arXiv subjects

P. D. Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to P. D. Johnson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Analysis of the Quasiparticle Spectral Function in the Underdoped Cuprates

We applied the approach of K.-Y. Yang, T. M. Rice and F.-Ch. Zhang (YRZ) to analyze the high resolution angular resolved photo-emission spectroscopy (ARPES) data in BiSCO obtained recently at Brookhaven. In the YRZ ansatz a constant RVB gap is assumed which leads to Luttinger zeros along the antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone (AFBZ) and four Fermi pockets centered on the nodal directions. We relax the assumption of a constant RVB gap function, treating it as a Ising order parameter accompanied by thermal fluctuations. If these thermal fluctuations are very strong leading to strictly short range correlations in the spatial dependence of the RVB gap, then the reconstruction of the Fermi surface into pockets will not survive. We examined the intermediate case of critical fluctuations leading to a power law falloff of the RVB gap correlations. To this end we followed the analysis recently developed by two of us to treat the effect of the power law correlations in the antiferromagnetic 2-dimensional xy model on the single electron Green's function. The partial truncation of the Fermi surface to form pockets survives in the presence of power law correlations. The linewidth of the quasiparticle peaks increases with the exponent of the power law correlations. If this exponent is set at the value of critical fluctuations in the 2-dimensional Ising model a relatively small linewidth is obtained. If this exponent is doubled, a linewidth comparable to the values found in recent ARPES experiments on underdoped BiSCO (Tc = 65 K) at T = 140K was obtained. The anisotropic suppression of the quasiparticle peak around the Fermi pockets hides the back side of the pockets closest to the AFBZ to give essentially Fermi arcs seen experimentally.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Coupling of spin and orbital excitations in the iron-based superconductor FeSe(0.5)Te(0.5)

We present a combined analysis of neutron scattering and photoemission measurements on superconducting FeSe(0.5)Te(0.5). The low-energy magnetic excitations disperse only in the direction transverse to the characteristic wave vector (1/2,0,0), whereas the electronic Fermi surface near (1/2,0,0) appears to consist of four incommensurate pockets. While the spin resonance occurs at an incommensurate wave vector compatible with nesting, neither spin-wave nor Fermi-surface-nesting models can describe the magnetic dispersion. We propose that a coupling of spin and orbital correlations is key to explaining this behavior. If correct, it follows that these nematic fluctuations are involved in the resonance and could be relevant to the pairing mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Coupling of Low Energy Electrons in Optimally Doped Bi2212 to an Optical Phonon Mode

Laser based photoemission with photons of energy 6 eV is used to examine the fine details of the very low energy electron dispersion and associated dynamics in the nodal region of optimally doped Bi2212. A "kink" in the dispersion in the immediate vicinity of the Fermi energy is associated with scattering from an optical phonon previously identified in Raman studies. The identification of this phonon as the appropriate mode is confirmed by comparing the scattering rates observed experimentally with the results of calculated scattering rates based on the properties of the phonon mode.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Quasiparticles in the Pseudogap Phase of Underdoped Cuprate

Recent angle resolved photoemission \cite{yang-nature-08} and scanning tunneling microscopy \cite{kohsaka-nature-08} measurements on underdoped cuprates have yielded new spectroscopic information on quasiparticles in the pseudogap phase. New features of the normal state such as particle-hole asymmetry, maxima in the energy dispersion and accompanying drops in the spectral weight of quasiparticles agree with the ansatz of Yang \textit{et al.} for the single particle propagator in the pseudogap phase. The coherent quasiparticle dispersion and reduced asymmetry in the tunneling density of states in the superconducting state can also be described by this propagator.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Spin-orbit interaction effect in the electronic structure of \BiTe \ observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The electronic structure of $p$-type doped \BiTe is studied by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to experimentally confirm the mechanism responsible for the high thermoelectric figure of merit. Our ARPES study shows that the band edges are located off the $Γ$-Z line in the Brillouin zone, which provides direct observation that the spin-orbit interaction is a key factor to understand the electronic structure and the corresponding thermoelectric properties of \BiTe. Successive time dependent ARPES measurement also reveals that the electron-like bands crossing E$_F$ near the $\underlineΓ$ point are formed in an hour after cleaving the crystals. We interpret these as surface states induced by surface band bending, possibly due to quintuple inter-layer distance change of \BiTe.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

