Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point

One of the most widely discussed features of the cuprate high-T_{c} superconductors is the presence of a pseudogap in the normal state. Recent transport and specific heat measurements have revealed an abrupt transition at the pseudogap critical point, denoted p^{*}, characterized by a drop in carrie...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: B. Michon, A. B. Kuzmenko, M. K. Tran, B. McElfresh, S. Komiya, S. Ono, S. Uchida, D. van der Marel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2021-11-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043125
_version_ 1797210845037461504
author B. Michon
A. B. Kuzmenko
M. K. Tran
B. McElfresh
S. Komiya
S. Ono
S. Uchida
D. van der Marel
author_facet B. Michon
A. B. Kuzmenko
M. K. Tran
B. McElfresh
S. Komiya
S. Ono
S. Uchida
D. van der Marel
author_sort B. Michon
collection DOAJ
description One of the most widely discussed features of the cuprate high-T_{c} superconductors is the presence of a pseudogap in the normal state. Recent transport and specific heat measurements have revealed an abrupt transition at the pseudogap critical point, denoted p^{*}, characterized by a drop in carrier density and a strong mass enhancement. In order to give more details about this transition at p^{*}, we performed low-temperature infrared spectroscopy in the normal state of cuprate superconductors La_{2−x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO) and La_{1.8−x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (Eu-LSCO) for doping contents across the pseudogap critical point p^{*} (from p=0.12 to 0.24). Through the complex optical conductivity σ, we can extract the spectral weight K^{*} of the narrow Drude peak due the coherent motion of the quasiparticles, and the spectral weight enclosed inside the mid-infrared (MIR) band K_{MIR} caused by coupling of the quasiparticles to collective excitations of the many-body system. K^{*} is smaller than a third of the value predicted by band calculations, and K_{MIR} forms a dome as a function of doping. We observe a smooth doping dependence of K^{*} through p^{*}, and demonstrate that this is consistent with the observed doping dependence of the carrier density and the mass enhancement. We argue that the superconducting dome is the result of the confluence of two opposite trends, namely the increase of the density of the quasiparticles and the decrease of their coupling to the collective excitations as a function of doping.
first_indexed 2024-04-24T10:17:04Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2dab91c6c6424039ac18f2340f5df782
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2643-1564
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T10:17:04Z
publishDate 2021-11-01
publisher American Physical Society
record_format Article
series Physical Review Research
spelling doaj.art-2dab91c6c6424039ac18f2340f5df7822024-04-12T17:15:47ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642021-11-013404312510.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043125Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical pointB. MichonA. B. KuzmenkoM. K. TranB. McElfreshS. KomiyaS. OnoS. UchidaD. van der MarelOne of the most widely discussed features of the cuprate high-T_{c} superconductors is the presence of a pseudogap in the normal state. Recent transport and specific heat measurements have revealed an abrupt transition at the pseudogap critical point, denoted p^{*}, characterized by a drop in carrier density and a strong mass enhancement. In order to give more details about this transition at p^{*}, we performed low-temperature infrared spectroscopy in the normal state of cuprate superconductors La_{2−x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO) and La_{1.8−x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (Eu-LSCO) for doping contents across the pseudogap critical point p^{*} (from p=0.12 to 0.24). Through the complex optical conductivity σ, we can extract the spectral weight K^{*} of the narrow Drude peak due the coherent motion of the quasiparticles, and the spectral weight enclosed inside the mid-infrared (MIR) band K_{MIR} caused by coupling of the quasiparticles to collective excitations of the many-body system. K^{*} is smaller than a third of the value predicted by band calculations, and K_{MIR} forms a dome as a function of doping. We observe a smooth doping dependence of K^{*} through p^{*}, and demonstrate that this is consistent with the observed doping dependence of the carrier density and the mass enhancement. We argue that the superconducting dome is the result of the confluence of two opposite trends, namely the increase of the density of the quasiparticles and the decrease of their coupling to the collective excitations as a function of doping.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043125
spellingShingle B. Michon
A. B. Kuzmenko
M. K. Tran
B. McElfresh
S. Komiya
S. Ono
S. Uchida
D. van der Marel
Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
Physical Review Research
title Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
title_full Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
title_fullStr Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
title_full_unstemmed Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
title_short Spectral weight of hole-doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
title_sort spectral weight of hole doped cuprates across the pseudogap critical point
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043125
work_keys_str_mv AT bmichon spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT abkuzmenko spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT mktran spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT bmcelfresh spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT skomiya spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT sono spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT suchida spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint
AT dvandermarel spectralweightofholedopedcupratesacrossthepseudogapcriticalpoint