arXiv subjects

T. M. Rice

Publications and source records attributed to T. M. Rice.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

The Transformation of the Superconducting Gap to an Insulating Pseudogap at a Critical Hole Density in the Cuprates

We apply the recent wavepacket formalism developed by Ossadnik to describe the origin of the short range ordered pseudogap state as the hole doping is lowered through a critical density in cuprates. We argue that the energy gain that drives this precursor state to Mott localization, follows from maximizing umklapp scattering near the Fermi energy. To this end we show how energy gaps driven by umklapp scattering can open on an appropriately chosen surface, as proposed earlier by Yang, Rice and Zhang. The key feature is that the pairing instability includes umklapp scattering, leading to an energy gap not only in the single particle spectrum but also in the pair spectrum. As a result the superconducting gap at overdoping is turned into an insulating pseudogap, in the antinodal parts of the Fermi surface.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Theory of the Evolution of Superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ under Anisotropic Strain

Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is a leading candidate for chiral $p$-wave superconductivity. The detailed mechanism of superconductivity in this material is still the subject of intense investigations. Since superconductivity is sensitive to the topology of the Fermi surface (the contour of zero-energy quasi-particle excitations in the momentum space in the normal state), changing this topology can provide a strong test of theory. Recent experiments tuned the Fermi surface topology efficiently by applying planar anisotropic strain. Using functional renormalization group theory, we study the superconductivity and competing orders in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ under strain. We find a rapid initial increase in the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$, which can be associated with the evolution of the Fermi surface toward a Lifshitz reconstruction under increasing strain. Before the Lifshitz reconstruction is reached, however, the system switches from the superconducting state to a spin density wave state. The theory agrees well with recent strain experiments showing an enhancement of $T_c$ followed by an intriguing sudden drop.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Variable range hopping theory for the nodal gap in strongly underdoped cuprate Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$

Recent angle resolved photoemission spectrascope (ARPES) experiments on strongly underdoped Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+δ}$ cuprates have reported an unusual gap in the nodal direction. Transport experiments on these cuprates found variable range hopping behavior observed. These cuprates have both electron and hole doping which has led to proposals that this cuprate is analogous to a partially compensated semiconductors. The nodal gap then corresponds to the Efros-Schklovskii(ES) gap in such semiconductors. We calculate the doping dependence and temperature dependence of a ES gap model and find support for an Efros-Schklovskii model.

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arXiv2015

Giant Phonon Anomaly associated with Superconducting Fluctuations in the Pseudogap Phase of Cuprates

The opening of the pseudogap in underdoped cuprates breaks up the Fermi surface, which may lead to a breakup of the d-wave order parameter into two subband amplitudes and a low energy Leggett mode due to phase fluctuations between them. This causes a large increase in the temperature range of superconducting fluctuations with an overdamped Leggett mode. Almost resonant scattering of inter-subband phonons to a state with a pair of Leggett modes causes anomalously strong damping. In the ordered state, the Leggett mode develops a finite energy, suppressing the anomalous phonon damping but leading to an anomaly in the phonon dispersion.

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arXiv2014

Competing states in the t-J model: uniform d-wave state versus stripe state

Variational studies of the t-J model on the square lattice based on infinite projected-entangled pair states (iPEPS) confirm an extremely close competition between a uniform d-wave superconducting state and different stripe states. The site-centered stripe with an in-phase d-wave order has an equal or only slightly lower energy than the stripe with anti-phase d-wave order. The optimal stripe filling is not constant but increases with J/t. A nematic anisotropy reduces the pairing amplitude and the energies of stripe phases are lowered relative to the uniform state with increasing nematicity.

