatively very different, a single pinning barrier mode adequately describes both, within the proper region of the H-T plane. The model is applied to a variety of superconductors and the results are contrasted. Although the H-T plane appears to be very different HTSC's than for conventional superconductors, qualitatively the same physics describes both. In HTSC's, near the upper critical field there exists a relatively wide region of superconducting fluctuations, followed successively by regions of thermodynamic reversibility, thermally assisted flux, flux creep, and finally rigid flux lattice where little, if any, motion of the flux lattice occurs. All of these regions are also present in conventional superconductors, but often much more difficult, especially the irreversibility transition and the fluctuation region. The central finding of the flux creep analysis is that the region of flux creep is defined as a band in the H-T plane in which 2 ≤ U 0 /kT ≤ 100, and that the flux creep model applies best within this band

Theory of terahertz electric oscillations by supercooled superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishonov, Todor M; Mishonov, Mihail T [Department of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia St Kliment Ohridski, 5 J Bourchier Boulevard, 1164 Sofia (Bulgaria); Laboratorium voor Vaste-Stoffysica en Magnetisme, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2005-11-15

We predict that below T{sub c} a regime of negative differential conductivity (NDC) can be reached. The superconductor should be supercooled to T{sub c} in the normal phase under DC voltage. In such a nonequilibrium situation the NDC of the superconductor is created by the excess conductivity of the fluctuation Cooper pairs. We propose NDC of supercooled superconductors to be used as an active medium for generation of electric oscillations. Such generators can be used in the superconducting electronics as a new type THz source of radiation. Oscillations can be modulated by the change of the bias voltage, electrostatic doping by a gate electrode when the superconductor is the channel of a field effect transistor, or by light. When small amplitude oscillations are stabilized near the critical temperature T{sub c} the generator can be used as a bolometer. NDC, which is essential for the applications, is predicted on the basis of analysis of known results for fluctuation conductivity, obtained in previous papers by solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation for the Cooper pairs metastable in the normal phase. The Boltzmann equation for fluctuation Cooper pairs is a result of state-of-the-art application of the microscopic theory of superconductivity. Our theoretical conclusions are based on some approximations like time dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory initially derived for gapless superconductors, but nevertheless can reliably predict the appearance of NDC. NDC is the main ingredient of the proposed technical applications. The maximal frequency at which superconductors can operate as generators is determined by the critical temperature {Dirac_h}/2{pi}{omega}{sub max} {approx} k{sub B}T{sub c}. For high-T{sub c} superconductors this maximal frequency falls well inside the terahertz range. Technical conditions to avoid nucleation of the superconducting phase are briefly discussed. We suggest that nanostructured high-T{sub c} superconductors patterned in a single chip can

Organic superconductors: A current overview, synthesis, structure and theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, H.H.; Beno, M.A.; Carlson, K.D.; Geiser, U.; Kini, A.M.; Williams, J.M.

1990-01-01

To date, four types of crystal packing motifs (β, θ, κ and α) are known to lead to superconductivity in the BEDT-TTF based materials, where BEDT-TTF is bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene. The syntheses, crystal structures, physical properties and band electronic structures of these materials will be reviewed. Recent progress made in the oxygen containing analogue, BEDO-TTF [bis(ethylenedioxo)tetrathiofulvalene] will be presented. The implication and future prospect of organic superconductors will be discussed

Neutron-diffraction investigations of flux-lines in superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forgan, E M [Birmingham Univ. (United Kingdom); Lee, S L [Saint Andrews Univ. (United Kingdom); McKPaul, D [Warwick Univ., Coventry (United Kingdom); Mook, H A [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Cubitt, R [Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin (ILL), 38 - Grenoble (France)

1997-04-01

SANS has proved an extremely useful tool for investigating flux-line structures within the bulk of superconductors. With high-T{sub c} materials, the scattered intensities are weak, but careful measurements are giving important new information about flux lattices, flux pinning and flux-lattice melting. (author). 10 refs.

