Search Results
Ab initio theory of plasmonic superconductivity within the Eliashberg and density-functional formalisms
2020, Davydov, A., Sanna, A., Pellegrini, C., Dewhurst, J.K., Sharma, S., Gross, E.K.U.
We extend the two leading methods for the ab initio computational description of phonon-mediated superconductors, namely Eliashberg theory and density-functional theory for superconductors (SCDFT), to include plasmonic effects. Furthermore, we introduce a hybrid formalism in which the Eliashberg approximation for the electron-phonon coupling is combined with the SCDFT treatment of the dynamically screened Coulomb interaction. The methods have been tested on a set of well-known conventional superconductors by studying how the plasmon contribution affects the phononic mechanism in determining the critical temperature (TC). Our simulations show that plasmonic SCDFT leads to a good agreement between predicted and measured TC's, whereas Eliashberg theory considerably overestimates the plasmon-mediated pairing and, therefore, TC. The hybrid approach, on the other hand, gives results close to SCDFT and overall in excellent agreement with experiments.
Energy and symmetry of dd excitations in undoped layered cuprates measured By Cu L3 resonant inelastic x-ray scattering
2011, Moretti Sala, M., Bisogni, V., Aruta, C., Balestrino, G., Berger, H., Brookes, N.B., De Luca, G.M., Di Castro, D., Grioni, M., Guarise, M., Medaglia, P.G., Miletto, Granozio, F., Minola, M., Perna, P., Radovic, M., Salluzzo, M., Schmitt, T., Zhou, K.J., Braicovich, L., Ghiringhelli, G.
We measured the high-resolution Cu L3 edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) of undoped cuprates La2CuO4, Sr2CuO2Cl2, CaCuO2 and NdBa 2Cu3O6. The dominant spectral features were assigned to dd excitations and we extensively studied their polarization and scattering geometry dependence. In a pure ionic picture, we calculated the theoretical cross sections for those excitations and used these to fit the experimental data with excellent agreement. By doing so, we were able to determine the energy and symmetry of Cu-3d states for the four systems with unprecedented accuracy and confidence. The values of the effective parameters could be obtained for the singleion crystal field model but not for a simple two-dimensional cluster model. The firm experimental assessment of dd excitation energies carries important consequences for the physics of high-Tc superconductors. On the one hand, we found that the minimum energy of orbital excitation is always ≥ 1.4 eV, i.e. well above the mid-infrared spectral range, which leaves to magnetic excitations (up to 300 meV) a major role in Cooper pairing in cuprates. On the other hand, it has become possible to study quantitatively the effective influence of dd excitations on the superconducting gap in cuprates.
Linkage between scattering rates and superconductivity in doped ferropnictides
2021, Fink, J., Rienks, E.D.L., Yao, M., Kurleto, R., Bannies, J., Aswartham, S., Morozov, I., Wurmehl, S., Wolf, T., Hardy, F., Meingast, C., Jeevan, H.S., Maiwald, J., Gegenwart, P., Felser, C., Buechner, B.
We report an angle-resolved photoemission study of a series of hole- and electron-doped iron-based superconductors, their parent compound BaFe2As2, and their cousins BaCr2As2 and BaCo2As2. We focus on the inner hole pocket, which is the hot spot in these compounds. More specifically, we determine the energy (E)-dependent scattering rate Γ(E) as a function of the 3d count. Moreover, for the compounds K0.4Ba0.6Fe2As2 and BaCr2As2, we derive the energy dependence of the renormalization function Z(E) and the imaginary part of the self-energy function ImΣ(E). We obtain a non-Fermi liquidlike linear in energy scattering rate Γ(E≫kBT), independent of the dopant concentration. The main result is that the slope β=Γ(E≫kBT)/E reaches its maxima near optimal doping and scales with the superconducting transition temperature. This supports the spin fluctuation model for superconductivity for these materials. In the optimally hole-doped compound, the slope of the scattering rate of the inner hole pocket is about three times bigger than the Planckian limit Γ(E)/E≈1. This result, together with the energy dependence of the renormalization function Z(E), signals very incoherent charge carriers in the normal state which transform at low temperatures to a coherent unconventional superconducting state.
Proximity array device: a novel photon detector working in long wavelengths
2020, Rezvani, S. Javad, Di Gioacchino, Daniele, Gatti, Claudio, Ligi, Carlo, Guidi, Mariangela Cestelli, Cibella, Sara, Fretto, Matteo, Poccia, Nicola, Lupi, Stefano, Marcelli, Augusto
We present here an innovative photon detector based on the proximity junction array device (PAD) working at long wavelengths. We show that the vortex dynamics in PAD undergoes a transition from a Mott insulator to a vortex metal state by application of an external magnetic field. The PAD also evidences a Josephson I-V characteristic with the external field dependent tunneling current. At high applied currents, we observe a dissipative regime in which the vortex dynamics is dominated by the quasi-particle contribution from the normal metal. The PAD has a relatively high photo-response even at frequencies below the expected characteristic frequency while, its superconducting properties such as the order parameter and the Josephson characteristic frequency can be modulated via external fields to widen the detection band. This device represents a promising and reliable candidate for new high-sensitivity long-wavelength detectors. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Quantum fluctuations of charge order induce phonon softening in a superconducting cuprate
2021, Huang, H.Y., Singh, A., Mou, C.Y., Johnston, S., Kemper, A.F., van den Brink, J., Chen, P.J., Lee, T.K., Okamoto, J., Chu, Y.Y., Li, J.H., Komiya, S., Komarek, A.C., Fujimori, A., Chen, C.T., Huang, D.J.
Quantum phase transitions play an important role in shaping the phase diagram of high-temperature cuprate superconductors. These cuprates possess intertwined orders which interact strongly with superconductivity. However, the evidence for the quantum critical point associated with the charge order in the superconducting phase remains elusive. Here we show the short-range charge orders and the spectral signature of the quantum fluctuations in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (LSCO) near the optimal doping using high-resolution resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. On performing calculations through a diagrammatic framework, we discovered that the charge correlations significantly soften several branches of phonons. These results elucidate the role of charge order in the LSCO compound, providing evidence for quantum critical scaling and discommensurations associated with charge order.
Magnetically induced anisotropy of flux penetration into strong-pinning superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers
2019, Simmendinger, J., Hanisch, J., Bihler, M., Ionescu, A.M., Weigand, M., Sieger, M., Hühne, R., Rijckaert, H., Van Driessche, I., Schütz, G., Albrecht, J.
We studied the impact of soft ferromagnetic permalloy (Py) on the shielding currents in a strong-pinning superconductor - YBa2Cu3O7-δ with Ba2Y(Nb/Ta)O6 nano-precipitates - by means of scanning transmission x-ray microscopy. Typically and in particular when in the thin film limit, superconductor/ferromagnet (SC/FM) bilayers exhibit isotropic properties of the flux line ensemble at all temperatures. However, in elements with small aspect ratio a significant anisotropy in flux penetration is observed. We explain this effect by local in-plane fields arising from anisotropic magnetic stray fields originated by the ferromagnet. This leads to direction-dependent motion of magnetic vortices inside the SC/FM bilayer. Our results demonstrate that small variations of the magnetic properties can have huge impact on the superconductor.