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arXiv2013

Origin of the unusual strong suppression of low frequency antiferromagnetic fluctuations in underdoped HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$

Generally strong charge and magnetic inhomogeneities are observed in NQR/NMR experiments on underdoped cuprates. It is not the case for the underdoped HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$, the most symmetric and highest T$_c$ single layer cuprate, whose magnetic inhomogeneity is strongly suppressed. Also neutron scattering experiments reveal a unique pair of weakly dispersive magnetic modes in this material. We propose that these special properties stem from the symmetric positioning of the O-dopants between adjacent CuO$_2$ layers that lead to a strong superexchange interaction between a pair of hole spins. In this Letter we present a theoretical model, which gives a consistent explanation to the anomalous magnetic properties of this material.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Theory of superconductivity in a three-orbital model of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

In conventional and high transition temperature copper oxide and iron pnictide superconductors, the Cooper pairs all have even parity. As a rare exception, Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is the first prime candidate for topological chiral p-wave superconductivity, which has time-reversal breaking odd-parity Cooper pairs known to exist before only in the neutral superfluid $^3$He. However, there are several key unresolved issues hampering the microscopic description of the unconventional superconductivity. Spin fluctuations at both large and small wavevectors are present in experiments, but how they arise and drive superconductivity is not yet clear. Spontaneous edge current is expected but not observed conclusively. Specific experiments point to highly band- and/or momentum-dependent energy gaps for quasiparticle excitations in the superconducting state. Here, by comprehensive functional renormalization group calculations with all relevant bands, we disentangle the various competing possibilities. In particular we show the small wavevector spin fluctuations, driven by a single two-dimensional band, trigger p-wave superconductivity with quasi-nodal energy gaps.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Numerical Study of Charge Transport of Overdoped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ within Semiclassical Boltzmann Transport Theory

The in-plane resistivity of the high-temperature oxide superconductor La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ [LSCO] shows a strong growth of a contribution linear in temperature as the doping is reduced in the overdoped region toward optimal. This linear term is a signature of non-Fermi liquid behavior. We find that the appearance of a linear term in the resistivity can arise in a semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory which uses renormalized quasiparticle scattering rates and an empirical band structure fitted to ARPES data on LSCO. The linearized Boltzmann equation is solved numerically by discretizing the Brillouin zone in a way that fits best to the Fermi surface geometry. The main trends in the development of the anomalous temperature dependence are well reproduced. There is a substantial underestimation of the magnitude of the resistivity which is expected in view of the moderate to weak values we chose for the onsite repulsion to stay within the one-loop renormalization group approximation. The analysis was extended to the Seebeck coefficient with similar agreement with the main trends in the data.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Spin Density Wave Fluctuations and p-wave Pairing in Sr2RuO4

Recently a debate has arisen over which of the two distinct parts of the Fermi surface of Sr2RuO4, is the active part for the chiral p-wave superconductivity. Early theories proposed p-wave pairing on the two dimensional gamma-band, while a recent proposal focuses on the one dimensional (alpha,beta) bands whose nesting pockets are the source of the strong incommensurate spin density wave (SDW) fluctuations. We apply a renormalization group theory to study quasi-one dimensional repulsive Hubbard chains and explain the form of SDW fluctuations, reconciling the absence of long range order with their nesting Fermi surface. The mutual exclusion of p-wave pairing and SDW fluctuations in repulsive Hubbard chains favors the assignment of the two dimensional gamma-band as the source of p-wave pairing.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Enhanced Josephson tunneling between high temperature superconductors through a normal pseudogap underdoped cuprate with a finite energy cooperon

The Josephson coupling between optimally cuprate superconductors separated by a spacer with a finite energy cooperon excitation which contributes to the Josephson coupling strength, is examined. For an underdoped cuprate barrier in its normal state, the YRZ model gives a good description of the temperature dependent enhanced Josephson coupling. A detailed examination of origin of the enhancement shows a significant contribution from the cooperon excitation which is comparable to that from nodal quasiparticles.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Interlayer couplings and the coexistence of antiferromagnetic and d-wave pairing order in multilayer cuprates

A more extended low density region of coexisting uniform antiferromagnetism and d-wave superconductivity has been reported in multilayer cuprates, when compared to single or bilayer cuprates. This coexistence could be due to the enhanced screening of random potential modulations in inner layers or to the interlayer Heisenberg and Josephson couplings. A theoretical analysis using a renormalized mean field theory, favors the former explanation. The potential for an improved determination of the antiferromagnetic and superconducting order parameters in an ideal single layer from zero field NMR and infrared Josephson plasma resonances in multilayer cuprates is discussed.