Temperature dependence of the hole density in high-T{sub C} superconductors Bi{sub 2−y}Pb{sub y}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+δ}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghafari, A. [Institute of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Janowitz, C., E-mail: janowitz@physik.hu-berlin.de [Institute of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Ariffin, A.K. [Institute of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Dep. of Physics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900 Tanjong Malim (Malaysia); Dwelk, H.; Krapf, A.; Manzke, R. [Institute of Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2013-02-14

Highlights: ► We have done x-ray absorption spectra on the CuL{sub 3} edge of Bi(Pb)-2212 cuprates. ► We have measured the hole density n{sub H} in the CuO{sub 2} plane of Bi(Pb)-2212 cuprates. ► The measurements were performed from 10 K to 300 K. ► Gor’kov and Teitel’baums formula of n{sub H} consists of a linear and an exponential term. ► We have extended the Gor’kov and Teitel baum formula by a T{sup 3/2} term. -- Abstract: One of the most puzzling anomalies of high-T{sub C} cuprates is the strong temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient (R{sub H}) and the hole density (n{sub H}). Gor’kov and Teitel’baum (GT) proposed by using experimental data of La{sub 2−x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} (LSCO) a two fluid model. The number of holes per Cu atom n{sub H}, changes with temperature according to n{sub H}(T,x) = n{sub 0}(x) + n{sub 1}(x)exp(−Δ(x)/T) [1]. To clarify the temperature dependence of n{sub H} we have determined n{sub H} from X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) at the CuL{sub 3} edge for nearly optimum and slightly underdoped Bi{sub 2−y}Pb{sub y}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+δ} single crystals yielding directly the absolute value of n{sub H} in the CuO{sub 2} planes and also its change with temperature n{sub H}(T). It shows pronounced structures between 10 K and 300 K. The temperature dependence puts constraints to the applicability of previously developed models: (i) the two-band model without any explicit temperature dependence and (ii) the formula of GT, because the latter is not able to fit our data over the whole temperature range from 10 K to 300 K. Instead the thermal behavior of n{sub H} proposes a function with at least three terms, i.e. a third term added to the formula of GT is of exponential form ∼T{sup 3/2}.

Large and high-quality single-crystal growth of cuprate superconductor Bi-2223 using the traveling-solvent floating-zone (TSFZ) method

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi, Shintaro; Usui, Tomohiro; Kosugi, Kenta; Sasaki, Nae; Sato, Kentaro; Fujita, Masaki; Yamada, Kazuyoshi; Fujii, Takenori; Watanabe, Takao

In high superconducting transition temperature (high-Tc) cuprates, it is empirically known that Tc increases on increasing the number of CuO2 planes in a unit cell n from 1 to 3. Bi-family cuprates are ideal for investigating the microscopic mechanism involved. However, it is difficult to grow tri-layered Bi-2223, probably owing to its narrow crystallization field. Here, we report improved crystal growth of this compound using the TSFZ method under conditions slightly different from those in an earlier report [J. Cryst. Growth 223, 175 (2001)]. A Bi-rich feed-rod composition of Bi2.2Sr1.9Ca2Cu3Oy and a slightly oxygen-reduced atmosphere (mixed gas flow of O2 (10%) and Ar (90%)) were adopted for the crystal growth. In addition, to increase the supersaturation of the melts, we applied a large temperature gradient along the solid-liquid interface by shielding a high-angle light beam using Al foil around the quartz tube. In this way, we succeeded in preparing large (2 × 2 × 0 . 05 mm3) and high-quality (almost 100% pure) Bi-2223 single crystals. Hirosaki University Grant for Exploratory Research by Young Scientists and Newly-appointed Scientists.

Nonequilibrium theory of dirty, current-carrying superconductors: Phase-slip oscillators in narrow filaments near T/sub c/

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watts-Tobin, R.J.; Kraehenbuehl, Y.; Kramer, L.

1981-01-01

General equations for the dynamic behavior of dirty superconductors in the Ginzburg--Landau regime Vertical BarT/sub c/-TVertical Bar<< T/sub c/ are derived from microscopic theory. In the immediate vicinity of T/sub c/ a local equilibrium approximation leads to a simple generalized time-dependent Ginzburg--Landau equation. The oscillatory phase-slip solutions presented previously are discussed in greater detail

Optical Study of Electron-Doped Cuprate Pr1.3-xLa0.7CexCuO4+δ in Under-Doped Regime: Revisit the Phase Diagram

Science.gov (United States)

Ohnishi, Ryota; Nakajima, Masamichi; Miyasaka, Shigeki; Tajima, Setsuko; Adachi, Tadashi; Ohgi, Taro; Takahashi, Akira; Koike, Yoji