ARPES Study of the Metal-Insulator Transition in Bismuth Cobaltates

We present an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of a Mott-Hubbard-type bismuth cobaltate system across a metal-insulator transition. By varying the amount of Pb substitution, and by doping with Sr or Ba cation, a range of insulating to metallic properties is obtained. We observe a systematic change in the spectral weight of the coherent and incoherent parts, accompanied by an energy shift of the incoherent part. The band dispersion also shows the emergence of a weakly dispersing state at the Fermi energy with increasing conductivity. These changes correspond with the changes in the temperature-dependent resistivity behavior. We address the nature of the coherent-incoherent parts in relation to the peak-dip-hump feature seen in cuprates superconductors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

High-energy kink in high-temperature superconductors

In conventional metals, electron-phonon coupling, or the phonon-mediated interaction between electrons, has long been known to be the pairing interaction responsible for the superconductivity. The strength of this interaction essentially determines the superconducting transition temperature TC. One manifestation of electron-phonon coupling is a mass renormalization of the electronic dispersion at the energy scale associated with the phonons. This renormalization is directly observable in photoemission experiments. In contrast, there remains little consensus on the pairing mechanism in cuprate high temperature superconductors. The recent observation of similar renormalization effects in cuprates has raised the hope that the mechanism of high temperature superconductivity may finally be resolved. The focus has been on the low energy renormalization and associated "kink" in the dispersion at around 50 meV. However at that energy scale, there are multiple candidates including phonon branches, structure in the spin-fluctuation spectrum, and the superconducting gap itself, making the unique identification of the excitation responsible for the kink difficult. Here we show that the low-energy renormalization at ~50 meV is only a small component of the total renormalization, the majority of which occurs at an order of magnitude higher energy (~350 meV). This high energy kink poses a new challenge for the physics of the cuprates. Its role in superconductivity and relation to the low-energy kink remains to be determined.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Unusual photoemission resonances of oxygen-dopant induced states in Bi$_{2}$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$

We have performed an angular-resolved photoemission study of underdoped, optimally doped and overdoped Bi$_{2}$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$ samples using a wide photon energy range (15 - 100 eV). We report a small and broad non-dispersive A$_{1g}$ peak in the energy distribution curves whose intensity scales with doping. We attribute it to a local impurity state similar to the one observed recently by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and identified as the oxygen dopants. Detailed analysis of the resonance profile and comparison with the single-layered Bi$_{2}$Sr$_2$CuO$_{6+x}$ suggest a mixing of this local state with Cu via the apical oxygens.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Fine Details of the Nodal Electronic Excitations in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$

Very high energy resolution photoemission experiments on high quality samples of optimally doped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ show new features in the low-energy electronic excitations. A marked change in the binding energy and temperature dependence of the near-nodal scattering rates is observed near the superconducting transition temperature, $T_C$. The temperature slope of the scattering rate measured at low energy shows a discontinuity at ~$T_C$. In the superconducting state, coherent excitations are found with the scattering rates showing a cubic dependence on frequency and temperature. The superconducting gap has a d-wave magnitude with negligible contribution from higher harmonics. Further, the bi-layer splitting has been found to be finite at the nodal point.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Enhanced flux pinning in YBa2Cu3O7-d films by nano-scaled substrate surface roughness

Nano-scaled substrate surface roughness is shown to strongly influence the critical current density Jc in YBCO films made by pulse-laser-deposition on the crystalline LaAlO3 substrates consisting of two separate twin-free and twin-rich regions. The nano-scaled corrugated surface was created in the twin-rich region during the deposition process. Using magneto-optical imaging techniques coupled with optical and atomic force microscopy, we observed an enhanced flux pinning in the YBCO films in the twin-rich region, resulted in \~30% increase in Jc, which was unambiguously confirmed by the direct transport measurement.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Response of fractal penetration of magnetic flux to disorder landscape in superconducting films

Magnetic flux front and induction contours in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-d films with defect size s ~ l (superconducting coherence length) and s > l are studied by magneto-optical imaging. Robust self-affine spatial correlation was observed using scaling analysis in the small pinning-dominated (s ~ l) disorderd films. The roughness exponent was determined to be ~ 0.66, independent of numbers of defects (or the film thickness). When the disorder landscape also included a distribution of large defects (s >> l), the flux front and induction contours exhibited self-similarity, with a fractal dimension to be ~ 1.33 using the box-counting method. The remarkably different flux penetration patterns were shown to be the manifestation of self-organized criticality at different length scales.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Extracting the electron--boson spectral function $α^2$F($ω$) from infrared and photoemission data using inverse theory

We present a new method of extracting electron-boson spectral function $α^2$F($ω$) from infrared and photoemission data. This procedure is based on inverse theory and will be shown to be superior to previous techniques. Numerical implementation of the algorithm is presented in detail and then used to accurately determine the doping and temperature dependence of the spectral function in several families of high-T$_c$ superconductors. Principal limitations of extracting $α^2$F($ω$) from experimental data will be pointed out. We directly compare the IR and ARPES $α^2$F($ω$) and discuss the resonance structure in the spectra in terms of existing theoretical models.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Response to comment by Cuk et al

