arXiv subjects

Catherine Pépin

Publications and source records attributed to Catherine Pépin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Pole structure of the electronic self-energy with coexistence of Charge order and Superconductivity

We compare the pole structure of the electronic Green's function obtained by Cluster Dynamical Mean Field Theory to the results from the fractionalized Pair Density Wave idea. In the superconducting phase, we can consider the system in a state with coexistence of Superconducting and Charge order. Writing the Green's function in a way analogous to the previously proposed "hidden-fermions" model from S. Sakai et al (2016) leads to a similar pole structure for the self-energy. The fractionalization of the Pair Density Wave order also describes the pseudogap phase as a superposition of superconducting and charge order fluctuations. Considering a phenomenological lifetime for the particle-particle and particle-hole pairs leads to an electronic spectral function that matches the numerical results.

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arXiv2020

Anomalous softening of phonon-dispersion in cuprate superconductors

A softening of phonon-dispersion has been observed experimentally in under-doped cuprate superconductors at the charge-density wave (CDW) ordering wave vector. Interestingly, the softening occurs below the superconducting (SC) transition temperature T$_{c}$, in contrast to the metallic systems, where the softening occurs usually below the CDW onset temperature T$_{\text{CDW}}$. An understanding of the `anomalous' nature of the phonon-softening and its connection to the pseudo-gap phase in under-doped cuprates remain open questions. Within a perturbative approach, we show that a complex interplay among the ubiquitous CDW, SC orders and life-time of quasi-particles associated to thermal fluctuations, can explain the anomalous phonon-softening below T$_{c}$. Furthermore, our formalism captures different characteristics of the low temperature phonon-softening depending on material specificity.

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arXiv2020

Electronic spectral function in fractionalized Pair Density Wave scenario

Studies of the electronic spectral function in cuprates by Angle-Resolved Photo-Emission Spectroscopy reveal unusual features in the pseudogap phase that persist in the superconducting phase. We address here these observations based on the recently proposed idea that the pseudogap is due to the fractionalization of modulated particle-particle pairs (a Pair Density Wave) into uniform particle-particle and modulated particle-hole pairs. The constraint that appears between these two types of pairs can be seen has an amplitude for the pseudogap energy scale. This constraint directly modify the electronic spectral function in the pseudogap phase. We derive a self-consistent equation for the pseudogap amplitude and show that it leads to the formation of Fermi arcs. The band dispersion obtained in the anti-nodal region is in good agreement with experimental ARPES observations in Pb$_{0.55}$Bi$_{1.5}$Sr$_{1.6}$La$_{0.4}$CuO$_{6+δ}$ (Bi2201) and present a back-bending that goes to the Fermi level as we go away from the antinodal region. We also discuss the temperature dependence of the ARPES spectrum in the pseudogap and in the superconducting state.

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arXiv2019

Incipient loop current order in the under-doped cuprate superconductors

There are growing experimental evidence which indicate discrete symmetry breaking like time-reversal ($\mathcal{T}$), parity ($\mathcal{P}$) and C$_{4}$ lattice rotation in the pseudo-gap state of the under-doped copper-oxide based (cuprate) superconductors. The discrete symmetry breaking manifests a true phase transition to an ordered state. A detailed thermodynamic understanding of these orders can answer various puzzles related to the nature of the transition at the pseudo-gap temperature T$^*$. In this work, we investigate thermodynamic signature of $\mathcal{T-P}$ symmetry breaking considering superconductivity (SC) and bond-density wave (BDW) as two primary orders. The BDW can generate both modulating charge and current densities. This framework takes into account an intricate competition between the ubiquitous charge density wave and SC, which is prominent in various cuprates in the under-doped regime. We demonstrate that within mean-field approach of competing BDW and SC orders, a $\mathcal{T-P}$ breaking ground state of coexisting BDW and SC can be stabilized, provided the BDW itself breaks $\mathcal{T}-\mathcal{P}$. But this ground state ceases to occur at higher temperatures. However, we show that fluctuations in SC and BDW can drive emergence of a new unusual translational symmetry preserving order due to a preemptive phase transition by spontaneously breaking $\mathcal{T-P}$ at a higher temperature before the primary orders set in. We refer this order to be magneto-electric loop current (MELC) order. We present possible nature of phase transition for this new incipient MELC order and discuss some experimental relevance.

