Collapse of superconductivity in cuprates via ultrafast quenching of phase coherence
- Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and Quantum Matter Inst.
- Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and Quantum Matter Inst.; Max Planck Inst. for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany); Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics
- Catholic Univ. of the Sacred Heart, Brescia (Italy). Dept. of Mathematics and Physics and Interdisciplinary Lab. for Advanced Materials Physics (ILAMP)
- Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and Quantum Matter Inst.; Max Planck Inst. for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany)
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.; Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
The possibility of driving phase transitions in low-density condensates through the loss of phase coherence alone has far-reaching implications for the study of quantum phases of matter. This has inspired the development of tools to control and explore the collective properties of condensate phases via phase fluctuations. Electrically gated oxide interfaces, ultracold Fermi atoms and cuprate superconductors, which are characterized by an intrinsically small phase stiffness, are paradigmatic examples where these tools are having a dramatic impact. In this study, we use light pulses shorter than the internal thermalization time to drive and probe the phase fragility of the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ cuprate superconductor, completely melting the superconducting condensate without affecting the pairing strength. The resulting ultrafast dynamics of phase fluctuations and charge excitations are captured and disentangled by time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. This work demonstrates the dominant role of phase coherence in the superconductor-to-normal state phase transition and offers a benchmark for non-equilibrium spectroscopic investigations of the cuprate phase diagram.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Emergent Superconductivity (CES); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Science & Engineering Division; Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR); Catholic Univ. of the Sacred Heart, Brescia (Italy); Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials (CQM); Canada First Research Excellence Fund; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Killam Fellowships Program; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Canada Research Chairs Program; Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI); Canadian Inst. for Advanced Research (CIFAR); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704; AC02-98CH10886; Prot. 2015C5SEJJ001; D.1; D.2.2; D.3.1; GBMF4779; P300P2-164649
- OSTI ID:
- 1440896
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-205749-2018-JAAM
- Journal Information:
- Nature Materials, Vol. 17, Issue 5; ISSN 1476-1122
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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