arXiv subjects

Andrea Damascelli

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Damascelli.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

In search for the pairing glue in cuprates by non-equilibrium optical spectroscopy

In strongly correlated materials the electronic and optical properties are significantly affected by the coupling of fermionic quasiparticles to different degrees of freedom, such as lattice vibrations and bosonic excitations of electronic origin. Broadband ultrafast spectroscopy is emerging as the premier technique to unravel the subtle interplay between quasiparticles and electronic or phononic collective excitations, by their different characteristic timescales and spectral responses. By investigating the femtosecond dynamics of the optical properties of Y-Bi2212 crystals over the 0.5-2 eV energy range, we disentangle the electronic and phononic contributions to the generalized electron-boson Eliashberg function, showing that the spectral distribution of the electronic excitations, such as spin fluctuations and current loops, and the strength of their interaction with quasiparticles can account for the high critical temperature of the superconducting phase transition. Finally, we discuss how the use of this technique can be extended to the underdoped region of the phase diagram of cuprates, in which a pseudogap in the quasiparticle density of states opens. The microscopic modeling of the interaction of ultrashort light pulses with unconventional superconductors will be one of the key challenges of the next-years materials science, eventually leading to the full understanding of the role of the electronic correlations in controlling the dynamics on the femtosecond timescale.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

ARPES: A probe of electronic correlations

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is one of the most direct methods of studying the electronic structure of solids. By measuring the kinetic energy and angular distribution of the electrons photoemitted from a sample illuminated with sufficiently high-energy radiation, one can gain information on both the energy and momentum of the electrons propagating inside a material. This is of vital importance in elucidating the connection between electronic, magnetic, and chemical structure of solids, in particular for those complex systems which cannot be appropriately described within the independent-particle picture. Among the various classes of complex systems, of great interest are the transition metal oxides, which have been at the center stage in condensed matter physics for the last four decades. Following a general introduction to the topic, we will lay the theoretical basis needed to understand the pivotal role of ARPES in the study of such systems. After a brief overview on the state-of-the-art capabilities of the technique, we will review some of the most interesting and relevant case studies of the novel physics revealed by ARPES in 3d-, 4d- and 5d-based oxides.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Disentangling the electronic and phononic glue in a high-Tc superconductor

Unveiling the nature of the bosonic excitations that mediate the formation of Cooper pairs is a key issue for understanding unconventional superconductivity. A fundamen- tal step toward this goal would be to identify the relative weight of the electronic and phononic contributions to the overall frequency (Ω) dependent bosonic function, Π(Ω). We perform optical spectroscopy on Bi2212 crystals with simultaneous time- and frequency-resolution; this technique allows us to disentangle the electronic and phononic contributions by their different temporal evolution. The strength of the interaction (λ~1.1) with the electronic excitations and their spectral distribution fully account for the high critical temperature of the superconducting phase transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Revealing the high-energy electronic excitations underlying the onset of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates

In strongly-correlated systems the electronic properties at the Fermi energy (EF) are intertwined with those at high energy scales. One of the pivotal challenges in the field of high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) is to understand whether and how the high energy scale physics associated with Mott-like excitations (|E-E$_{F}$|>1 eV) is involved in the condensate formation. Here we show the interplay between the many-body high-energy CuO2 excitations at 1.5 and 2 eV and the onset of HTSC. This is revealed by a novel optical pump supercontinuum-probe technique, which provides access to the dynamics of the dielectric function in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_{0.92}$Y$_{0.08}$Cu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ over an extended energy range, after the photoinduced suppression of the superconducting pairing. These results unveil an unconventional mechanism at the base of HTSC both below and above the optimal hole concentration required to attain the maximum critical temperature (T$_c$).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Probing the Low-Energy Electronic Structure of Complex Systems by ARPES

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is one of the most direct methods of studying the electronic structure of solids. By measuring the kinetic energy and angular distribution of the electrons photoemitted from a sample illuminated with sufficiently high-energy radiation, one can gain information on both the energy and momentum of the electrons propagating inside a material. This is of vital importance in elucidating the connection between electronic, magnetic, and chemical structure of solids, in particular for those complex systems which cannot be appropriately described within the independent-particle picture. The last decade witnessed significant progress in this technique and its applications, thus ushering in a new era in photoelectron spectroscopy; today, ARPES experiments with 2 meV energy resolution and 0.2 degree angular resolution are a reality even for photoemission on solids. In this paper we will review the fundamentals of the technique and present some illustrative experimental results; we will show how ARPES can probe the momentum-dependent electronic structure of solids providing detailed information on band dispersion and Fermi surface, as well as on the strength and nature of those many-body correlations which may profoundly affect the one-electron excitation spectrum and, in turn, determine the macroscopic physical properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the cuprate superconductors

This paper reviews the most recent ARPES results on the cuprate superconductors and their insulating parent and sister compounds, with the purpose of providing an updated summary of the extensive literature in this field. The low energy excitations are discussed with emphasis on some of the most relevant issues, such as the Fermi surface and remnant Fermi surface, the superconducting gap, the pseudogap and d-wave-like dispersion, evidence of electronic inhomogeneity and nano-scale phase separation, the emergence of coherent quasiparticles through the superconducting transition, and many-body effects in the one-particle spectral function due to the interaction of the charge with magnetic and/or lattice degrees of freedom. The first part of the paper introduces photoemission spectroscopy in the context of strongly interacting systems, along with an update on the state-of-the-art instrumentation. The second part provides a brief overview of the scientific issues relevant to the investigation of the low energy electronic structure by ARPES. The rest of the paper is devoted to the review of experimental results from the cuprates and the discussion is organized along conceptual lines: normal-state electronic structure, interlayer interaction, superconducting gap, coherent superconducting peak, pseudogap, electron self energy and collective modes. Within each topic, ARPES data from the various copper oxides are presented.

cond-mat.supr-con↗