2018-04-01

A recent progress of reduction process for electron-doped cuprates enabled us to get superconducting samples at very low doping levels. In order to clarify the electronic state of strongly reduced Pr1.3-xLa0.7CexCuO4+δ (x = 0.05, 0.10) which exhibit high Tc (˜27 K) superconductivity, we have measured their optical spectra. The reflectivity of these samples was found much higher than the published data for the moderately reduced and non-superconducting samples with the same Ce concentrations. Moreover, the estimated effective electron numbers Neff for x = 0.05 and 0.10 were close to that of the optimally doped and superconducting sample with x = 0.15. Given that the parent compound is a Mott insulator, these results indicate that in the electron-doped cuprates only a small amount of carrier doping changes the system to a high Tc superconductor with a large Fermi surface. At low temperatures, a broad mid-infrared peak appeared even in the superconducting samples.

Impurities and conductivity in a D-wave superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balatsky, A.V.

1994-01-01

Impurity scattering in the unitary limit produces low energy quasiparticles with anisotropic spectrum in a two-dimensional d-wave superconductor. The authors describe a new quasi-one-dimensional limit of the quasiparticle scattering, which might occur in a superconductor with short coherence length and with finite impurity potential range. The dc conductivity in a d-wave superconductor is predicted to be proportional to the normal state scattering rate and is impurity-dependent. They show that quasi-one-dimensional regime might occur in high-T c superconductors with Zn impurities at low temperatures T approx-lt 10 K

Testability issues in Superconductor Electronics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerkhoff, Hans G.; Arun, Arun J.

2004-01-01

An emerging technology for solutions in high-end applications in computing and telecommunication is superconductor electronics. A system-level study has been carried out to verify the feasibility of DfT in superconductor electronics. In this paper, we present how this can be realized to monitor

On the role of doping in High-Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mei, C.; Smith, V.H. Jr.

1994-01-01

High-T c superconductors (HTSCS) are usually obtained by doping electron donors or acceptors into parent materials. The actual role played by doping is still uncertain with various interpretations. The present electronic structure study provides some hints which may help to solve the mystery

Transport measurements in superconductors: critical current of granular high TC ceramic superconductor samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passos, W.A.C.

2016-01-01

This work presents a method to obtain critical current of granular superconductors. We have carried out transport measurements (ρxT curves and VxI curves) in a YBa_2Cu_3O_7_-_δ sample to determine critical current density of it. Some specimens reveal a 'semiconductor-like' behavior (electrical resistivity decreases with increasing temperatures above critical temperature T_c of material) competing with superconductor behavior. Due to high granular fraction of the sample, these competition is clearly noted in ρxT curves. Measurements carried out from 0 to 8500 Oe of applied field show the same behavior, and the critical current density of the samples is shown. (author)

Unconventional superconductivity near inhomogeneities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poenicke, A F

2008-01-25

After the presentation of a quasi-classical theory the specific heat of Sr{sub 2}RuO{sub 4} is considered. Then tunneling spectroscopy on cuprate superconductors is discussed. Thereafter the subharmonic gap structure in d-wave superconductors is considered. Finally the application of the S-matrix in superconductivity is discussed with spin mixing, CrO{sub 2} as example, and an interface model. (HSI)

Epitaxial effects in thin films of high-Tc cuprates with the K2NiF4 structure

Science.gov (United States)

Naito, Michio; Sato, Hisashi; Tsukada, Akio; Yamamoto, Hideki

2018-03-01

La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) and La2-xBaxCuO4 (LBCO) have been recognized as the archetype materials of "hole-doped" high-Tc superconductors. Their crystal structures are relatively simple with a small number of constituent cation elements. In addition, the doping level can be varied by the chemical substitution over a wide range enough to obtain the full spectrum of doping-dependent electronic and magnetic properties. These attractive features have dedicated many researchers to thin-film growth of LSCO and LBCO. The critical temperature (Tc) of LSCO and LBCO is sensitive to strain as manifested by a positive pressure coefficient of Tc in bulk samples. In general, films are strained if they are grown on lattice-mismatched substrates (epitaxial strain). Early attempts (before 1997) at the growth of LSCO and LBCO films resulted in depressed Tc below 30 K as they were grown on a commonly used SrTiO3 substrate (in-plane lattice parameter asub = 3.905 Å): the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO and LBCO are ≤3.80 Å, and hence tensile epitaxial strain is introduced. The situation was changed by the use of LaSrAlO4 substrates with a slightly shorter in-plane lattice constant (asub = 3.756 Å). On LaSrAlO4 substrates, the Tc reaches 45 K in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4, 47 K in La1.85Ba0.15CuO4, and 56 K in ozone-oxidized La2CuO4+δ films, substantially higher than the Tc's of the bulk compounds. The Tc increase in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 films on LaSrAlO4 and decrease on SrTiO3 are semi-quantitatively in accord with the phenomenological estimations based on the anisotropic strain coefficients of Tc (dTc/dεi). In this review article, we describe the growth and properties of films of cuprates having the K2NiF4 structure, mainly focusing on the increase/decrease of Tc by epitaxial strain and quasi-stable phase formation by epitaxial stabilization. We further extract the structural and/or physical parameters controlling Tc toward microscopic understanding of the variation of Tc by epitaxial strain.

