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1. Correlation between scale-invariant normal-state resistivity and superconductivity in an electron-doped cuprate

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav6753  

   Sarkar, Tarapada ; Mandal, P. R. ; Poniatowski, N. R. ; Chan, M. K. ; Greene, Richard L. ( May 2019 , Science Advances)

   An understanding of the normal state in the high-temperature superconducting cuprates is crucial to the ultimate understanding of the long-standing problem of the origin of the superconductivity itself. This so-called “strange metal” state is thought to be associated with a quantum critical point (QCP) hidden beneath the superconductivity. In electron-doped cuprates—in contrast to hole-doped cuprates—it is possible to access the normal state at very low temperatures and low magnetic fields to study this putative QCP and to probe the T ➔ 0 K state of these materials. We report measurements of the low-temperature normal-state magnetoresistance (MR) of the n-type cupratemore »system La 2− x Ce x CuO 4 and find that it is characterized by a linear-in-field behavior, which follows a scaling relation with applied field and temperature, for doping ( x ) above the putative QCP ( x = 0.14). The magnitude of the unconventional linear MR decreases as T c decreases and goes to zero at the end of the superconducting dome ( x ~ 0.175) above which a conventional quadratic MR is found. These results show that there is a strong correlation between the quantum critical excitations of the strange metal state and the high- T c superconductivity.« less
2. Valence transition model of the pseudogap, charge order, and superconductivity in electron-doped and hole-doped copper oxides

   https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.98.205153  

   Mazumdar, S. ( October 2018 , Physical review. B, Condensed matter)

   We present a valence transition model for electron- and hole-doped cuprates, within which there occurs a discrete jump in ionicity Cu2+ -> Cu1+ in both families upon doping, at or near optimal doping in the conventionally prepared electron-doped compounds and at the pseudogap phase transition in the hole-doped materials. In thin films of the T' compounds, the valence transition has occurred already in the undoped state. The phenomenology of the valence transition is closely related to that of the neutral-to-ionic transition in mixed-stack organic charge-transfer solids. Doped cuprates have negative charge-transfer gaps, just as rare-earth nickelates and BaBiO3. The unusuallymore »high ionization energy of the closed shell Cu1+ ion, taken together with the dopingdriven reduction in three-dimensional Madelung energy and gain in two-dimensional delocalization energy in the negative charge transfer gap state drives the transition in the cuprates. The combined effects of strong correlations and small d-p electron hoppings ensure that the systems behave as effective 1/2-filled Cu band with the closed shell electronically inactive O2- ions in the undoped state, and as correlated two-dimensional geometrically frustrated 1/4-filled oxygen hole band, now with electronically inactive closed-shell Cu1+ ions, in the doped state. The model thus gives microscopic justification for the two-fluid models suggested by many authors. The theory gives the simplest yet most comprehensive understanding of experiments in the normal states. The robust commensurate antiferromagnetism in the conventional T' crystals, the strong role of oxygen deficiency in driving superconductivity and charge carrier sign corresponding to holes at optimal doping are all manifestations of the same quantum state. In the hole-doped pseudogapped state, there occurs a biaxial commensurate period 4 charge density wave state consisting of O1- -Cu l(1+)-O1- spin singlets that coexists with broken rotational C-4 symmetry due to intraunit cell oxygen inequivalence. Finite domains of this broken symmetry state will exhibit twodimensional chirality and the polar Kerr effect. Superconductivity within the model results from a destabilization of the 1/4-filled band paired Wigner crystal [Phys. Rev. B 93, 165110 (2016) and ihid. 93, 205111 (2016)]. We posit that a similar valence transition, Ir4+ -> Ir3+, occurs upon electron doping Sr2IrO4. We make testable experimental predictions in cuprates including superoxygenated La2CuO4+delta and iridates. Finally, as indirect evidence for the valence bond theory of superconductivity proposed here, we note that there exist an unusually large number of unconventional superconductors that exhibit superconductivity proximate to exotic charge ordered states, whose band fillings are universally 1/4 or 3/4, exactly where the paired Wigner crystal is most stable.« less
3. Electronic nature of the pseudogap in electron-doped Sr2IrO4