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arXiv2019

Fractionalizing a local pair density wave: a good "recipe" for opening a pseudo-gap

We give a concise version of a recently proposed concept of fractionalization of an order parameter, thus generating a constraint through a fictitious gauge field. We argue that this new line of approach is key to explain the longstanding mystery of the pseudo-gap phase in cuprate superconductors. For example, the fractionalization of a finite momentum, charge two state living on latice bonds -- also called Pair Density Wave, into a particle-particle and a particle-hole pair leads to the opening of a gap in the fermionic spectrum. It induces "phase-locking" between the particle-particle and particle-hole pairs. We describe the formation of the Fermi arcs in the spectrum and give an account of recent Raman spectroscopy results from a minimal microscopic model. We relate the "phase-locking" to intriguing STM experimental observations.

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arXiv2019

Collective mode in the SU(2) theory of cuprates

Recent advances in momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (MEELS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) now allow one to access the charge response function with unprecedented versatility and accuracy. This allows for the study of excitations which were inaccessible recently, such as low-energy and finite momentum collective modes. The SU(2) theory of the cuprates is based on a composite order parameter with SU(2) symmetry fluctuating between superconductivity and charge order. The phase where it fluctuates is a candidate for the pseudogap phase of the cuprates. This theory has a signature, enabling its strict experimental test, which is the fluctuation between these two orders, corresponding to a charge 2 spin 0 mode at the charge ordering wave-vector. Here we derive the influence of this SU(2) collective mode on the charge susceptibility in both strong and weak coupling limits, and discuss its relation to MEELS, RIXS and Raman experiments. We find two peaks in the charge susceptibility at finite energy, whose middle is the charge ordering wave-vector, and discuss their evolution in the phase diagram.

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arXiv2018

Pseudo-spin Skyrmions in the Phase Diagram of Cuprate Superconductors

Topological states of matter are at the root of some of the most fascinating phenomena in condensed matter physics. Here we argue that skyrmions in the pseudo-spin space related to an emerging SU(2) symmetry enlighten many mysterious properties of the pseudogap phase in under-doped cuprates. We detail the role of the SU(2) symmetry in controlling the phase diagram of the cuprates, in particular how a cascade of phase transitions explains the arising of the pseudogap, superconducting and charge modulation phases seen at low temperature. We specify the structure of the charge modulations inside the vortex core below $T_{c}$, as well as in a wide temperature region above $T_{c}$, which is a signature of the skyrmion topological structure. We argue that the underlying SU(2) symmetry is the main structure controlling the emergent complexity of excitations at the pseudogap scale $T^{*}$. The theory yields a gapping of a large part of the anti-nodal region of the Brillouin zone, along with $q=0$ phase transitions, of both nematic and loop currents characters.

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arXiv2018

The phase diagram of the underdoped cuprates at high magnetic field

The experimentally measured phase diagram of cuprate superconductors in the temperature-applied magnetic field plane illuminates key issues in understanding the physics of these materials. At low temperature, the superconducting state gives way to a long-range charge order with increasing magnetic field; both the orders coexist in a small intermediate region. The charge order transition is strikingly insensitive to temperature, and quickly reaches a transition temperature close to the zero-field superconducting $T_c$. We argue that such a transition along with the presence of the coexisting phase cannot be described simply by a competing orders formalism. We demonstrate that for some range of parameters there is an enlarged symmetry of the strongly coupled charge and superconducting orders in the system depending on their relative masses and the coupling strength of the two orders. We establish that this sharp switch from the superconducting phase to the charge order phase can be understood in the framework of a composite SU(2) order parameter comprising the charge and superconducting orders. Finally, we illustrate that there is a possibility of the coexisting phase of the competing charge and superconducting orders only when the SU(2) symmetry between them is weakly broken due to biquadratic terms in the free energy. The relation of this sharp transition to the proximity to the pseudogap quantum critical doping is also discussed.

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arXiv2017

Evolution of spectral and transport quantities with doping in the SU(2) theory of cuprates

Recent transport experiments in the cuprate superconductors linked the opening of the pseudogap to a change in electronic dispersion [S. Badoux et al., Nature 531, 210 (2015)]. Transport measurements showed that the carrier density sharply changes from $x$ to $1+x$ at the pseudogap critical doping, in accordance with the change from Fermi arcs at low doping to a large hole Fermi surface at high doping. The SU(2) theory of cuprates shows that antiferromagnetic short range interactions cause the arising of both charge and superconducting orders, which are related by an SU(2) symmetry. The fluctuations associated with this symmetry form a pseudogap phase. Here we derive the renormalised electronic propagator under the SU(2) dome, and calculate the spectral functions and transport quantities of the renormalised bands. We show that their evolution with doping matches both spectral and transport measurements.