Confinement of monopole field lines in a superconductor at T ≠ 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardoso, Marco; Bicudo, Pedro; Sacramento, Pedro D.

2008-01-01

We apply the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations to the confinement of a monopole-antimonopole pair in a superconductor. This is related to the problem of a quark-antiquark pair bound by a confining string, consisting of a colour-electric flux tube, dual to the magnetic vortex of type-II superconductors. We study the confinement of the field lines due to the superconducting state and calculate the effective potential between the two monopoles. The monopoles can be simulated in a real experiment inserting two long and thin magnetic rods. At short distances the potential is Coulombic and at large distances the potential is linear, as previously determined solving the Ginzburg-Landau equations. The magnetic field lines and the string tension are also studied as a function of the temperature T. Because we take into account the explicit fermionic degrees of freedom, this work may open new perspectives to the breaking of chiral symmetry or to colour superconductivity

Review on Superconducting Materials

OpenAIRE

Hott, Roland; Kleiner, Reinhold; Wolf, Thomas; Zwicknagl, Gertrud

2013-01-01

Short review of the topical comprehension of the superconductor materials classes Cuprate High-Temperature Superconductors, other oxide superconductors, Iron-based Superconductors, Heavy-Fermion Superconductors, Nitride Superconductors, Organic and other Carbon-based Superconductors and Boride and Borocarbide Superconductors, featuring their present theoretical understanding and their aspects with respect to technical applications.

Structural and Transition Temperature of HgPbxBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ Superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermiz, G.Y.; Abbass, M.M.

2005-01-01

Solid state reaction technique (SSR) was used to prepare high-T c phase in HgPb x Ba 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 8+δ superconductors. The effect of additional Pb to HgBa 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 8+δ was investigated. It has been found that the maximum transition temperature T c =133K is at x=0.1.X-ray diffraction showed a tetragonal structure with an average value of e=15.816 A . The average value of the valence of copper (v) is equal to 2.025. There is an increasing of density with the enhancement of the concentration of Pb 2

Superconductor in a weak static gravitational field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ummarino, Giovanni Alberto [Dipartimento DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI-Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); Gallerati, Antonio [Dipartimento DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin (Italy)

2017-08-15

We provide the detailed calculation of a general form for Maxwell and London equations that takes into account gravitational corrections in linear approximation. We determine the possible alteration of a static gravitational field in a superconductor making use of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations, providing also an analytic solution in the weak field condition. Finally, we compare the behavior of a high-T{sub c} superconductor with a classical low-T{sub c} superconductor, analyzing the values of the parameters that can enhance the reduction of the gravitational field. (orig.)

Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the many-body effects in the electronic structure of high-Tc cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inosov, Dmytro S.

2008-01-01

In the present work some steps are done towards understanding the anomalous effects observed in the single-particle excitation spectra of cuprates. First, the electronic properties of BSCCO are considered. The main result of this part of the work is a model of the Green's function that is later used for calculating the two-particle excitation spectrum. Then, the matrix element effects in the photoemission spectra of cuprates are discussed. After a general introduction to the problem, the thesis focuses on the recently discovered anomalous behavior of the ARPES spectra that partially originates from the momentum-dependent photoemission matrix element. The momentum- and excitation energy dependence of the anomalous high-energy dispersion, termed ''waterfalls'', is covered in full detail. Understanding the role of the matrix element effects in this phenomenon proves crucial, as they obstruct the view of the underlying excitation spectrum that is of indisputable interest. For the optimally doped bilayer Bi-based cuprate, the renormalized two-particle correlation function in the superconducting state is calculated from ARPES data within an itinerant model based on the random phase approximation (RPA). (orig.)

