Identification of a Nematic Pair Density Wave State in Bi<sub>2</sub>Sr<sub>2</sub>CaCu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8+x</sub>

ORAL

Abstract

Pair density waves (PDW) are an intense focus of research in the field of cuprate superconductivity. Although theory suggests that intertwining the d-wave superconducting (DSC) and PDW order parameters allows a plethora of global electron-pair orders to appear, which one actually occurs in the various cuprates is unknown. Here we use scanned Josephson tunneling microscopy (SJTM) to visualize the interplay of PDW and DSC states in near optimal-doped BSCCO. Simultaneous imaging of their amplitudes reveals that the PDW and DSC are mutually attractive states. By separately imaging the two orthogonal PDWs, we discover a robust nematic PDW state. Its spatial arrangement entails Ising domains of opposite nematicity. We further demonstrate that Zn impurity sites occur predominantly within boundaries between these domains. This implies that the nematic PDW state is pinned by Zn atoms, as was recently proposed. Taken in combination, these data indicate that the PDW in BSCCO is a vestigial nematic pair density wave state.

*M.H.H. and J.C.S.D. acknowledge support from the Moore Foundation's EPiQS Initiative (GBMF9457). W.R. and J.C.S.D. acknowledge support from the European Research Council (DLV-788932). W.C. and J.C.S.D. acknowledge support from the Royal Society (R64897). N.K., S.O'M and J.C.S.D. acknowledge support from Science Foundation of Ireland (SFI 17/RP/5445). H.E. acknowledges support from JSPS KAKENHI (No. JP19H05823). PDJ acknowledges support from ICAM / Moore Foundation (GBMF9616) and by a Visiting Fellowship at Wadham College, Oxford, UK

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Publication: Chen W, Ren W, Kennedy N, et al. Identification of a nematic pair density wave state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ x[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, 119(31): e2206481119.

Presenters

  • Weijiong Chen

    • University of Oxford

Authors

  • Weijiong Chen

    • University of Oxford

  • Wangping Ren

    • University of Oxford

  • Niall Kennedy

    • University of Oxford, University College Cork
    • Univ Coll Cork

  • Mohammad Hamidian

    • Cornell University

  • Shin-ichi Uchida

    • University of Tokyo
    • Univ of Tokyo

  • Hiroshi Eisaki

    • Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Tech., Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
    • National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
    • Electronics and Photonics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
    • AIST
    • Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Tech.
    • AIST, Tsukuba, Japan

  • Peter D Johnson

    • Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Oxford
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Shane O’Mahony

    • University College Cork

  • Seamus S Davis

    • University of Oxford, University College Cork, Cornell University, Grad. Centre for Quantum Materials at Max Planck Institute
    • University of Oxford
    • University College Cork
    • University of Oxford, University College Cork