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arXiv2016

Coexistence of $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order with checkerboard d-wave CDW/PDW order in a hot-spot model for cuprate superconductors

We investigate the strong influence of the $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order on both unidirectional and bidirectional d-wave charge-density-wave/pair-density-wave (CDW/PDW) composite orders along axial momenta $(\pm Q_0,0)$ and $(0,\pm Q_0)$ that emerge in an effective hot spot model departing from the three-band Emery model relevant to the phenomenology of the cuprate superconductors. This study is motivated by the compelling evidence that the $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order described by this model may explain groundbreaking experiments such as spin-polarized neutron scattering performed in these materials. Here, we demonstrate, within a saddle-point approximation, that the $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order clearly coexists with bidirectional (i.e. checkerboard) d-wave CDW and PDW orders along axial momenta, but is visibly detrimental to the unidirectional (i.e. stripe) case. This result has potentially far-reaching implications for the physics of the cuprates and agrees well with very recent x-ray experiments on YBCO that indicate that at higher dopings the CDW order has indeed a tendency to be bidirectional.

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arXiv2015

Strong competition between $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order and $d$-wave charge order along the diagonal direction in a two-dimensional hot spot model

We study the fate of the so-called $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order that breaks both time-reversal and parity symmetries in a two-dimensional hot spot model with antiferromagnetically mediated interactions, using Fermi surfaces relevant to the phenomenology of the cuprate superconductors. We start from a three-band Emery model describing the hopping of holes in the CuO$_{2}$ plane that includes two hopping parameters $t_{pp}$ and $t_{pd}$, local on-site Coulomb interactions $U_{d}$ and $U_{p}$ and nearest-neighbor $V_{pd}$ couplings between the fermions in the copper [Cu$(3d_{x^{2}-y^{2}})$] and oxygen [O$(2p_{x})$ and O$(2p_{y})$] orbitals. By focusing on the lowest-energy band, we proceed to decouple the local interaction $U_{d}$ of the Cu orbital in the spin channel using a Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation to arrive at the interacting part of the so-called spin-fermion model. We also decouple the nearest-neighbor interaction $V_{pd}$ to introduce the order parameter of the $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order. In this way, we are able to construct a consistent mean-field theory that describes the strong competition between the composite order parameter made of a quadrupole-density-wave and $d$-wave pairing fluctuations proposed in Efetov \emph{et al.} [Nat. Phys. \textbf{9}, 442 (2013)] with the $Θ_{II}$-loop-current order parameter that is argued to be relevant for explaining important aspects of the physics of the pseudogap phase displayed in the underdoped cuprates.

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arXiv2015

Renormalization group analysis of the pair-density-wave and charge order within the fermionic hot-spot model for cuprate superconductors

In light of the new experimental and theoretical important developments in high-$T_c$ superconductivity, we revisit the fermionic hot-spot model relevant to the phenomenology of the cuprates. We extend previous results by means of a complete two-loop order renormalization group (RG) framework. Here, we explicitly study the effect of the charge-density-wave (CDW) order parameter with a $d$-wave form factor with the experimentally observed modulation $(\pm Q_0,0)$ and $(0,\pm Q_0)$ at the infrared-stable nontrivial fixed point obtained previously for this model. Additionally, we proceed to investigate also the so-called pair-density-wave (PDW) order that was recently proposed in the literature as a possible candidate for the "hidden" order to describe the pseudogap phase observed in underdoped cuprates. We confirm that although the above two ordering tendencies are also found to be nearly degenerate both at one-loop and two-loop RG orders and linked by an emergent $SU(2)$ pseudospin symmetry, they turn out to be subleading for weaker couplings in the present model to antiferromagnetism, $d$-wave bond-density wave (BDW) order with modulation along Brillouin zone diagonals $(\pm Q_0,\pm Q_0)$, and $d$-wave singlet superconductivity (SSC). However, as we increase the strength of the initial coupling towards moderate values, we do capture a tendency for the entangled PDW/CDW order to become leading compared to BDW/SSC in the model, which suggests that the former composite order might be indeed a viable concept to describe some cuprate superconductors at high temperatures in the underdoped regime, as has been recently alluded to by many authors in the literature.

