Huaisong Zhao

Two gaps with one energy scale in cuprate superconductors

The interplay between the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap in cuprate superconductors is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the interaction between charge carriers and spins directly from the kinetic energy by exchanging spin excitations in the higher power of the doping concentration induces the normal-state pseudogap state in the particle-hole channel and superconducting state in the particle-particle channel, therefore there is a coexistence of the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap in the whole superconducting dome. This normal-state pseudogap is closely related to the quasiparticle coherent weight, and is a necessary ingredient for superconductivity in cuprate superconductors. In particular, both the normal-state pseudogap and superconducting gap are dominated by one energy scale, and they are the result of the strong electron correlation.

Kinetic-energy-driven superconductivity in cuprate superconductors

Superconductivity in cuprate superconductors occurs upon charge-carrier doping Mott insulators, where a central question is what mechanism causes the loss of electrical resistance below the superconducting (SC) transition temperature? In this review, we attempt to summarize the basic idea of the kinetic-energy driven SC mechanism in the description of superconductivity in cuprate superconductors. The mechanism of the kinetic-energy driven superconductivity is purely electronic without phonons, where the charge-carrier pairing interaction arises directly from the kinetic energy by the exchange of spin excitations in the higher powers of the doping concentration. This kinetic-energy driven d-wave SC-state is controlled by both the SC gap and quasiparticle coherence, which leads to that the maximal SC transition temperature occurs around the optimal doping, and then decreases in both the underdoped and overdoped regimes. In particular, the same charge-carrier interaction mediated by spin excitations that induces the SC-state in the particle-particle channel also generates the normal-state pseudogap state in the particle-hole channel. The normal-state pseudogap crossover temperature is much larger than the SC transition temperature in the underdoped and optimally doped regimes, and then monotonically decreases upon the increase of doping, eventually disappearing together with superconductivity at the end of the SC dome. This kinetic-energy driven SC mechanism also indicates that the strong electron correlation favors superconductivity, since the main ingredient is identified into a charge-carrier pairing mechanism not from the external degree of freedom such as the phonon but rather solely from the internal spin degree of freedom of the electron. The typical properties of cuprate superconductors discussed within the framework of the kinetic-energy driven SC mechanism are also reviewed.

Charge order driven by Fermi-arc instability and its connection with pseudogap in cuprate superconductors

The recently discovered charge order is a generic feature of cuprate superconductors, however, its microscopic origin remains debated. Within the framework of the fermion-spin theory, the nature of charge order in the pseudogap phase and its evolution with doping are studied by taking into account the electron self-energy (then the pseudogap) effect. It is shown that the antinodal region of the electron Fermi surface is suppressed by the electron self-energy, and then the low-energy electron excitations occupy the disconnected Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, the charge order state is driven by the Fermi-arc instability, with a characteristic wave vector corresponding to the hot spots of the Fermi arcs rather than the antinodal nesting vector. Moreover, although the Fermi arc increases its length as a function of doping, the charge order wave vector reduces almost linearity with the increase of doping. The theory also indicates that the Fermi arc, charge order and pseudogap in cuprate superconductors are intimately related to each other, and all of them emanates from the electron self-energy due to the interaction between electrons by the exchange of spin excitations.

Electronic structure of cuprate superconductors in a full charge-spin recombination scheme

Abstract A long-standing unsolved problem is how a microscopic theory of superconductivity in cuprate superconductors based on the charge-spin separation can produce a large electron Fermi surface. Within the framework of the kinetic-energy driven superconducting mechanism, a full charge-spin recombination scheme is developed to fully recombine a charge carrier and a localized spin into a electron, and then is employed to study the electronic structure of cuprate superconductors in the superconducting-state. In particular, it is shown that the underlying electron Fermi surface fulfills Luttinger’s theorem, while the superconducting coherence of the low-energy quasiparticle excitations is qualitatively described by the standard d-wave Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer formalism. The theory also shows that the observed peak-dip-hump structure in the electron spectrum and Fermi arc behavior in the underdoped regime are mainly caused by the strong energy and momentum dependence of the electron self-energy.

