R. S. Markiewicz

A survey of the Van Hove scenario for high-Tc superconductivity with special emphasis on pseudogaps and striped phases

Abstract The Van Hove singularity (VHS) provides a paradigm for the study of the role of peaks in the density of states (dos) on electronic properties. More importantly, it appears to play a major role in the physics of the high-Tc superconductors, particularly since recent photoemission studies have found that the VHS is close to the Fermi level in most of the high-Tc cuprates near the composition of optimum Tc. This paper offers a comprehensive survey of the VHS model, describing both theoretical properties and experimental evidence for the picture. Special topics discussed include a survey of the Fermi surfaces of the cuprates and related compounds, and an analysis of the reliability of the slave boson approach to correlation effects. While many properties of the cuprates can be qualitatively understood by a simple rigid-band-filling model, this is inadequate for more quantitative results, since correlation effects tend to pin the Fermi level near the VHS over an extended doping range, and can lead to a nanoscale phase separation. Furthermore, the peaks in the dos lead to competition from other instabilities, both magnetic and structural (related to charge density waves). A novel form of dynamic structural instability, involving dynamic VHS-Jahn-Teller effects has been predicted. Scattered through the literature, there is considerable experimental evidence for both nanoscale phase separation of holes, and for local, possibly dynamic, structural disorder. This review attempts to gather these results into a comprehensive database, to sort the results, and to see how they fit into the Van Hove scenario. Recent experiments on underdoped cuprates are found to provide a strong confirmation that the pseudogap is driven by a splitting of the VHS degeneracy.

Single-Dirac-cone topological surface states in the TlBiSe(2) class of topological semiconductors.

We investigate several strong spin-orbit coupling ternary chalcogenides related to the (Pb,Sn)Te series of compounds. Our first-principles calculations predict the low-temperature rhombohedral ordered phase in TlBiTe₂, TlBiSe₂, and TlSbX₂ (X=Te, Se, S) to be topologically nontrivial. We identify the specific surface termination that realizes the single Dirac cone through first-principles surface state computations. This termination minimizes effects of dangling bonds, making it favorable for photoemission experiments. In addition, our analysis predicts that thin films of these materials could harbor novel 2D quantum spin Hall states, and support odd-parity topological superconductivity.

Bulk Superconductivity at 122 K in T1(Ba,Ca)2Ca3Cu4O10.5+8 with Four Consecutive Copper Layers

The observed increase of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) with the number of copper oxide planes continues in the four-[CuO2]-2 layer (single TI layer) oxide superconductor, which has been prepared with > 80% purity and was magnetically aligned for crystallographic identification. A master scaling curve is proposed, which ties together the Tcs of virtually all known Bi and Tl oxide superconductors, and shows that the Tl(Bi) layers play an essential role in the superconductivity. publication 350 of the Barnett Institute.

Phase separation near the Mott transition in La2-xSrxCuO4

Competition between the Mott transition and Fermi surface nesting in a Cu-O2 plane is studied in the limit of infinite on-site Coulomb repulsion. By incorporating direct O-O hopping, the nesting condition (Fermi surface at van Hove singularity) can be shifted away from half filling. The Mott transition (actually a transition to a charge transfer insulator) remains at half filling, driven by electron correlation effects, herein described via a slave boson formalism. Away from half-filling, electron-phonon coupling leads to a phase separation into the insulating phase near half filling, and a metallic phase close to the van Hove singularity. The consequences of this phase separation for high-Tc superconductivity are briefly discussed.

Imaging Doped Holes in a Cuprate Superconductor with High-Resolution Compton Scattering

Inelastic x-ray scattering probed the doping dependence of the electronic environment within a cuprate superconductor. The high-temperature superconducting cuprate La2−xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) shows several phases ranging from antiferromagnetic insulator to metal with increasing hole doping. To understand how the nature of the hole state evolves with doping, we have carried out high-resolution Compton scattering measurements at room temperature together with first-principles electronic structure computations on a series of LSCO single crystals in which the hole doping level varies from the underdoped (UD) to the overdoped (OD) regime. Holes in the UD system are found to primarily populate the O 2px/py orbitals. In contrast, the character of holes in the OD system is very different in that these holes mostly enter Cu d orbitals. High-resolution Compton scattering provides a bulk-sensitive method for imaging the orbital character of dopants in complex materials.

Fermi Surface and Pseudogap Evolution in a Cuprate Superconductor

Under the Dome The superconducting transition temperature Tc of copper oxides has a dome-shaped dependence on chemical doping. Whether there is a quantum critical point (QCP) beneath the dome, and whether it is related to the enigmatic pseudogap, has been heavily debated. Two papers address this question in two different families of Bi-based cuprates. In (Bi,Pb)2(Sr,La)2CuO6+δ, He et al. (p. 608) found that the Fermi surface (FS) undergoes a topological change as doping is increased, which points to the existence of a QCP at a doping close to the maximum in Tc, seemingly uncorrelated with the pseudogap. Fujita et al. (p. 612) studied a range of dopings in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ to find an FS reconstruction simultaneous with the disappearance of both rotational and translational symmetry breaking, the latter of which has been associated with the pseudogap. These findings point to a concealed QCP. Scanning tunneling microscopy is used to provide evidence for a quantum critical point beneath the superconducting dome. The unclear relationship between cuprate superconductivity and the pseudogap state remains an impediment to understanding the high transition temperature (Tc) superconducting mechanism. Here, we used magnetic field–dependent scanning tunneling microscopy to provide phase-sensitive proof that d-wave superconductivity coexists with the pseudogap on the antinodal Fermi surface of an overdoped cuprate. Furthermore, by tracking the hole-doping (p) dependence of the quasi-particle interference pattern within a single bismuth-based cuprate family, we observed a Fermi surface reconstruction slightly below optimal doping, indicating a zero-field quantum phase transition in notable proximity to the maximum superconducting Tc. Surprisingly, this major reorganization of the system’s underlying electronic structure has no effect on the smoothly evolving pseudogap.

Influence of the third dimension of quasi-two-dimensional cuprate superconductors on angle-resolved photoemission spectra

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) presents significant simplifications in analyzing strictly two-dimensional (2D) materials, but even the most anisotropic physical systems display some residual three-dimensionality. Here we demonstrate how this third dimension manifests itself in ARPES spectra of quasi-2D materials by considering the example of the cuprate

Evolution of midgap states and residual three dimensionality in La2-xSrxCuO4.

{\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}\mathrm{Ca}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{8}

Pinned Balseiro-Falicov model of tunneling and photoemission in the cuprates

(Bi2212). The intercell, interlayer hopping, which is responsible for

Structural phase transitions and superconductivity in La2-xAxCuO4, A=Sr,Ba

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