Impact of the charge density wave state in the electrodynamic response of ${\mathrm{ZrTe}}_{3-x}{\mathrm{Se}}_x$ : Optical evidence for a pseudogap phase

Journal Article · 12 January 2018 · Physical Review B

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.045117 · OSTI ID:1426457

Chinotti, M. ^[1]; Ethiraj, J. ^[2]; Mirri, C. ^[1]; Zhu, Xiangde ^[3]; Li, Lijun ^[4]; Petrovic, C. ^[5]; Degiorgi, L. ^[1]

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1. Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Lab. for Solid State Physics
2. Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland). Lab. for Solid State Physics; Indian Inst. of Technology (IIT), Madras (India). National Center for Catalysis Research
3. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Univ. of Science and Technology, Hefei (China). AnHui Province Key Lab. of Condensed Matter Physics at Extreme Conditions and High Magnetic Field Lab.
4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei (China). Key Lab. of Materials Physics and Inst. of Solid State Physics
5. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.

The emergence of superconductivity upon progressively suppressing the long-range, charge-density-wave (CDW) order characterizes the phase diagram of several materials of interest in the on-going solid-state physics research. Se-doped ZrTe₃ compounds provide the most recent, suitable arena in order to investigate the interplay of otherwise competing orders in layeredlike two-dimensional systems. We present an optical study of the CDW state in ZrTe_3-xSe_x at selected Se dopings, based on the measurement of the reflectivity from the far-infrared up to the ultraviolet, as a function of temperature. We particularly focus our attention to the redistribution of the spectral weight, which images the impact of the CDW state within the optical conductivity across the phase diagram of the title compounds. The electrodynamic response is consistent with a scenario based on a long-range CDW condensate at low Se doping. Upon increasing the Se content, this then gives way to local, short-range order CDW segments. Thus, our spectral weight analysis reveals the presence of a pseudogap phase, as fingerprint of the CDW precursor effects and thus shaping the charge dynamics of the title compounds in their normal state, preceding the onset of superconductivity.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Key Research and Development Program of China; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC00112704; 11404342; 2017YFA0403502; 2017483
• OSTI ID: 1426457
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1416842
• Report Number(s): BNL-203346-2018-JAAM; PRBMDO; TRN: US1802287
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Vol. 97, Issue 4; ISSN 2469-9950
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English