Antigen storage compartments in mature dendritic cells facilitate prolonged cytotoxic T lymphocyte cross-priming capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

van Montfoort, Nadine; Camps, Marcel G; Khan, Selina; Filippov, Dmitri V; Weterings, Jimmy J; Griffith, Janice M; Geuze, Hans J; van Hall, Thorbald; Verbeek, J Sjef; Melief, Cornelis J; Ossendorp, Ferry

2009-04-21

Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for priming of naive CD8(+) T lymphocytes to exogenous antigens, so-called "cross-priming." We report that exogenous protein antigen can be conserved for several days in mature DCs, coinciding with strong cytotoxic T lymphocyte cross-priming potency in vivo. After MHC class I peptide elution, protein antigen-derived peptide presentation is efficiently restored, indicating the presence of an intracellular antigen depot. We characterized this depot as a lysosome-like organelle, distinct from MHC class II compartments and recently described early endosomal compartments that allow acute antigen presentation in MHC class I. The storage compartments we report here facilitate continuous supply of MHC class I ligands. This mechanism ensures sustained cross-presentation by DCs, despite the short-lived expression of MHC class I-peptide complexes at the cell surface.

Electronic structure studies of ferro-pnictide superconductors and their parent compounds using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Setti, Thirupathaiah

2011-07-14

The discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the iron pnictide compound LaO{sub 1-x}F{sub x}FeAs with T{sub c} = 26 K as created enormous interest in the high-T{sub c} superconductor community. So far, four prototypes of crystal structures have been found in the Fe-pnictide family. All four show a structural deformation followed or accompanied by a magnetic transition from a high temperature paramagnetic conductor to a low temperature antiferromagnetic metal whose transition temperature T{sub N} varies between the compounds. Charge carrier doping, isovalent substitution of the As atoms or the application of pressure suppresses the antiferromagnetic spin density wave (SDW) order and leads to a superconducting phase. More recently high Tc superconductivity has been also detected in iron chalchogenides with similar normal state properties. Since superconductivity is instability of the normal state, the study of normal state electronic structure in comparison with superconducting state could reveal important information on the pairing mechanism. Therefore, it is most important to study the electronic structure of these new superconductors, i.e., to determine Fermi surfaces and band dispersions near the Fermi level at the high symmetry points in order to obtain a microscopic understanding of the superconducting properties. Using the technique angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) one measures the electrons ejected from a sample when photons impinge on it. In this way one can map the Fermi surface which provides useful information regarding the physics behind the Fermi surface topology of high T{sub c} superconductors. Furthermore, this technique provides information on the band dispersion, the orbital character of the bands, the effective mass, the coupling to bosonic excitations, and the superconducting gap. This emphasizes the importance of studying the electronic structure of the newly discovered Fe-pnictides using ARPES. In this work we have

Resistive transition in disordered superconductors with varying intergrain coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponta, L; Carbone, A; Gilli, M

2011-01-01

The effect of disorder is investigated in granular superconductive materials with strong- and weak-links. The transition is controlled by the interplay of the tunneling g and intragrain g intr conductances, which depend on the strength of the intergrain coupling. For g intr , the transition first involves the grain boundary, while for g ∼ g intr the transition occurs into the whole grain. The different intergrain couplings are considered by modeling the superconducting material as a disordered network of Josephson junctions. Numerical simulations show that on increasing the disorder, the resistive transition occurs for lower temperatures and the curve broadens. These features are enhanced in disordered superconductors with strong-links. The different behavior is further checked by estimating the average network resistance for weak- and strong-links in the framework of the effective medium approximation theory. These results may shed light on long standing puzzles such as: (i) enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature of many metals in the granular states; (ii) suppression of superconductivity in homogeneously disordered films compared to standard granular systems close to the metal-insulator transition; (iii) enhanced degradation of superconductivity by doping and impurities in strongly linked materials, such as magnesium diboride, compared to weakly linked superconductors, such as cuprates.

Effect of interlayer tunneling on the electronic structure of bilayer cuprates and quantum phase transitions in carrier concentration and high magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ovchinnikov, S. G.; Makarov, I. A.; Shneyder, E. I.