In a recent study of the optical conductivity of the Bi-2212 high temperature superconductor, Hwang, et al. have confirmed the mass-renormalization changes observed in ARPES but find that such changes are no longer observed in the highly overdoped regime. In a comment on this study, Cuk, et al. challenge this conclusion and present ARPES evidence for a kink in the superconducting state in the highly overdoped regime. We show, however that two doping dependent properties in the data of Cuk et al., the frequencies of the superconducting gap and the Van Hove singularity, suggest a Tc that is higher than the 58 K quoted, and that their sample is not as highly overdoped as claimed. As a result, these data can not refute the claim of Hwang et al. that the kink is absent in the highly overdoped region.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Doping of a One-Dimensional Mott Insulator: Photoemision and Optical Studies of Sr$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$

The spectral properties of a one-dimensional (1D) single-chain Mott insulator Sr$_2$CuO$_{3}$ have been studied in angle-resolved photoemission and optical spectroscopy, at half filling and with small concentrations of extra charge doped into the chains via high oxygen pressure growth. The single- particle gap is reduced with oxygen doping, but the metallic state is not reached. The bandwidth of the charge-transfer band increases with doping, while the state becomes narrower, allowing unambiguous observation of separated spinon and holon branches in the doped system. The optical gap is not changed upon doping, indicating that a shift of chemical potential rather than decrease of corelation gap is responsible for the apparent reduction of the photoemission gap.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Quasi-Particle Spectra, Charge-Density-Wave, Superconductivity and Electron-Phonon Coupling in 2H-NbSe2

High-resolution photoemission has been used to study the electronic structure of the charge density wave (CDW) and superconducting (SC) dichalcogenide, 2H- NbSe2. From the extracted self-energies, important components of the quasiparticle (QP) interactions have been identified. In contrast to previously studied TaSe2, the CDW transition does not affect the electronic properties significantly. The electron-phonon coupling is identified as a dominant contribution to the QP self-energy and is shown to be very anisotropic (k-dependent) and much stronger than in TaSe2.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Epitaxial Thin Films of the Giant-Dielectric-Constant Material CaCu_3Ti_4O_{12} Grown by Pulsed-laser Deposition

Pulsed-laser deposition has been used to grow epitaxial thin films of the giant-dielectric-constant material CaCu_3Ti_4O_{12} on LaAlO_3 and SrTiO_3 substrates with or without various conducting buffer layers. The latter include YBa_2Cu_3O_7, La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_{4+δ} and LaNiO_3. Above 100K - 150K the thin films have a temperature independent dielectric constant as do single crystals. The value of the dielectric constant is of the order of 1500 over a wide temperature region, potentially making it a good candidate for many applications. The frequency dependence of its dielectric properties below 100K - 150K indicates an activated relaxation process.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Coherence-Incoherence and Dimensional Crossover in Layered Strongly Correlated Metals

Correlations between electrons and the effective dimensionality are crucial factors that shape the properties of an interacting electron system. For example, the onsite Coulomb repulsion, U, may inhibit, or completely block the intersite electron hopping, t, and depending on the ratio U/t, a material may be a metal or an insulator. The correlation effects increase as the number of allowed dimensions decreases. In 3D systems, the low energy electronic states behave as quasiparticles (QP), while in 1D systems, even weak interactions break the quasiparticles into collective excitations. Dimensionality is particularly important for a class of new exotic low-dimensional materials where 1D or 2D building blocks are loosely connected into a 3D whole. Small interactions between the blocks may induce a whole variety of unusual transitions. Here, we examine layered systems that in the direction perpendicular to the layers display a crossover from insulating-like, at high temperatures, to metallic-like character at low temperatures, while being metallic over the whole temperature range within the layers. We show that this change in effective dimensionality correlates with the existence or non-existence of coherent quasiparticles within the layers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

On the Doping and Temperature Dependence of the Mass Enhancement Observed in the Cuprate Bi2212

High-resolution photoemission is used to study the electronic structure of the cuprate superconductor, Bi2212, as a function of hole doping and temperature. A kink observed in the band dispersion in the nodal direction in the superconducting state is associated with coupling to a resonant mode observed in neutron scattering. From the measured real part of the self energy it is possible to extract a coupling constant which is largest in the underdoped regime, then decreasing continuously into the overdoped regime.

cond-mat.supr-con↗