Universal zero-frequency Raman slope in a d-wave superconductor

It is known that for an unconventional superconductor with nodes in the gap, the in-plane microwave or dc conductivity saturates at low temperatures to a universal value independent of the impurity concentration. We demonstrate that a similar feature can be accessed using channel-dependent Raman scattering. It is found that, for a $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconductor, the slope of low-temperature Raman intensity at zero frequency is universal in the $A_{1g}$ and $B_{2g}$ channels, but not in the $B_{1g}$ channel. Moreover, as opposed to the microwave conductivity, universal Raman slopes are sensitive not only to the existence of a node, but also to different pairing states and should allow one to distinguish between such pairing states.Comment: 5 page

Symmetry dependence of phonon lineshapes in superconductors with anisotropic gaps

The temperature dependence below $T_{c}$ of the lineshape of optical phonons of different symmetry as seen in Raman scattering is investigated for superconductors with anisotropic energy gaps. It is shown that the symmetry of the electron-phonon vertex produces non-trivial couplings to an anisotropic energy gap which leads to unique changes in the phonon lineshape for phonons of different symmetry. The phonon lineshape is calculated in detail for $B_{1g}$ and $A_{1g}$ phonons in a superconductor with $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ pairing symmetry. The role of satellite peaks generated by the electron-phonon coupling are also addressed. The theory accounts for the substantial phonon narrowing of the $B_{1g}$ phonon, while narrowing of the $A_{1g}$ phonon which is indistinguishable from the normal state is shown, in agreement with recent measurements on BSCCO.Comment: 15 pages (3 Figures available upon request), Revtex, 1

Momentum dependent light scattering in insulating cuprates

We investigate the problem of inelastic x-ray scattering in the spin$-{1/2}$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice. We first derive a momentum dependent scattering operator for the $A_{1g}$ and $B_{1g}$ polarization geometries. On the basis of a spin-wave analysis, including magnon-magnon interactions and exact-diagonalizations, we determine the qualitative shape of the spectra. We argue that our results may be relevant to help interpret inelastic x-ray scattering experiments in the antiferromagnetic phase of the cuprates.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in PR

Time-resolved photoemission of correlated electrons driven out of equilibrium

We describe the temporal evolution of the time-resolved photoemission response of the spinless Falicov-Kimball model driven out of equilibrium by strong applied fields. The model is one of the few possessing a metal-insulator transition and admitting an exact solution in the time domain. The nonequilibrium dynamics, evaluated using an extension of dynamical mean-field theory, show how the driven system differs from two common viewpoints - a quasiequilibrium system at an elevated effective temperature (the "hot" electron model) or a rapid interaction quench ("melting" of the Mott gap) - due to the rearrangement of electronic states and redistribution of spectral weight. The results demonstrate the inherent trade-off between energy and time resolution accompanying the finite width probe pulses, characteristic of those employed in pump-probe time-domain experiments, which can be used to focus attention on different aspects of the dynamics near the transition.Comment: Original: 5 pages, 3 figures; Replaced: updated text and figures, 5 pages, 4 figure