2011-01-01

We present a theoretical study of the electronic structure of bilayer HTSC cuprates and its evolution under doping and in a high magnetic field. Analysis is based on the t-t′-t″-J* model in the generalized Hartree-Fock approximation. Possibility of tunneling between CuO2 layers is taken into account in the form of a nonzero integral of hopping between the orbitals of adjacent planes and is included in the scheme of the cluster form of perturbation theory. The main effect of the coupling between two CuO 2 layers in a unit cell is the bilayer splitting manifested in the presence of antibonding and bonding bands formed by a combination of identical bands of the layers themselves. A change in the doping level induces reconstruction of the band structure and the Fermi surface, which gives rise to a number of quantum phase transitions. A high external magnetic field leads to a fundamentally different form of electronic structure. Quantum phase transitions in the field are observed not only under doping, but also upon a variation of the field magnitude. Because of tunneling between the layers, quantum transitions are also split; as a result, a more complex sequence of the Lifshitz transitions than in single-layer structures is observed.

Metal–insulator crossover in high Tc cuprates: A gauge field approach

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

plane resistivity of underdoped cuprates and a range of superconducting cuprates in the presence of a strong magnetic field suppressing superconductivity. We propose an explanation for this phenomenon based on a gauge field theory approach ...

Ginzburg-Landau equations for a d-wave superconductor with applications to vortex structure and surface problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.; Ren, Y.; Ting, C.S.

1995-01-01

The properties of a d x 2 -y 2 -wave superconductor in an external magnetic field are investigated on the basis of Gorkov's theory of weakly coupled superconductors. The Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equations, which govern the spatial variations of the order parameter and the supercurrent, are microscopically derived. The single vortex structure and surface problems in such a superconductor are studied using these equations. It is shown that the d-wave vortex structure is very different from the conventional s-wave vortex: the s-wave and d-wave components, with the opposite winding numbers, are found to coexist in the region near the vortex core. The supercurrent and local magnetic field around the vortex are calculated. Far away from the vortex core, both of them exhibit a fourfold symmetry, in contrast to an s-wave superconductor. The surface problem in a d-wave superconductor is also studied by solving the GL equations. The total order parameter near the surface is always a real combination of s- and d-wave components, which means that the proximity effect cannot induce a time-reversal symmetry-breaking state at the surface

Effect of axial strain on the critical current of Ag-sheathed Bi-based superconductors in magnetic fields up to 25 T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekin, J.W.; Finnemore, D.K.; Li, Q.; Tenbrink, J.; Carter, W.

1992-01-01

The irreversible strain limit ε irrev for the onset of permanent axial strain damage to Ag-sheathed Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1 Cu 2 O 8+x and Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10+x superconductors has been measured to be in the range of 0.2%--0.35%. This strain damage onset is about an order of magnitude higher than for bulk sintered Y-, Bi-, or Tl-based superconductors and is approaching practical values for magnet design. The measurements show that the value of ε irrev is not dependent on magnetic field, nor does the critical current depend on strain below ε irrev at least up to 25 T at 4.2 K. Both of these factors indicate that the observed strain effect in Ag-sheathed Bi-based superconductors is not intrinsic to the superconductor material. Rather, the effect is extrinsic and arises from superconductor fracture. Thus, the damage onset is amenable to further enhancement. Indeed, the data suggest that subdividing the superconductor into fine filaments or adding Ag to the superconductor powder prior to processing significantly enhances the damage threshold ε irrev to above 0.6%

Powder processing of high Tc oxide superconductors and their properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vajpei, A.C.; Upadhyaya, G.S.

1992-01-01

Powder processing of ceramics is an established technology and in the area of high T c superconductors, its importance is felt even more significantly. The present monograph is an attempt in this direction to explore the perspectives and practice of powder processing routes towards control and optimization of the microstructure and pertinent properties of high T c oxide superconductors. The monograph consists of 6 chapters. After a very brief introduction (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 describes various classes of high T c oxide superconductors and their phase equilibria. Chapter 3 highlights the preparation of oxide superconductor powders through various routes and details their subtle distinctions. Chapter 4 briefly covers characterisation of the oxide superconductors, laying emphasis on the process-analysis and microstructure. Chapter 5 describes in detail various fabrication techniques for bulk superconductors through the powder routes. The last Chapter (Chapter 6) describing properties of bulk oxide superconductors, discusses the role of subtituents, compositional variations and processing methods on such properties. References are given at the end of each chapter. (orig.)