Magnetic-field-induced reduction of the low-temperature superfluid density in cuprate superconductors

The weak magnetic field induced reduction of the low-temperature superfluid density in cuprate superconductors is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. The electromagnetic response kernel is evaluated by considering both couplings of the electron charge and electron magnetic momentum with a weak magnetic field and employed to calculate the superfluid density, then the main features of the weak magnetic field induced reduction of the low-temperature superfluid density are well reproduced. The theory also shows that the striking behavior of the weak magnetic field induced reduction of the low-temperature superfluid density is intriguingly related to both depairing due to the Pauli spin polarization and nonlocal response in the vicinity of the d-wave gap nodes on the Fermi surface to a weak magnetic field.

Doping dependence of thermodynamic properties in cuprate superconductors

Abstract The doping and temperature dependence of the thermodynamic properties in cuprate superconductors is studied based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. By considering the interplay between the superconducting gap and normal-state pseudogap, the some main features of the doping and temperature dependence of the specific-heat, the condensation energy, and the upper critical field are well reproduced. In particular, it is shown that in analogy to the domelike shape of the doping dependence of the superconducting transition temperature, the maximal upper critical field occurs around the optimal doping, and then decreases in both underdoped and overdoped regimes. Our results also show that the humplike anomaly of the specific-heat near superconducting transition temperature in the underdoped regime can be attributed to the emergence of the normal-state pseudogap in cuprate superconductors.

Pseudogap-induced anisotropic suppression of electronic Raman response in cuprate superconductors

It has become clear that the anomalous properties of cuprate superconductors are intimately related to the formation of a pseudogap. Within the framework of the kinetic-energy-driven superconducting mechanism, the effect of the pseudogap on the electronic Raman response (ERR) of cuprate superconductors in the superconducting-state is studied by taking into account the interplay between the superconducting gap and pseudogap. It is shown that the low-energy spectra almost rise as the cube of energy in the channel and linearly with energy in the channel. It is also shown that the pseudogap is strongly anisotropic in momentum space, where the magnitude of the pseudogap around the nodes is smaller than that around the antinodes, which leads to that the low-energy spectral weight of the spectrum is suppressed heavily by the pseudogap, while the pseudogap has a more modest effect on the ERR in the orientation.

Why there is a difference between optimal doping for maximal Tc and critical doping for highest ρs in cuprate superconductors

Abstract A long-standing puzzle is why there is a difference between the optimal doping δ optimal ≈ 0.15 for the maximal superconducting (SC) transition temperature T c and the critical doping δ critical ≈ 0.19 for the highest superfluid density ρ s in cuprate superconductors? This puzzle is calling for an explanation. Within the kinetic energy driven SC mechanism, it is shown that except the quasiparticle coherence, ρ s is dominated by the bare pair gap, while T c is set by the effective pair gap. By calculation of the ratio of the effective and the bare pair gaps, it is shown that the coupling strength decreases with increasing doping. This doping dependence of the coupling strength induces a shift from the critical doping for the maximal value of the bare pair gap parameter to the optimal doping for the maximal value of the effective pair gap parameter, which leads to a difference between the optimal doping for the maximal T c and the critical doping for the highest ρ s .

Correlation Between Charge Order and Second-Neighbor Hopping in Cuprate Superconductors

The correlation between the charge-order wave vector QCD and second-neighbor hopping t′ in cuprate superconductors is studied based on the t- t′- J model. It is shown that the magnitude of the charge-order wave vector QCD increases with the increase of t′, and then the experimentally observed differences of the magnitudes of the charge-order wave vector QCD among the different families of cuprate superconductors at the same doping concentration can be attributed to the different values of t′.

Pseudogap-generated a coexistence of Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in cuprate superconductors

Abstract One of the most intriguing puzzle is why there is a coexistence of Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in the pseudogap phase of cuprate superconductors? This puzzle is calling for an explanation. Based on the t − J model in the fermion-spin representation, the coexistence of the Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets in cuprate superconductors is studied by taking into account the pseudogap effect. It is shown that the pseudogap induces an energy band splitting, and then the poles of the electron Green’s function at zero energy form two contours in momentum space, however, the electron spectral weight on these two contours around the antinodal region is gapped out by the pseudogap, leaving behind the low-energy electron spectral weight only located at the disconnected segments around the nodal region. In particular, the tips of these disconnected segments converge on the hot spots to form the closed Fermi pockets, generating a coexistence of the Fermi arcs and Fermi pockets. Moreover, the single-particle coherent weight is directly related to the pseudogap, and grows linearly with doping. The calculated result of the overall dispersion of the electron excitations is in qualitative agreement with the experimental data. The theory also predicts that the pseudogap-induced peak-dip-hump structure in the electron spectrum is absent from the hot-spot directions.