arXiv subjects

Benoît Baptiste

Publications and source records attributed to Benoît Baptiste.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Superconductivity in strongly overdoped cuprates: beyond the single-band model

In order to explain the observation of an extended superconducting region in several overdoped cuprates, which contrasts the dome scenario, by means of neutron and synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction we study the crystal structure of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{y}$, where strong oxygen overdoping up to $y = 7.4$ is achieved under high-pressure. A bond valence sum analysis indicates that 1/5 of the extra holes created by the excess oxygen are transferred to the CuO$_2$ planes, thus increasing the hole density up to $p=0.27$ hole/Cu, where superconductivity is expected to vanish according to the dome scenario. Instead, our data confirm a previous observation [Okai, Ono and Mitsuhashi, Physica C: Superconductivity {\bf 366}, 164 (2002)] that the superconducting critical temperature, $T_c$, remains constant with $y$. Our data analysis accounts for this discrepancy in terms of the much shorter bond between the apical oxygen and the planar Cu ion, which suggests that the extra holes occupy the $a_1$-symmetry states formed by $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbitals, instead of the usual $b_1$-symmetry Zhang-Rice singlet states formed by $d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbitals. Suitable spectroscopic measurements on single crystals may support such a two-band scenario, which would require a totally different theoretical approach to explain superconductivity in cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Incipient modulated phase in Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_{x}$TiO$_3$

Nanometer-scale modulations can spontaneously emerge in complex materials when multiple degrees of freedom interact. Here we demonstrate that ferroelectric Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$TiO$_3$ lies in close proximity to an incipient structurally modulated phase. Using inelastic neutron and X-ray scattering, we show that upon cooling, dipolar fluctuations strongly couple to and soften the $c_{44}$ transverse acoustic mode. We identify the wavevector at which this softening is maximal, thereby defining the characteristic length scale of the modulation. Calcium substitution enhances both the amplitude and the wavevector of the softening by strengthening the ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive instabilities. Our results demonstrate that nonlinear flexoelectric phonon coupling tends to stabilize a modulated state that cooperates with, rather than competes against, the other lattice instabilities in SrTiO$_3$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Evidence of a Kondo lattice quantum critical point and of non-Fermi liquid behavior in the intercalated layered system V$_{5}$S$_{8}$

By means of a specific heat, susceptibility and high-pressure electrical resistivity study, we show that the local magnetic moments of the intercalated V ions in V$_{5}$S$_{8}$ realize a prototype of Kondo lattice system, where an antiferromagnetic order of the moments coexists with a Fermi liquid in the VS$_{2}$ layers with intermediate heavy Fermion properties. The antiferromagnetic order and the Fermi-liquid behavior are simultaneously suppressed at a critical pressure, $P_c =10$ GPa, signature of a quantum critical point, which supports a Kondo lattice scenario and raises the question whether, in the paramagnetic phase at higher pressures, the heavy quasiparticles survive or form a non-Fermi liquid phase governed by the Kondo interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

The polarisation fluctuation length scale shaping the superconducting dome of SrTiO$_3$

Superconducting domes, ubiquitous across a variety of quantum materials, are often understood as a window favorite for pairing opened by the fluctuations of competing orders. Yet, a quantitative understanding of how such a window closes is missing. Here, we show that inelastic neutron scattering, by quantifying a length scale associated with polar fluctuations, $\ell_0$, addresses this issue. We find that the superconducting dome of strontium titanate definitely ends when $\ell_0$ vanishes. Moreover, the product of $\ell_0$ and the Fermi wavevector peaks close to the maximum critical temperature. Thus, this superconducting dome stems from the competition between the increase of the density of states and the unavoidable collapse of the quantum paraelectric phase, both induced by doping. The successful quantitative account of both the peak and the end of the superconducting dome implies a central role in the pairing mechanism played by the soft ferro-electric mode and its hybridisation with the acoustic branch. Such a scenario may also be at work in other quantum paraelectric materials, either bulk or interfaces.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Highly Conductive Tungsten Suboxide Nanotubes