Priming T-cell responses with recombinant measles vaccine vector in a heterologous prime-boost setting in non-human primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, Diane L; Santra, Sampa; Swett-Tapia, Cindy; Custers, Jerome; Song, Kaimei; Balachandran, Harikrishnan; Mach, Linh; Naim, Hussein; Kozlowski, Pamela A; Lifton, Michelle; Goudsmit, Jaap; Letvin, Norman; Roederer, Mario; Radošević, Katarina

2012-09-07

Licensed live attenuated virus vaccines capable of expressing transgenes from other pathogens have the potential to reduce the number of childhood immunizations by eliciting robust immunity to multiple pathogens simultaneously. Recombinant attenuated measles virus (rMV) derived from the Edmonston Zagreb vaccine strain was engineered to express simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag protein for the purpose of evaluating the immunogenicity of rMV as a vaccine vector in rhesus macaques. rMV-Gag immunization alone elicited robust measles-specific humoral and cellular responses, but failed to elicit transgene (Gag)-specific immune responses, following aerosol or intratracheal/intramuscular delivery. However, when administered as a priming vaccine to a heterologous boost with recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 expressing the same transgene, rMV-Gag significantly enhanced Gag-specific T lymphocyte responses following rAd5 immunization. Gag-specific humoral responses were not enhanced, however, which may be due to either the transgene or the vector. Cellular response priming by rMV against the transgene was highly effective even when using a suboptimal dose of rAd5 for the boost. These data demonstrate feasibility of using rMV as a priming component of heterologous prime-boost vaccine regimens for pathogens requiring strong cellular responses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microscopic Superconductivity and Room Temperature Electronics of High-Tc Cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Fusui; Chen Wanfang

2008-01-01

This paper points out that the Landau criterion for macroscopic superfluidity of He II is only a criterion for microscopic superfluidity of 4 He, extends the Landau criterion to microscopic superconductivity in fermions (electron and hole) system and system with Cooper pairs without long-range phase coherence. This paper gives another three non-superconductive systems that are of microscopic superconductivity. This paper demonstrates that one application of microscopic superconductivity is to establish room temperature electronics of the high-T c cuprates

Non-BCS superconductivity for underdoped cuprates by spin-vortex attraction

OpenAIRE

Marchetti, P. A.; Ye, F.; Su, Z. B.; Yu, L.

2011-01-01

Within a gauge approach to the t-J model, we propose a new, non-BCS mechanism of superconductivity for underdoped cuprates. The gluing force of the superconducting mechanism is an attraction between spin vortices on two different N\\'eel sublattices, centered around the empty sites described in terms of fermionic holons. The spin fluctuations are described by bosonic spinons with a gap generated by the spin vortices. Due to the no-double occupation constraint, there is a gauge attraction betwe...

Phenomenological theory of superfluidity and superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabinowitz, M.

1994-01-01

Quantum condensation is used here as the basis for a phenomenological theory of superfluidity and superconductivity. It leads to remarkably good calculations of the transition temperatures T c of superfluid 3 He and 4 He, as well as a large number of cuprate, heavy fermion, organic, dichalcogenide, and bismuth oxide superconductors. Although this approach may apply least to the long-coherence-length metallics, reasonably good estimates are made for them and chevral superconductors. T c for atomic H is estimated. T c can be calculated as a function of number density or density of states and effective mass of normal carriers; or alternatively with the Fermi energy as the only input parameter. Predictions are made for a total of 26 superconductors and four superfluids. An estimate is also made for coherence lengths

Filters for mobile radio from high Tc ceramic superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, G.E.; Wong, E.; Alford, N.McN.

1990-01-01

Mobile radio frequencies lie between 30 MHz and 1,000 MHz. This frequency range is ideal for ceramic high T c superconductors. We have designed Chebyshev, Butterworth and interdigital filters that can employ high T c superconductors in the form of rods, tubes and helices. In general, the performance of these filters at milliwatt power levels is excellent. We will describe fabrication of the superconductors and filter design

Transfer of primed CD4+OX40- T lymphocytes induces increased immunity to experimental Salmonella typhimurium infections in rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thygesen, P; Christensen, H B; Hougen, H P

1997-01-01

The protective effect of primed CD4 T cells against a lethal dose of Salmonella typhimurium was studied in Lewis rats. Primed CD4 T cells were obtained by inoculating Lewis rats with a non-lethal dose of S. typhimurium. Four weeks after the infection, spleen non-adherent mononuclear cells were is......-specific memory T cells that have returned to a resting state....