arXiv subjects

A. Legros

Publications and source records attributed to A. Legros.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Evolution of the cyclotron mass with doping in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$

The recent observation of cyclotron resonance in optimally-doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ using time-domain THz spectroscopy in high magnetic field has given new possibilities for the study of cuprate superconductors. One can measure the cyclotron mass in more disordered cuprates possesing short scattering times therefore expanding the study to materials and dopings in which quantum oscillations have not been observed. Here we present the measurement of the carrier mass of the hole doped cuprate La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ across a a range of dopings spanning the slightly underdoped ($x=0.13$) to highly overdoped ($x=0.26$), near to the termination of the superconducting dome. These results reveal a systematic increase of $m_c$ with doping, up to values greater than thirteen times the bare electron mass. This is in contrast with those masses extracted from the heat capacity, which show a peak near the pseudogap critical point $p^*$ and/or Lifshitz transition. The cyclotron frequency is linear in field up to 31 T for all dopings giving no evidence for field induced Fermi surface reconstructions. The cyclotron mass is found to be positive for all dopings, but with a magnitude systematically below the heat capacity mass for under and optimally doped samples, while exceeding it for overdoped samples. Among other aspects, these results are surprising as photoemission reveals a Lifshitz transition in the middle of our doping range and the sign of the cyclotron mass determined from a finite frequency resonance is -- in conventional theories -- a {\it topological quantity} only sensitive to whether or not the Fermi surface is closed around holes or electrons. We see no sign of a divergence of the mass near $p^*$ nor near the Lifshitz transition, showing that any singularity -- if it exists -- is not strong enough to affect the cyclotron mass.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Transport signatures of the pseudogap critical point in the cuprate superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$

Five transport coefficients of the cuprate superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$ were measured in the normal state down to low temperature, reached by applying a magnetic field (up to 66T) large enough to suppress superconductivity. The electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal Hall conductivity were measured in two overdoped single crystals, with La concentration $x = 0.2$ ($T_{\rm c}=18$K) and $x = 0.0$ ($T_{\rm c}=10$K). The samples have dopings $p$ very close to the critical doping $p^{\star}$ where the pseudogap phase ends. The resistivity displays a linear dependence on temperature whose slope is consistent with Planckian dissipation. The Hall number $n_{\rm H}$ decreases with reduced $p$, consistent with a drop in carrier density from $n = 1+p$ above $p^{\star}$ to $n=p$ below $p^{\star}$. This drop in $n_{\rm H}$ is concomitant with a sharp drop in the density of states inferred from prior NMR Knight shift measurements. The thermal conductivity satisfies the Wiedemann-Franz law, showing that the pseudogap phase at $T = 0$ is a metal whose fermionic excitations carry heat and charge as do conventional electrons. The Seebeck coefficient diverges logarithmically at low temperature, a signature of quantum criticality. The thermal Hall conductivity becomes negative at low temperature, showing that phonons are chiral in the pseudogap phase. Given the observation of these same properties in other, very different cuprates, our study provides strong evidence for the universality of these five signatures of the pseudogap phase and its critical point.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Linear-in temperature resistivity from an isotropic Planckian scattering rate

A variety of "strange metals" exhibit resistivity that decreases linearly with temperature as $T\rightarrow 0$, in contrast with conventional metals where resistivity decreases as $T^2$. This $T$-linear resistivity has been attributed to charge carriers scattering at a rate given by $\hbar/τ=αk_{\rm B} T$, where $α$ is a constant of order unity. This simple relationship between the scattering rate and temperature is observed across a wide variety of materials, suggesting a fundamental upper limit on scattering---the "Planckian limit"---but little is known about the underlying origins of this limit. Here we report a measurement of the angle-dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) of Nd-LSCO---a hole-doped cuprate that displays $T$-linear resistivity down to the lowest measured temperatures. The ADMR unveils a well-defined Fermi surface that agrees quantitatively with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and reveals a $T$-linear scattering rate that saturates the Planckian limit, namely $α= 1.2 \pm 0.4$. Remarkably, we find that this Planckian scattering rate is isotropic, i.e. it is independent of direction, in contrast with expectations from "hot-spot" models. Our findings suggest that $T$-linear resistivity in strange metals emerges from a momentum-independent inelastic scattering rate that reaches the Planckian limit.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Thermopower across the phase diagram of the cuprate La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ : signatures of the pseudogap and charge-density-wave phases

The Seebeck coefficient (thermopower) $S$ of the cuprate superconductor La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ was measured across its doping phase diagram (from $p = 0.12$ to $p = 0.25$), at various temperatures down to $T \simeq 2$ K, in the normal state accessed by suppressing superconductivity with a magnetic field up to $H = 37.5$ T. The magnitude of $S/T$ in the $T=0$ limit is found to suddenly increase, by a factor $\simeq 5$, when the doping is reduced below $p^{\star} = 0.23$, the critical doping for the onset of the pseudogap phase. This confirms that the pseudogap phase causes a large reduction of the carrier density $n$, consistent with a drop from $n = 1 + p$ above $p^{\star}$ to $n = p$ below $p^{\star}$, as previously inferred from measurements of the Hall coefficient, resistivity and thermal conductivity. When the doping is reduced below $p = 0.19$, a qualitative change is observed whereby $S/T$ decreases as $T \to 0$, eventually to reach negative values at $T=0$. In prior work on other cuprates, negative values of $S/T$ at $T \to 0$ were shown to result from a reconstruction of the Fermi surface caused by charge-density-wave (CDW) order. We therefore identify $p_{\rm CDW} \simeq 0.19$ as the critical doping beyond which there is no CDW-induced Fermi surface reconstruction. The fact that $p_{\rm CDW}$ is well separated from $p^{\star}$ reveals that there is a doping range below $p^{\star}$ where the transport signatures of the pseudogap phase are unaffected by CDW correlations, as previously found in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Normal state specific heat in the cuprates La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ and Bi$_{2+y}$Sr$_{2-x-y}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$ near the critical point of the pseudogap phase

