X-ray scattering study of the role of charge-order in enhancing the superconducting transition

ORAL

Abstract

We combined proton irradiation (PI) and x-ray scattering to controllably tune and probe the competition between superconductivity (SC) and spatially modulated orders (e.g. charge order, CO). In particular, in La2-xBaxCuO4 (LBCO) complementary magnetization, tunnel diode oscillator, and resistivity measurements discovered that, despite being a d-wave superconductor, disorder induced by PI increases the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) by up to 50 % (4 K to 6 K) near x = 1/8 doping. X-ray scattering revealed that this Tc increase coincides with a substantial suppression in CO strength and correlation length, providing clear evidence of strong competition between CO and bulk SC in LBCO. Insight from scattering and TDO suggest this competition originates from the cancellation of the interlayer Josephson coupling between CuO2 planes.

*Experiments:
ANL, US DoE, Office of Science, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division.
BNL, US DoE, Office of Science, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, under Contract DE-SC0012704.
APS synchrotron, DoE Office of Science, ANL, under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.
CHESS synchrotron, NSF and NIH/NIGMS under NSF Award DMR-1332208.
Theory by V.M.: CES, EFRC, US DoE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

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Presenters

  • Maxime Leroux

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • LNCMI-Toulouse, CNRS

Authors

  • Maxime Leroux

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • LNCMI-Toulouse, CNRS

  • Zahirul Islam

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • APS synchrotron, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne Natl Lab

  • Vivek Mishra

    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    • Oak Ridge National laboratory

  • Jacob Ruff

    • Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University
    • CHESS synchrotron, Cornell University
    • Cornell University

  • John Tranquada

    • Brookhaven national lab
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Matthew Smylie

    • Hofstra University
    • Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Hofstra University

  • Prashanta Niraula

    • Western Michigan University
    • Dept. of Physics, Western Michigan University

  • Asghar Kayani

    • Western Michigan University
    • Dept. of Physics, Western Michigan University

  • Genda Gu

    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven national lab
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Lab
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States
    • Brookhaven National Laboratories
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Wai-Kwong Kwok

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Material Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne Natl Lab
    • Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Materials Science Division, Argonne Natl Lab
    • Argonne National Lab

  • Ulrich Welp

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne Natl Lab
    • Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Materials Science Division, Argonne Natl Lab
    • Argonne National Lab