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Electronic nature of the pseudogap in electron-doped Sr2IrO4
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 state 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.
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Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10332019
Journal Name:
npj Quantum Materials
Volume:
7
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2397-4648
5. Abstract An unidentified quantum fluid designated the pseudogap (PG) phase is produced by electron-density depletion in the CuO 2 antiferromagnetic insulator. Current theories suggest that the PG phase may be a pair density wave (PDW) state characterized by a spatially modulating density of electron pairs. Such a state should exhibit a periodically modulating energy gap $${\Delta }_{{{{{{\rm{P}}}}}}}({{{{{\boldsymbol{r}}}}}})$$ Δ P ( r ) in real-space, and a characteristic quasiparticle scattering interference (QPI) signature $${\Lambda }_{{{{{{\rm{P}}}}}}}({{{{{\boldsymbol{q}}}}}})$$ Λ P ( q ) in wavevector space. By studying strongly underdoped Bi 2 Sr 2 CaDyCu 2 O 8 at hole-density ~0.08 in the superconductive phase, we detect the 8 a 0 -periodic $${\Delta }_{{{{{{\rm{P}}}}}}}({{{{{\boldsymbol{r}}}}}})$$ Δ P ( r ) modulations signifying a PDW coexisting with superconductivity. Then, by visualizing the temperature dependence of this electronic structure from the superconducting into the pseudogap phase, we find the evolution of the scattering interference signature $$\Lambda ({{{{{\boldsymbol{q}}}}}})$$ Λ ( q ) that is predicted specifically for the temperature dependence of an 8 a 0 -periodic PDW. These observations are consistent with theory for the transition from a PDW state coexisting with d -wave superconductivity to a pure PDW state in the Bi 2 Sr 2 CaDyCu 2more »