The specific heat $C$ of the cuprate superconductors La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ and Bi$_{2+y}$Sr$_{2-x-y}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$ was measured at low temperature (down to $0.5~{\rm K}$), for dopings $p$ close to $p^\star$, the critical doping for the onset of the pseudogap phase. A magnetic field up to $35~{\rm T}$ was applied to suppress superconductivity, giving direct access to the normal state at low temperature, and enabling a determination of $C_e$, the electronic contribution to the normal-state specific heat, at $T \to 0$. In La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ at $x=p = 0.22$, $0.24$ and $0.25$, $C_e / T = 15-16~{\rm mJmol}^{-1}{\rm K}^{-2}$ at $T = 2~{\rm K}$, values that are twice as large as those measured at higher doping ($p > 0.3$) and lower doping ($p < 0.15$). This confirms the presence of a broad peak in the doping dependence of $C_e$ at $p^\star\simeq 0.19$, as previously reported for samples in which superconductivity was destroyed by Zn impurities. Moreover, at those three dopings, we find a logarithmic growth as $T \to 0$, such that $C_e / T \sim {\rm B}\ln(T_0/T)$. The peak vs $p$ and the logarithmic dependence vs $T$ are the two typical thermodynamic signatures of quantum criticality. In the very different cuprate Bi$_{2+y}$Sr$_{2-x-y}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$, we again find that $C_e / T \sim {\rm B}\ln(T_0/T$) at $p \simeq p^\star$, strong evidence that this $\ln(1/T)$ dependence - first discovered in the cuprates La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ and La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ - is a universal property of the pseudogap critical point. All four materials display similar values of the $\rm B$ coefficient, indicating that they all belong to the same universality class.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

The Future of the Correlated Electron Problem

A central problem in modern condensed matter physics is the understanding of materials with strong electron correlations. Despite extensive work, the essential physics of many of these systems is not understood and there is very little ability to make predictions in this class of materials. In this manuscript we share our personal views on the major open problems in the field of correlated electron systems. We discuss some possible routes to make progress in this rich and fascinating field. This manuscript is the result of the vigorous discussions and deliberations that took place at Johns Hopkins University during a three-day workshop January 27, 28, and 29, 2020 that brought together six senior scientists and 46 more junior scientists. Our hope, is that the topics we have presented will provide inspiration for others working in this field and motivation for the idea that significant progress can be made on very hard problems if we focus our collective energies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Observation of cyclotron resonance and measurement of the hole mass in optimally-doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$

Using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy in pulsed magnetic fields up to 31 T, we measure the terahertz optical conductivity in an optimally-doped thin film of the high temperature superconducting cuprate La$_{1.84}$Sr$_{0.16}$CuO$_4$. We observe systematic changes in the circularly-polarized complex optical conductivity that are consistent with cyclotron absorption of p-type charge carriers characterized by a cyclotron mass of $4.9\pm 0.8$ $m_{\rm e}$, and a scattering rate that increases with magnetic field. These results open the door to studies aimed at characterizing the degree to which electron-electron interactions influence carrier masses in cuprate superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Gapless ground state in the archetypal quantum kagome antiferromagnet ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$

Spin liquids are exotic phases of quantum matter challenging Landau's paradigm of symmetry-breaking phase transitions. Despite strong exchange interactions, spins do not order or freeze down to zero temperature. While well-established for 1D quantum antiferromagnets, in higher dimension where quantum fluctuations are less acute, realizing and understanding such states represent major issues, both theoretical and experimental. In this respect the simplest nearest-neighbor Heisenberg antiferromagnet Hamiltonian on the highly frustrated kagome lattice has proven to be a fascinating and inspiring model. The exact nature of its ground state remains elusive and the existence of a spin-gap is the first key-issue to be addressed to discriminate between the various classes of proposed spin liquids. Here, through low-temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) contrast experiments on high quality single crystals, we single out the kagome susceptibility and the corresponding dynamics in the kagome archetype, the mineral herbertsmithite, ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$. We firmly conclude that this material does not harbor any spin-gap, which restores a convergence with recent numerical results promoting a gapless Dirac spin liquid as the ground state of the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Universal $T$-linear resistivity and Planckian limit in overdoped cuprates

The perfectly linear temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity observed as $T \rightarrow$ 0 in a variety of metals close to a quantum critical point is a major puzzle of condensed matter physics . Here we show that $T$-linear resistivity as $T \rightarrow$ 0 is a generic property of cuprates, associated with a universal scattering rate. We measured the low-temperature resistivity of the bi-layer cuprate Bi2212 and found that it exhibits a $T$-linear dependence with the same slope as in the single-layer cuprates Bi2201, Nd-LSCO and LSCO, despite their very different Fermi surfaces and structural, superconducting and magnetic properties. We then show that the $T$-linear coefficient (per CuO$_2$ plane), $A_1$, is given by the universal relation $A_1 T_F = h / 2e^2$, where $e$ is the electron charge, $h$ is the Planck constant and $T_F$ is the Fermi temperature. This relation, obtained by assuming that the scattering rate 1 / $τ$ of charge carriers reaches the Planckian limit whereby $\hbar / τ= k_B T$, works not only for hole-doped cuprates but also for electron-doped cuprates despite the different nature of their quantum critical point and strength of their electron correlations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