1,098 research outputs found
Evolution of the Hall Coefficient and the Peculiar Electronic Structure of the Cuprate Superconductors
Although the Hall coefficient R_H is an informative transport property of
metals and semiconductors, its meaning in the cuprate superconductors has been
ambiguous because of its unusual characteristics. Here we show that a
systematic study of R_H in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} single crystals over a wide
doping range establishes a qualitative understanding of its peculiar evolution,
which turns out to reflect a two-component nature of the electronic structure
caused by an unusual development of the Fermi surface recently uncovered by
photoemission experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, final version appeared in Phys. Rev. Let
The Bacterial Photosynthetic Reaction Center as a Model for Membrane Proteins
Membrane proteins participate in many fundamental cellular processes. Until recently, an understanding of the function and properties of membrane proteins was hampered by an absence of structural information at the atomic level. A landmark achievement toward understanding the structure of membrane proteins was the crystallization (1) and structure determination (2-5) the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from the purple bacteria Rhodopseudomonas viridis, followed by that of the RC from Rhodobacter sphaeroides (6-17). The RC is an integral membrane protein-pigment complex, which carries out the initial steps of photosynthesis (reviewed in 18). RCs from the purple bacteria Rps. viridis and Rb. sphaeroides are composed of three membrane-associated protein subunits (designated L, M, and H), and the following cofactors: four bacteriochlorophylls (Bchl or B), two bacteriopheophytins (Bphe or [phi]), two quinones, and a nonheme iron. The cofactors are organized into two symmetrical branches that are approximately related by a twofold rotation axis (2, 8). A central feature of the structural organization of the RC is the presence of 11 hydrophobic [alpha]-helixes, approximately 20-30 residues long, which are believed to represent the membrane-spanning portion of the RC (3, 9). Five membrane-spanning helixes are present in both the L and M subunits, while a single helix is in the H subunit. The folding of the L and M subunits is similar, consistent with significant sequence similarity between the two chains (19-25). The L and M subunits are approximately related by the same twofold rotation axis that relates the two cofactor branches.
RCs are the first membrane proteins to be described at atomic resolution; consequently they provide an important model for discussing the folding of membrane proteins. The structure demonstrates that [alpha]-helical structures may be adopted by integral membrane proteins, and provides confirmation of the utility of hydropathy plots in identifying nonpolar membrane-spanning regions from sequence data. An important distinction between the folding environments of water-soluble proteins and membrane proteins is the large difference in water concentration surrounding the proteins. As a result, hydrophobic interactions (26) play very different roles in stabilizing the tertiary structures of these two classes of proteins; this has important structural consequences. There is a striking difference in surface polarity of membrane and water-soluble proteins. However, the characteristic atomic packing and surface area appear quite similar.
A computational method is described for defining the position of the RC in the membrane (10). After localization of the RC structure in the membrane, surface residues in contact with the lipid bilayer were identified. As has been found for soluble globular proteins, surface residues are less well conserved in homologous membrane proteins than the buried, interior residues. Methods based on the variability of residues between homologous proteins are described (13); they are useful (a) in defining surface helical regions of membrane and water-soluble proteins and (b) in assigning the side of these helixes that are exposed to the solvent. A unifying view of protein structure suggests that water-soluble proteins may be considered as modified membrane proteins with covalently attached polar groups that solubilize the proteins in aqueous solution
Doping dependence of charge-transfer excitations in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4
We report a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of the doping
dependence of charge-transfer excitations in . The mome
ntum dependence of these charge excitations are studied over the whole
Brillouin zone in underdoped (x=0.05) and optimally doped (x=0.17) samples, and
compared with that of the undoped (x=0) sample. We observe a large change in
the RIXS spectra between the x=0 and x=0.17 sample, while the RIXS spectra of
the x=0.05 sample are similar to that of the x=0 sample. The most prominent
effect of doped-holes on the charge excitation spectra is the appearance of a
continuum of intensity, which exhibits a strong momentum-dependence below 2 eV.
For the x=0.17 sample, some of the spectral weight from the lowest-lying
charge-transfer excitation of the undoped compound is transferred to the
continuum intensity below the gap, in agreement with earlier optical studies.