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arXiv2011

Magnetic Response in the Underdoped Cuprates

We examine the dynamical magnetic response of the underdoped cuprates by employing a phenomenological theory of a doped resonant valence bond state where the Fermi surface is truncated into four pockets. This theory predicts a resonant spin response which with increasing energy (0 to 100meV) appears as an hourglass. The very low energy spin response is found at (pi,pi +- delta) and (pi +- delta,pi) and is determined by scattering from the pockets' frontside to the tips of opposite pockets where a van Hove singularity resides. At energies beyond 100 meV, strong scattering is seen from (pi,0) to (pi,pi). This theory thus provides a semi-quantitative description of the spin response seen in both INS and RIXS experiments at all relevant energy scales.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

A Phenomenological Theory of the Anomalous Pseudogap Phase in Underdoped Cuprates

The theoretical description of the anomalous properties of the pseudogap phase in the underdoped region of the cuprate phase diagram lags behind the progress in spectroscopic and other experiments. A phenomenological ansatz, based on analogies to the approach to Mott localization at weak coupling in lower dimensional systems, has been proposed by Yang, Rice and Zhang [Phys. Rev. B 73 (2006),174501]. This ansatz has had success in describing a range of experiments. The motivation underlying this ansatz is described and the comparisons to experiment are reviewed. Implications for a more microscopic theory are discussed together with the relation to theories that start directly from microscopic strongly coupled Hamiltonians.

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arXiv2011

Microscopic model for the semiconductor-to-ferromagnetic-metal transition in FeSi$_{1-x}$Ge$_{x}$ Alloys

The simplified bandstructure introduced by Mazurenko et al to model FeSi is used to analyze the singlet semiconductor to ferromagnetic metal transition in the isoelectronic isostructural alloys, FeSi$_{1-x}$Ge$_x$. The complex bandstructure of the alloy is replaced by an alternating chain of doubly and singly degenerate atoms to represent Fe and Si/Ge respectively. The former(latter) form narrow(broad) bands with a substantial hybridization between them. A substantial onsite repulsion including a Hund's rule coupling is introduced on the Fe sites. The mean field phase diagram contains a first order phase transition from the singlet semiconductor to a ferromagnetic metal with increasing temperature and interaction strength similar to the alloys. The analysis also reproduces the rapid rise of the spin susceptibility in the semiconductor with a crossover to a Curie-Weiss form at higher temperatures. Good agreement is found at zero temperature between the mean field and accurate DMRG calculations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

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

Andreev and Single Particle Tunneling Spectroscopies in Underdoped Cuprates

We study tunneling spectroscopy between a normal metal and underdoped cuprate superconductor modeled by a phenomenological theory in which the pseudogap is a precursor to the undoped Mott insulator. In the transparent tunneling limit, the spectra show a small energy gap associated with Andreev reflection. In the Giaever limit, the spectra show a large energy gap associated with single particle tunneling. Our theory semi-quantitatively describes the two gap behavior observed in tunneling experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Superconductivity generated by coupling to a Cooperon in a 2-dimensional array of 4-leg Hubbard ladders

Starting from an array of four-leg Hubbard ladders weakly doped away from half-filling and weakly coupled by inter-ladder tunneling, we derive an effective low energy model which contains a partially truncated Fermi surface and a well defined Cooperon excitation formed by a bound pair of holes. An attractive interaction in the Cooper channel is generated on the Fermi surface through virtual scattering into the Cooperon state. Although the model is derived in the weak coupling limit of a four-leg ladder array, an examination of exact results on finite clusters for the strong coupling t-J model suggests the essential features are also present for a strong coupling Hubbard model on a square lattice near half-filling.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

On the Origin of the Checkerboard Pattern in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Maps of Underdoped Cuprate Superconductors

The checkerboard pattern in the differential conductance maps on underdoped cuprates appears when the STM is placed above the O-sites in the outermost CuO$_{\text{2}}$-plane. In this position the interference between tunneling paths through the apical ions above the neighboring Cu-sites leads to an asymmetric weighting of final states in the two antinodal regions of ${\boldsymbol{k}}$-space. The form of the asymmetry in the differential conductance spectra in the checkerboard pattern favors asymmetry in the localization length rather than a nematic displacement as the underlying origin.

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