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arXiv2015

Pairing gaps near ferromagnetic quantum critical points

We address the quantum-critical behavior of a two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnetic systems described by a spin-fermion model in which fermions interact with close to critical bosonic modes. We consider Heisenberg ferromagnets, Ising ferromagnets, and the Ising nematic transition. Mean-field theory close to the quantum critical point predicts a superconducting gap with spin-triplet symmetry for the ferromagnetic systems and a singlet gap for the nematic scenario. Studying fluctuations in this ordered phase using a nonlinear sigma model, we find that these fluctuations are not suppressed by any small parameter. As a result, we find that a superconducting quasi-long-range order is still possible in the Ising-like models but long-range order is destroyed in Heisenberg ferromagnets.

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arXiv2014

Spin liquid versus long range magnetic order in the frustrated body-centered tetragonal lattice

The quantum Heisenberg model is studied in the geometrically frustrated body-centered tetragonal lattice(BCT lattice) with antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling J1 and intralayer first and second neighbor coupling J2 and J3. We introduce a variational method: each interaction term can be decoupled partially in the purely magnetic Weiss and in the spin-liquid (SL) mean-field channels. We find that the most stable variational solutions correspond to the three different possible long range magnetic orders that are respectively governed by J1, J2, and J3. We characterize three different purely SL non-magnetic solutions that are variationally the second most stable states after the purely magnetic ones. This suggests that quantum fluctuations induced by the frustration between J1-J2-J3 coupling should destroy magnetic orders and stabilize the formation of SL in large areas of parameters. The SL solution governed by J1 breaks the lattice translation symmetry. This Modulated SL is associated to a commensurate ordering wave vector (1,1,1). We discuss the relevance of our results for heavy fermion Uru2Si2 and cuprate superconductors that have a BCT lattice structure. Also, the general variational method introduced here can be applied to any other system where interaction terms can be decoupled in two different mean-field channels.

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arXiv2012

3D Modulated Spin Liquid model applied to URu$_2$Si$_2$

We have developed a 3D version for the Modulated Spin Liquid in a body-centered tetragonal lattice structure to describe the hidden order observed in URu$_2$Si$_2$ at $T_0\approx17.5$ K. This second order transition is well described by our model confirming our earlier hypothesis. The symmetry of the modulation is minimized for ${\bf Q}\equiv(1,1,1)$. We assume a linear variation of the interaction parameters with the lattice spacing and our results show good agreement with uniaxial and pressure experiments.

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arXiv2011

Activation gap in the specific heat measurements for He$^3$ bi-layers

Recently, attention has been given to a system of He$^3$ bi-layers where a quantum criticality similar to the one in heavy fermion compounds has been observed [Science 317, 1356 92007)] In our previous analysis [Phys. Rev. B 79, 045112 (2007)], based on the Kondo breakdown scenario, we addressed successfully most of the features observed in that experiment. Here, we consider the activation energy $Δ$ observed experimentally in the specific heat measurements at low temperatures in the heavy Fermi liquid phase. Within our previous study of this system, this is identified with the gap opening when the upper hybridized band is emptied due to a strong hybridization between the nearly localized first layer and the fluid second one. We discuss the successes and limitations of our approach. An additional prediction is proposed.

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arXiv2008

He3 bi-layers as a simple example of de-confinement

We consider the recent experiments on He3 bi-layers, showing evidence for a quantum critical point (QCP) at which the first layer localizes. Using the Anderson lattice in two dimensions with the addition of a small dispersion of the f-fermion, we modelize the system of adsorbed He3 layers. The first layer represents the f-fermions at the brink of localization while the second layer behaves as a free Fermi sea. We study the quantum critical regime of this system, evaluate the effective mass in the Fermi liquid phase and the coherence temperature and give a fit of the experiments and interpret its main features. Our model can serve as well as a predictive tool used for better determination of the experimental parameters.

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arXiv2003

Quantum-critical behavior of itinerant ferromagnets

We study the stability of the Quantum Critical Point (QCP) for itinerant ferromagnets commonly described by the Hertz-Millis-Moriya (HMM) theory. We argue that in $D \leq 3$, long-range spatial correlations associated with the Landau damping of the order parameter field generate a universal {\it negative}, non-analytic $|q|^{(D+1)/2}$ contribution to the static magnetic susceptibility $χ_s (q, 0)$, which makes HMM theory unstable. We argue that the actual transition is either towards incommensurate ordering, or first order. We also show that singular corrections are specific to the spin problem, while charge susceptibility remains analytic at criticality.

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