Superconducting Gap and Pseudogap in Bi-2212

We present results of Raman scattering experiments in differently doped Bi-2212 single crystals. Below Tc the spectra show pair-breaking features in the whole doping range. The low frequency power laws confirm the existence of a $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave order parameter. In the normal state between Tc and T* = 200K we find evidence for a pseudogap in B2g symmetry. Upon doping its effect on the spectra decreases while its energy scale appears to be unchanged.Comment: 2 pages, 1 EPS figure; LT22 Proceedings to appear in Physica

Linear and field-independent relation between vortex core state energy and gap in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d

We present a scanning tunneling spectroscopy study on quasiparticle states in vortex cores in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ. The energy of the observed vortex core states shows an approximately linear scaling with the superconducting gap in the region just outside the core. This clearly distinguishes them from conventional localized core states and is a signature of the mechanism responsible for their discrete appearance in high-temperature superconductors. The energy scaling of the vortex core states also suggests a common nature of vortex cores in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and YBa2Cu3O7-δ. Finally, these states do not show any dependence on the applied magnetic field between 1 and 6 T

Mixed-State Specific Heat of the Type-II Superconductor Nb0.77Zr0.23 in Magnetic Fields up to B c2

In order to document the behavior of the mean-field mixed-state specific heat of an isotropic. strongly type-II superconductor (i.e., with a large value of the Ginzburg parameterk), and to provide a basis for comparison with high-temperature superconductors, we measured the specific heatC of the alloy Nb0.77Zr0.23 withT c = 10.8K, B c2 (0) = 7.9T, in magnetic fieldsB = 0, 0.2, 1.0, 12, 2.0, 2.4. 3.0, 3.3. 4.0. 4.4, 4.8, 5.2, 6.0. 6.6, 7.2 and 10 T. The values of the upper critical fieldB c2 ( T), thermodynamic critical fieldB c (T), Ginzburg parameterk(T), and coefficient γ(B) = limT0(C(T. B)/T) are derived from the specific heat data and found to be in agreement with the GLAG theory in the dirty limit. The behavior of the mixed-state specific heat is analyzed in terms ofC el /T,∂(C el /T)/∂B, and∂(C el /T)/∂T vs. Tcurves, whereC el is the electronic contribution to the specific hea

Ab-initio calculation of all-optical time-resolved calorimetry of nanosized systems: Evidence of nanosecond-decoupling of electron and phonon temperatures

The thermal dynamics induced by ultrashort laser pulses in nanoscale systems, i.e. all-optical time-resolved nanocalorimetry is theoretically investigated from 300 to 1.5 K. We report ab-initio calculations describing the temperature dependence of the electron-phonon interactions for Cu nanodisks supported on Si. The electrons and phonons temperatures are found to decouple on the ns time scale at 10 K, which is two orders of magnitude in excess with respect to that found for standard low-temperature transport experiments. By accounting for the physics behind our results we suggest an alternative route for overhauling the present knowledge of the electron-phonon decoupling mechanism in nanoscale systems by replacing the mK temperature requirements of conventional experiments with experiments in the time-domain.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted on Physical Review B

Ward identities for disordered metals and superconductors

This article revisits Ward identities for disordered interacting normal metals and superconductors. It offers a simple derivation based on gauge invariance and recasts the identities in a new form that allows easy analysis of the quasiparticle charge conservation (as e.g. in a normal metal) or non-conservation (as e.g. in a d-wave superconductor).Comment: Discussion of decoherence at T=0 remove

Microcantilever Studies of Angular Field Dependence of Vortex Dynamics in BSCCO

Using a nanogram-sized single crystal of BSCCO attached to a microcantilever we demonstrate in a direct way that in magnetic fields nearly parallel to the {\it ab} plane the magnetic field penetrates the sample in the form of Josephson vortices rather than in the form of a tilted vortex lattice. We further investigate the relation between the Josephson vortices and the pancake vortices generated by the perpendicular field component.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure

Quasiparticle spectrum of d-wave superconductors in the mixed state: a large Fermi-velocity anisotropy study

The quasiparticle spectrum of a two-dimensional d-wave superconductor in the mixed state, H_c1 << H << H_c2, is studied for large values of the ``anisotropy ratio'' alpha_D = v_F/v_Delta. For a square vortex lattice rotated by 45 degrees from the quasiparticle anisotropy axes (and the usual choice of Franz--Tesanovic singular gauge transformation) we determine essential features of the band structure asymptotically for large alpha_D, using an effective one-dimensional model, and compare them to numerical calculations. We find that several features of the band structure decay to zero exponentially fast for large alpha_D. Using a different choice of singular gauge transformation, we obtain a different band structure, but still find qualitative agreement between the 1D and full 2D calculations. Finally, we distort the square lattice into a non-Bravais lattice. Both the one- and two-dimensional numerical calculations of the energy spectra show a gap around zero-energy, with our gauge choice, and the two excitation spectra agree reasonably well.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, revte

Thermo-mechanical behavior of surface acoustic waves in ordered arrays of nanodisks studied by near infrared pump-probe diffraction experiments

The ultrafast thermal and mechanical dynamics of a two-dimensional lattice of metallic nano-disks has been studied by near infrared pump-probe diffraction measurements, over a temporal range spanning from 100 fs to several nanoseconds. The experiments demonstrate that, in these systems, a two-dimensional surface acoustic wave (2DSAW), with a wavevector given by the reciprocal periodicity of the array, can be excited by ~120 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses. In order to clarify the interaction between the nanodisks and the substrate, numerical calculations of the elastic eigenmodes and simulations of the thermodynamics of the system are developed through finite-element analysis. At this light, we unambiguously show that the observed 2DSAW velocity shift originates from the mechanical interaction between the 2DSAWs and the nano-disks, while the correlated 2DSAW damping is due to the energy radiation into the substrate.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Singularity of the Vortex Density of States in d-wave Superconductors

In d-wave superconductors, the electronic density of states (DOS) induced by a vortex exhibits 1/|E| divergency at low energies. It is the result of gap nodes in the excitations spectrum outside the vortex core. The heat capacity in two regimes, (T/T_c)^2 >> B/B_{c2} and (T/T_c)^2 << B/B_{c2}, is discussed.Comment: LaTeX file, 8 pages, no figures, submitted to JETP Letter

Dirac quasiparticles in the mixed state

Energies and wave functions are calculated for d-wave quasiparticles in the mixed state using the formalism of Franz and Tesanovic for the low-lying energy levels. The accuracy of the plane-wave expansion is explored by comparing approximate to exact results for a simplified one-dimensional problem, and the convergence of the plane- wave expansion to the two-dimensional case is studied. The results are used to calculate the low-energy tunneling density of states and the low-temperature specific heat, and these theoretical results are compared to semiclassical treatments and to the available data. Implications for the muon spin resonance measurements of vortex core size are also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, RevTeX. References corrected. A factor of 2 in the results has been corrected, and the conclusions have been update