We demonstrate a high electron conductivity (> 10^2 S/cm and up to 10^3 S/cm) of tungsten suboxide W18O(52.4-52.9)(or equivalently WO(2.91-2.94)) nanotubes (2 to 3 nm in diameter, ca. micrometer long). The conductivity is measured in the temperature range 120 to 300K by a four probe scanning tunneling microscope in ultra high vacuum. The nanotubes are synthesized by a low temperature and low cost solvothermal method. They selfassemble in bundles of hundreds of nanotubes forming nanowires (ca. micrometer long, few tens nm wide). We observe a large anisotropy of the conductivity with a ratio (longitudinal conductivity/perpendicular conductivity) of ca. 10^5. A large fraction of them (ca. 65 to 95%) shows a metallic like, thermal activation less, electron transport behavior. Few of them, with a lower conductivity from 10 to 10^2 S/cm, display a variable range hopping behavior. In this latter case, a hopping barrier energy of ca. 0.24 eV is inferred in agreement with the calculated energy level of the oxygen vacancy below the conduction band. This result is in agreement with a relative average concentration of oxygen vacancies of ca. 3%, for which a semiconductor to metal transition was theoretically predicted. These tungsten suboxide nanostructures are prone to a wide range of applications in nanoelectronics.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Mesoscopic tunneling in strontium titanate

Spatial correlation between atoms can generate a depletion in the energy dispersion of acoustic phonons. Two well known examples are rotons in superfluid helium and the Kohn anomaly in metals. Here we report on the observation of a large softening of the transverse acoustic mode in quantum paraelectric SrTiO$_3$ by means of inelastic neutron scattering. In contrast to other known cases, this softening occurs at a tiny wave vector implying spatial correlation extending over a distance as long as 40 lattice parameters. We attribute this to the formation of mesoscopic fluctuating domains due to the coupling between local strain and quantum ferroelectric fluctuations. Thus, a hallmark of the ground state of insulating SrTiO$_3$ is the emergence of hybridized optical-acoustic phonons. Mesoscopic fluctuating domains play a role in quantum tunneling, which impedes the emergence of a finite macroscopic polarisation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Unconventional magnetic ferroelectricity in the quadruple perovskite NaMn$_7$O$_{12}$

By means of magnetic, specific heat and pyroelectric measurements, we report on magnetic ferroelectricity in the quadruple perovskite \namno, characterized by a canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) CE structure. Surprisingly, ferroelectricity is concomitant to a dramatic broadening of the magnetic hysteresis loop, well below the AFM ordering temperature. This unconventional behavior shows that the formation of ferroelectric domains is induced by the symmetric exchange interaction in the local scale, e.g. at magnetic domain boundaries or defects. The value of electric polarization, $P = 0.027 μ$C cm$^{-2}$, measured in polycrystalline samples is comparatively large as compared to other magnetic multiferroics, suggesting that the above scenario is promising indeed for the rational design of practical multiferroic materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Phonon anomalies with doping in superconducting oxychlorides Ca2-xCuO2Cl2

We measure the dispersion of the Cu-O bond-stretching phonon mode in the high-temperature superconducting parent compound Ca$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$. Our density functional theory calculations predict a cosine-shaped bending of the dispersion along both the ($ξ$00) and ($ξξ$0) directions, while comparison with previous results on Ca$_{1.84}$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ show it only along ($ξ$00), suggesting an anisotropic effect which is not reproduced in calculation at optimal doping. Comparison with isostructural La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ suggests that these calculations reproduce well the overdoped regime, however they overestimate the doping effect on the Cu-O bond-stretching mode at optimal doping.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

$\mbox{Rb}_{2}\mbox{Ti}_2\mbox{O}_{5-δ}$: A superionic conductor with colossal dielectric constant

Electrical conductivity and high dielectric constant are in principle self-excluding, which makes the terms insulator and dielectric usually synonymous. This is certainly true when the electrical carriers are electrons, but not necessarily in a material where ions are extremely mobile, electronic conduction is negligible and the charge transfer at the interface is immaterial. Here we demonstrate in a perovskite-derived structure containing five-coordinated Ti atoms, a colossal dielectric constant (up to $\mbox{10}^9$) together with very high ionic conduction $\mbox{10}^{-3}\mbox{S.cm}^{-1}$ at room temperature. Coupled investigations of I-V and dielectric constant behavior allow to demonstrate that, due to ion migration and accumulation, this material behaves like a giant dipole, exhibiting colossal electrical polarization (of the order of $\mbox{0.1\,C.cm}^{-2}$). Therefore, it may be considered as a "ferro-ionet" and is extremely promising in terms of applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