| 1. |
- Martinelli, L., et al.
(författare)
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Collective Nature of Orbital Excitations in Layered Cuprates in the Absence of Apical Oxygens
- 2024
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 132:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated the 3d orbital excitations in CaCuO2 (CCO), Nd2CuO4 (NCO), and La2CuO4 (LCO) using high-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. In LCO they behave as well-localized excitations, similarly to several other cuprates. On the contrary, in CCO and NCO the dxy orbital clearly disperses, pointing to a collective character of this excitation (orbiton) in compounds without apical oxygen. We ascribe the origin of the dispersion as stemming from a substantial next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) orbital superexchange. Such an exchange leads to the liberation of the orbiton from its coupling to magnons, which is associated with the orbiton hopping between nearest neighbor copper sites. Finally, we show that the exceptionally large NNN orbital superexchange can be traced back to the absence of apical oxygens suppressing the charge transfer energy.
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| 2. |
- Pelliciari, Jonathan, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of spin excitations from bulk to monolayer FeSe
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In ultrathin films of FeSe grown on SrTiO (FeSe/STO), the superconducting transition temperature T is increased by almost an order of magnitude, raising questions on the pairing mechanism. As in other superconductors, antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations have been proposed to mediate SC making it essential to study the evolution of the spin dynamics of FeSe from the bulk to the ultrathin limit. Here, we investigate the spin excitations in bulk and monolayer FeSe/STO using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations. Despite the absence of long-range magnetic order, bulk FeSe displays dispersive magnetic excitations reminiscent of other Fe-pnictides. Conversely, the spin excitations in FeSe/STO are gapped, dispersionless, and significantly hardened relative to its bulk counterpart. By comparing our RIXS results with simulations of a bilayer Hubbard model, we connect the evolution of the spin excitations to the Fermiology of the two systems revealing a remarkable reconfiguration of spin excitations in FeSe/STO, essential to understand the role of spin fluctuations in the pairing mechanism.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Eric, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Fabrication and electrical transport characterization of high quality underdoped YBa2Cu3O7-δ nanowires
- 2020
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Ingår i: Superconductor Science and Technology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-2048 .- 1361-6668. ; 33:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the fabrication and electrical transport characterization of underdoped YBa2Cu3O7-δnanowires. The nanowires have been realized without any protective capping layer and theyshow transport properties similar to those of the parent thin film, demonstrating that they havenot been damaged by the nanopatterning. The current-voltage characteristics of the underdopednanowires show large hysteretic voltage switching at the critical current, in contrast to theflux-flow like characteristics of optimally doped nanostructures, indicating the formation of aself-stabilizing hot spot. These results open up new possibilities for using the underdopednanowires as single photon detectors and for exploring the underdoped side of the YBa2Cu3O7-δphase diagram at the nanoscale.
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| 4. |
- Arpaia, Riccardo, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Charge order at high temperature in cuprate superconductors
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. - 1347-4073 .- 0031-9015. ; 90:11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The presence of different electronic orders other than superconductivity populating the phase diagram of cuprates suggests that they might be the key to disclose the mysteries of this class of materials. In particular charge order in the form of charge density waves (CDW), i.e., the incommensurate modulation of electron density in the CuO2 planes, is ubiquitous across different families and presents a clear interplay with superconductivity. Until recently, CDW had been found to be confined inside a rather small region of the phase diagram, below the pseudogap temperature and the optimal doping. This occurrence might shed doubts on the possibility that such “low temperature phenomenon” actually rules the properties of cuprates either in the normal or in the superconducting states. However, recent resonant X-ray scattering (RXS) experiments are overturning this paradigm. It results that very short-ranged charge modulations permeate a much wider region of the phase diagram, coexisting with CDW at lower temperatures and persisting up to temperatures well above the pseudogap opening. Here we review the characteristics of these high temperature charge modulations, which are present in several cuprate families, with similarities and differences. A particular emphasis is put on their dynamical character and on their coupling to lattice and magnetic excitations, properties that can be determined with high resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS).
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| 5. |
- Arpaia, Riccardo, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Engineering underdoped CuO2 nanoribbons in nm-thick a -axis YBa2Cu3 O7-δ films
- 2024
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Ingår i: Physical Review Materials. - : American Physical Society. - 2475-9953. ; 8:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In underdoped cuprate high-Tc superconductors, various local orders and symmetry-breaking states, in addition to superconductivity, reside in the CuO2 planes. The confinement of the CuO2 planes can therefore play a fundamental role in modifying the hierarchy between the various orders and their intertwining with superconductivity. Here we present the growth of a-axis oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ films, spanning the whole underdoped side of the phase diagram. In these samples, the CuO2 planes are confined by the film thickness, effectively forming unit-cell-thick nanoribbons. The unidirectional confinement at the nanoscale enhances the in-plane anisotropy of the films. By x-ray diffraction and resistance vs temperature measurements, we have discovered the suppression of the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition at low dopings, and a very high anisotropy of the normal state resistance in the b-c plane, the latter being connected to a weak coupling between adjacent CuO2 nanoribbons. These findings show that the samples we have grown represent a novel system, different from the bulk, where future experiments can possibly shed light on the rich and mysterious physics occurring within the CuO2 planes.
