Unconventional short-range structural fluctuations in cuprate superconductors

ORAL

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between structural and electronic properties is of fundamental importance in the study of quantum materials. In particular, the connection between structural inhomogeneity and electronic properties in the cuprate superconductors has remained unclear. Our neutron and X-ray scattering experiments of La2-xSrxCuO4 and Tl2Ba2CuO6+δ reveal short-range orthorhombic fluctuations across the temperature-doping phase diagram, including for nominally tetragonal compositions [1]. The measured intensity exhibits universal exponential scaling in relative (rather than reduced) temperature, analogous to recent findings for the superconducting precursor of cuprates [2,3,4] and other oxides [5]. Our most recent neutron and X-ray scattering experiments extend these findings to higher temperatures and additional doping levels. These results point to the pivotal relevance of inherent “hidden” correlated structural inhomogeneity to the emergence of superconductivity in the cuprates.

[1] D. Pelc et al., arXiv:2103.05482 (2022)

[2] D. Pelc et al., Nat. Commun. 9, 4327 (2018)

[3] G. Yu et al., Phys. Rev. B. 99, 214502 (2019)

[4] P. Popcevic et al., npj Quant. Mater. 3, 42 (2018)

[5] D. Pelc et al., Nat. Commun. 10, 2729 (2019)

Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the University of Minnesota Center for Quantum Materials under Grant No. DE-SC0016371.

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Publication: D. Pelc et al., arXiv:2103.05482 (2022)

Presenters

  • Richard J Spieker

    • University of Minnesota

Authors

  • Damjan Pelc

    • Univ of Zagreb
    • University of Minnesota

  • Richard J Spieker

    • University of Minnesota

  • Zachary W Anderson

    • University of Minnesota

  • Matthew J Krogstad

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory

  • Nikolaos Biniskos

    • University of Minnesota

  • Nina G Bielinski

    • University of Minnesota

  • Biqiong Yu

    • University of Minnesota

  • Takao Sasagawa

    • Tokyo Inst of Tech - Yokohama
    • Tokyo Institute of Technology

  • Ludivine Chauviere

    • University of British Columbia

  • Pinder Dosanjh

    • University of British Columbia

  • Ruixing Liang

    • University of British Columbia

  • Douglas A Bonn

    • University of British Columbia
    • The University of British Columbia

  • Andrea Damascelli

    • University of British Columbia
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia

  • Songxue Chi

    • Oak Ridge National Lab

  • Yaohua Liu

    • Oak Ridge National Lab
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Feng Ye

    • Oak Ridge National Lab
    • SNS, ORNL

  • Raymond Osborn

    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Material Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory

  • Martin Greven

    • University of Minnesota