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-022-00467-1  

   Peng, Shuting ; Lane, Christopher ; Hu, Yong ; Guo, Mingyao ; Chen, Xiang ; Sun, Zeliang ; Hashimoto, Makoto ; Lu, Donghui ; Shen, Zhi-Xun ; Wu, Tao ; et al ( December 2022 , npj Quantum Materials)

   Abstract In high-temperature ( T c ) cuprate superconductors, many exotic phenomena are rooted in the enigmatic pseudogap state, which has been interpreted as consisting of preformed Cooper pairs or competing orders or a combination thereof. Observation of pseudogap phenomenologically in electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 —the 5d electron counterpart of the cuprates, has spurred intense interest in the strontium iridates as a testbed for exploring the exotic physics of the cuprates. Here, we examine the pseudogap state of electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and parallel theoretical modeling. Our analysis demonstrates that the pseudogap statemore »of Sr 2 IrO 4 appears without breaking the particle–hole symmetry or inducing spectral broadening which are telltale signatures of competing orders in the cuprates. We find quasiparticle dispersion and its temperature dependence in the pseudogap state of Sr 2 IrO 4 to point to an electronic order with a zero scattering wave vector and limited correlation length. Particle–hole symmetric preformed Cooper pairs are discussed as a viable mechanism for such an electronic order. The potential roles of incommensurate density waves are also discussed.« less
4. Anomalous quantum criticality in the electron-doped cuprates

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1817653116  

   Mandal, P. R. ; Sarkar, Tarapada ; Greene, Richard L. ( March 2019 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   In the physics of condensed matter, quantum critical phenomena and unconventional superconductivity are two major themes. In electron-doped cuprates, the low critical field (H_C2) allows one to study the putative quantum critical point (QCP) at low temperature and to understand its connection to the long-standing problem of the origin of the high-T_Csuperconductivity. Here we present measurements of the low-temperature normal-state thermopower (S) of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor La_2−xCe_xCuO₄(LCCO) fromx= 0.11–0.19. We observe quantum critical$\mathit{S}/\mathit{T}$versus$\mathbf{l}\mathbf{n}\left(\mathbf{1}/\mathit{T}\right)$behavior over an unexpectedly wide doping rangex= 0.15–0.17 above the QCP (x= 0.14), with a slope that scales monotonicallymore »with the superconducting transition temperature (T_Cwith H = 0). The presence of quantum criticality over a wide doping range provides a window on the criticality. The thermopower behavior also suggests that the critical fluctuations are linked withT_C. Above the superconductivity dome, atx= 0.19, a conventional Fermi-liquid$\mathit{S}\propto \mathit{T}$behavior is found for$\mathit{T}\le$40 K.

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5. Ground-state phase diagram of the t-t ′ -J model

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109978118  

   Jiang, Shengtao ; Scalapino, Douglas J. ; White, Steven R. ( October 2021 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   We report results of large-scale ground-state density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations on t-$t^{\prime }$-J cylinders with circumferences 6 and 8. We determine a rough phase diagram that appears to approximate the two-dimensional (2D) system. While for many properties, positive and negative$t^{\prime }$values ($t^{\prime }/t=\pm 0.2$) appear to correspond to electron- and hole-doped cuprate systems, respectively, the behavior of superconductivity itself shows an inconsistency between the model and the materials. The$t^{\prime }<0$(hole-doped) region shows antiferromagnetism limited to very low doping, stripes more generally, and the familiar Fermi surface of the hole-doped cuprates. However, we find$t^{\prime }<0$strongly suppresses superconductivity. The$t^{\prime }>0$(electron-doped) regionmore »shows the expected circular Fermi pocket of holes around the$\left(\pi ,\pi \right)$point and a broad low-doped region of coexisting antiferromagnetism and d-wave pairing with a triplet p component at wavevector$\left(\pi ,\pi \right)$induced by the antiferromagnetism and d-wave pairing. The pairing for the electron low-doped system with$t^{\prime }>0$is strong and unambiguous in the DMRG simulations. At larger doping another broad region with stripes in addition to weaker d-wave pairing and striped p-wave pairing appears. In a small doping region near$x=0.08$for$t^{\prime }\sim -0.2$, we find an unconventional type of stripe involving unpaired holes located predominantly on chains spaced three lattice spacings apart. The undoped two-leg ladder regions in between mimic the short-ranged spin correlations seen in two-leg Heisenberg ladders.

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