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| 6. |
- Arpaia, Riccardo, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Signature of quantum criticality in cuprates by charge density fluctuations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The universality of the strange metal phase in many quantum materials is often attributed to the presence of a quantum critical point (QCP), a zero-temperature phase transition ruled by quantum fluctuations. In cuprates, where superconductivity hinders direct QCP observation, indirect evidence comes from the identification of fluctuations compatible with the strange metal phase. Here we show that the recently discovered charge density fluctuations (CDF) possess the right properties to be associated to a quantum phase transition. Using resonant x-ray scattering, we studied the CDF in two families of cuprate superconductors across a wide doping range (up to p = 0.22). At p* ≈ 0.19, the putative QCP, the CDF intensity peaks, and the characteristic energy Δ is minimum, marking a wedge-shaped region in the phase diagram indicative of a quantum critical behavior, albeit with anomalies. These findings strengthen the role of charge order in explaining strange metal phenomenology and provide insights into high-temperature superconductivity.
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| 7. |
- Braicovich, Lucio, et al.
(författare)
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Determining the electron-phonon coupling in superconducting cuprates by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering: Methods and results on Nd1+xBa2-xCu3O7-δ
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Review Research. - 2643-1564. ; 2:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coupling between lattice vibration quanta and valence electrons can induce charge-density modulations and decisively influence the transport properties of materials, e.g., leading to conventional superconductivity. In high-critical-temperature superconductors, where electronic correlation is the main actor, the actual role of electron-phonon coupling (EPC) is being intensely debated theoretically and investigated experimentally. We present an in-depth study of how the EPC strength can be obtained directly from resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) data through the theoretical approach derived by Ament et al. [Europhys. Lett. 95, 27008 (2011)]. The role of the model parameters (e.g., phonon energy ω0, intermediate state lifetime 1/Γ, EPC matrix element M, and detuning energy Ω) is thoroughly analyzed, providing general relations among them that can be used to make quantitative estimates of the dimensionless EPC g=(M/ω0)2 without detailed microscopic modeling. We then apply these methods to very high-resolution Cu L3-edge RIXS spectra of three Nd1+xBa2−xCu3O7−δ films. For the insulating antiferromagnetic parent compound, the value of M as a function of the in-plane momentum transfer is obtained for Cu-O bond-stretching (breathing) and bond-bending (buckling) phonon branches. For the underdoped and the nearly optimally doped samples, the effects of Coulomb screening and of charge-density-wave correlations on M are assessed. In light of the anticipated further improvements of the RIXS experimental resolution, this work provides a solid framework for an exhaustive investigation of the EPC in cuprates and other quantum materials.
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| 8. |
- Fumagalli, R., et al.
(författare)
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Mobile orbitons in Ca2CuO3: Crucial role of Hund's exchange
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. - 2469-9969 .- 2469-9950. ; 101:20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate the CuL3 edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of a quasi-1D antiferromagnet Ca2CuO3. In addition to the magnetic excitations, which are well-described by the two-spinon continuum, we observe two dispersive orbital excitations, the 3d(xy) and the 3d(yz) orbitons. We carry out a quantitative comparison of the RIXS spectra, obtained with two distinct incident polarizations, with a theoretical model. We show that any realistic spin-orbital model needs to include a finite, but realistic, Hund's exchange J(H) approximate to 0.5 eV. Its main effect is an increase in orbiton velocities, so that their theoretically calculated values match those observed experimentally. Even though Hund's exchange also mediates some interaction between spinon and orbiton, the picture of spin-orbit separation remains intact and describes orbiton motion in this compound.
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| 9. |
- Krieger, G., et al.
(författare)
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Charge and Spin Order Dichotomy in NdNiO2 Driven by the Capping Layer
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114 .- 0031-9007. ; 129:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates holds exciting analogies with that of cuprates, with similar structures and 3d-electron count. Using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we studied electronic and magnetic excitations and charge density correlations in Nd1-xSrxNiO2 thin films with and without an SrTiO3 capping layer. We observe dispersing magnons only in the capped samples, progressively dampened at higher doping. We detect an elastic resonant scattering peak in the uncapped x=0 compound at wave vector (∼⅓,0), remindful of the charge order signal in hole doped cuprates. The peak weakens at x=0.05 and disappears in the superconducting x=0.20 film. The role of the capping on the electronic reconstruction far from the interface remains to be understood.
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| 10. |
- Lu, Haiyu, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of a characteristic doping for charge order phenomena in Bi-2212 cuprates via RIXS
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. - 2469-9969 .- 2469-9950. ; 106:15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying quantum critical points (QCPs) and their associated fluctuations may hold the key to unraveling the unusual electronic phenomena observed in cuprate superconductors. Recently, signatures of quantum fluctuations associated with charge order (CO) have been inferred from the anomalous enhancement of CO excitations that accompany the reduction of the CO order parameter in the superconducting state. To gain more insight into the interplay between CO and superconductivity, here we investigate the doping dependence of this phenomenon throughout the Bi-2212 cuprate phase diagram using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L3 edge. As doping increases, the CO wave vector decreases, saturating near a commensurate value of 0.25 reciprocal lattice unit beyond a characteristic doping pc, where the correlation length becomes shorter than the apparent periodicity (4a0). Such behavior is indicative of the fluctuating nature of the CO; the proliferation of CO excitations in the superconducting state also appears strongest at pc, consistent with expected behavior at a CO QCP. Intriguingly, pc appears to be near optimal doping, where the superconducting transition temperature Tc is maximal.
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