Evolution of Charge-Lattice Dynamics across the Kuramoto Synchronization Phase Diagram of Quantum Tunneling Polarons in Cuprate Superconductors

Because of its sensitivity to the instantaneous structure factor, S(Q,t = 0), Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) is a powerful tool for probing the dynamic structure of condensed matter systems in which the charge and lattice dynamics are coupled. When applied to hole-doped cuprate superconductors, EXAFS has revealed the presence of internal quantum tunneling polarons (IQTPs). An IQTP arises in EXAFS as a two-site distribution for certain Cu–O pairs, which is also duplicated in inelastic scattering but not observed in standard diffraction measurements. The Cu–Sr pair distribution has been found to be highly anharmonic and strongly correlated to both the IQTPs and to superconductivity, as, for example, in YSr2Cu2.75Mo0.25O7.54(Tc=84 K). In order to describe such nontrivial, anharmonic charge-lattice dynamics, we have proposed a model Hamiltonian for a prototype six-atom cluster, in which two Cu-apical-O IQTPs are charge-transfer bridged through Cu atoms by an O atom in the CuO2 plane and are anharmonically coupled via a Sr atom. By applying an exact diagonalization procedure to this cluster, we have verified that our model indeed produces an intricate interplay between charge and lattice dynamics. Then, by using the Kuramoto model for the synchronization of coupled quantum oscillators, we have found a first-order phase transition for the IQTPs into a synchronized, phase-locked phase. Most importantly, we have shown that this transition results specifically from the anharmonicity. Finally, we have provided a phase diagram showing the onset of the phase-locking of IQTPs as a function of the charge-lattice and anharmonic couplings in our model. We have found that the charge, initially confined to the apical oxygens, is partially pumped into the CuO2 plane in the synchronized phase, which suggests a possible connection between the synchronized dynamic structure and high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in doped cuprates.

Природа псевдощелевой фазы ВТСП купратов

The pseudogap phase of HTSC cuprates is associated with the formation of a system of quantum electron-hole (EH) dimers similar to the Anderson RVB-phase. We considered the specific role of electron-lattice relaxation in the formation of metastable EH dimers in cuprates with T- and T′-structures. In the model of charge triplets and S = 1 pseudospin formalism, the effective spin-pseudospin Hamiltonian of the cuprate CuO2 plane is introduced. In the framework of the molecular field approximation (MFA) for the coordinate representation, the main MFA phases were found: an antiferromagnetic insulator, a charge density wave, a bosonic superconductor with d-symmetry of the order parameter, and two metal Fermi-phases forming the phase of the "strange" metal. We argue that the MFA can correctly reproduce all the features of the typical cuprate phase diagrams. As for typical s = 1/2 quantum antiferromagnet the actually observed cuprate phases such as charge order and superconductivity reflect "physical" ground state, which is close to MFA-phases but with strongly reduced magnitudes of the local order parameters.

Bulk Charge Ordering in the CuO2 Plane of the Cuprate Superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.9 by High-Pressure NMR

Cuprate superconductors still hold many open questions, and recently, the role of symmetry breaking electronic charge ordering resurfaced in underdoped cuprates as a phenomenon that competes with superconductivity. Here, unambiguous nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) proof is presented for the existence of local charge ordering in nearly optimally doped YBa2Cu3O6.9, even up to room temperature. Increasing pressure and decreasing temperature leads to the highest degree of order in the sense that the two oxygen atoms of the unit cell of the CuO2 plane develop a charge difference of about 0.02 holes, and order throughout the whole crystal. At ambient conditions, a slightly smaller charge difference and a decreased order is found. Evidence from literature data suggests that this charge ordering is ubiquitous to the CuO2 plane of all cuprates. Thus, the role of charge ordering in the cuprates must be reassessed.

Study of Low Frequency Phonon Modes in YBCO System

The phonon modes in YBa2Cu3O7-δ and YBa2-xLaxCu3O7-δ systems have been systematically studied by Raman spectroscopy. The new phonon modes of 104 cm-1, 94 cm-1, and 89 cm-1 were found in all these samples. A crude estimate about the wavenumber of the collective vibration of the stable CuO2 plane was given in this paper. The standard deviations of the new phonons in YBa2Cu3O7-δ and YBa2-xLaxCu3O7-δ systems were discussed. The results of the calculation indicated that the 104 cm-1 mode probably stands the c-direction collective vibration of the stable CuO2 plane, the 94 cm-1 mode stands the a-direction vibration, and the 89 cm-1 mode stands b-direction vibration. The relevance between these phonons and the superconductivity was discussed. It is found that, as the Tc decreased, the 104 cm-1 mode and the 94 cm-1 mode softened, and the 89 cm-1 mode hardened slightly.

Decoupling of the CuO2 plane and superconductivity in Cu0.5Tl0.5Ba2(Ca2−ySry)Cu3O10−δ(y = 0–0.4) samples

[Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] samples have been synthesized at normal pressure at 860[Formula: see text]C. The main objectives of these experiments to study the role of inter-plane decoupling in suppressing the superconductivity of high temperature superconductors (HTSC). These samples have shown orthorhombic crystal structure and the [Formula: see text]-axis length increases with increased Sr-doping. All the samples have shown metallic variations of resistivity [Formula: see text] from room temperature down to the onset of superconductivity. The magnitude of the superconductivity is suppressed and the apical oxygen modes are hardened with Sr-doping. These studies have shown that Sr-doping promotes decoupling of conducting [Formula: see text] planes which suppress the superconducting properties of final compound. The excess conductivity analyses have shown increases in the width of two-dimensional (2D) Lawrence–Doniach (LD) regime with Sr-doping. The coherence length along the [Formula: see text]-axis [Formula: see text], the inter-layer coupling [Formula: see text], the phase relaxation time of the carriers [Formula: see text] and the Fermi velocity [Formula: see text] of superconductor carriers is suppressed. The underlying reason for the suppression of superconductor properties is the decrease in the density of carriers in the superconductor planes. However, the values of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] have been found to increase with the increased Sr-doping, which is suggested to be originating from the enhancement in the flux pinning character which is induced by Sr-doping. The values of magnetic field penetration depth [Formula: see text] and the Ginzburg–Landau (GL) parameter [Formula: see text] decrease with Sr-doping and it is also suggested to be originating from the increase of flux pinning character of the samples with Sr-doping.