However, the higher energy charge-transfer excitation carries significant
spectral weight even for the x=0.17 sample. The doping dependence of the
dispersion of this charge-transfer excitation is also discussed and compared
with recent theoretical calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Curie-like paramagnetism due to incomplete Zhang-Rice singlet formation in La2-xSrxCuO4
In an effort to elucidate the origin of the Curie-like paramagnetism that is
generic for heavily-overdoped cuprates, we have performed high transverse-field
muon spin rotation (TF-muSR) measurements of La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystals over
the Sr content range 0.145 < x < 0.33. We show that the x-dependence of the
previously observed field-induced broadening of the internal magnetic field
distribution above the superconducting transition temperature Tc reflects the
presence of two distinct contributions. One of these becomes less pronounced
with increasing x and is attributed to diminishing antiferromagnetic
correlations. The other grows with increasing x, but decreases above x ~ 0.30,
and is associated with the Curie-like term in the bulk magnetic susceptibility.
In contrast to the Curie-like term, however, this second contribution to the
TF-muSR line width extends back into the underdoped regime. Our findings imply
a coexistence of antiferromagnetically correlated and paramagnetic moments,
with the latter becoming dominant beyond x ~ 0.185. This suggests that the
doped holes do not neutralize all Cu spins via the formation of Zhang-Rice
singlets. Moreover, the paramagnetic component of the TF-muSR line width is
explained by holes progressively entering the Cu 3d_{x^2-y^2} orbital with
doping.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Electron interactions and charge ordering in LaSrCuO
We present results of inelastic light scattering experiments on
single-crystalline LaSrCuO in the doping range and TlBaCuO at and . The main
emphasis is placed on the response of electronic excitations in the
antiferromagnetic phase, in the pseudogap range, in the superconducting state,
and in the essentially normal metallic state at , where no
superconductivity could be observed. In most of the cases we compare B
and B spectra which project out electronic properties close to
and , respectively. In the channel of electron-hole excitations
we find universal behavior in B symmetry as long as the material
exhibits superconductivity at low temperature. In contrast, there is a strong
doping dependence in B symmetry: (i) In the doping range we observe rapid changes of shape and temperature dependence of the
spectra. (ii) In LaSrCuO new structures appear for
which are superposed on the electron-hole continuum. The temperature dependence
as well as model calculations support an interpretation in terms of
charge-ordering fluctuations. For the response from fluctuations
disappears at B and appears at B symmetry in full agreement with
the orientation change of stripes found by neutron scattering. While, with a
grain of salt, the particle-hole continuum is universal for all cuprates the
response from fluctuating charge order in the range is so
far found only in LaSrCuO. We conclude that
LaSrCuO is close to static charge order and, for this reason,
may have a suppressed .Comment: 17 pages, 15 figure
Inhomogeneous Magnetic-Field Response of YBa2Cu3Oy and La2-xSrxCuO4 Persisting above the Bulk Superconducting Transition Temperature
We report that in YBa2Cu3Oy and La2-xSrxCuO4 there is a spatially
inhomogeneous response to magnetic field for temperatures T extending well
above the bulk superconducting transition temperature Tc. An inhomogeneous
magnetic response is observed above Tc even in ortho-II YBa2Cu3O6.50, which has
highly ordered doping. The degree of the field inhomogeneity above Tc tracks
the hole doping dependences of both Tc and the density of the superconducting
carriers below Tc, and therefore is apparently coupled to superconductivity.Comment: Modified discussio
Breakdown of the universal Josephson relation in spin ordered cuprate superconductors
We present \emph{c} axis infrared optical data on a number of Ba, Sr and
Nd-doped cuprates of the LaCuO (La214) series in which we observe
significant deviations from the universal Josephson relation linking the normal
state transport (DC conductivity measured at ) with the
superfluid density (): . We find
the violation of Josephson scaling is associated with striking enhancement of
the anisotropy in the superfluid density. The data allows us to link the
breakdown of Josephson interlayer physics with the development of magnetic
order in the CuO planes.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Constituents of the "kink" in high-Tc cuprates
Applying the Kramers-Kronig consistent procedure, developed earlier, we
investigate in details the formation of the quasiparticle spectrum along the
nodal direction of high-Tc cuprates. The heavily discussed "70 meV kink" on the
renormalized dispersion exhibits a strong temperature and doping dependence
when purified from structural effects. This dependence is well understood in
terms of fermionic and bosonic constituents of the self-energy. The latter
follows the evolution of the spin-fluctuation spectrum, emerging below T* and
sharpening below Tc, and is the main responsible for the formation of the kink
in question.Comment: revte
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