Bipartite electronic superstructures in the vortex core of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$

T. Machida; Y. Kohsaka; K. Matsuoka; K. Iwaya; T. Hanaguri; T. Tamegai

doi:10.1038/ncomms11747

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arXiv · 1508.00621

Bipartite electronic superstructures in the vortex core of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$

T. Machida·Y. Kohsaka·K. Matsuoka·K. Iwaya·T. Hanaguri·T. Tamegai

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Abstract

A magnetic field applied to type-II superconductors introduces quantized vortices that locally quench superconductivity, providing a unique opportunity to investigate electronic orders that may compete with superconductivity. This is especially true in cuprate superconductors in which mutual relationships among superconductivity, pseudogap, and broken-spatial-symmetry states have attracted much attention. Here we observe energy and momentum dependent bipartite electronic superstructures in the vortex core of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM). In the low-energy range where the nodal Bogoliubov quasiparticles are well-defined, we show that the quasiparticle scattering off vortices generates the electronic superstructure known as "vortex checkerboard". In the high-energy region where the pseudogap develops, vortices amplify the broken-spatial-symmetry patterns that preexist in zero field. These data reveal canonical d-wave superconductivity near the node, yet competition between superconductivity and broken-spatial-symmetry states near the antinode.

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T. Machida, Y. Kohsaka, K. Matsuoka, K. Iwaya, T. Hanaguri, T. Tamegai. 2015-08-03. Bipartite electronic superstructures in the vortex core of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11747

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