71 research outputs found
Optical absorption in the strong coupling limit of Eliashberg theory
We calculate the optical conductivity of superconductors in the
strong-coupling limit. In this anomalous limit the typical energy scale is set
by the coupling energy, and other energy scales such as the energy of the
bosons mediating the attraction are negligibly small. We find a universal
frequency dependence of the optical absorption which is dominated by bound
states and differs significantly from the weak coupling results. A comparison
with absorption spectra of superconductors with enhanced electron-phonon
coupling shows that typical features of the strong-coupling limit are already
present at intermediate coupling.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 4 uuencoded figure
Evolution and progressive geomorphic manifestation of surface faulting: A comparison of the Wairau and Awatere faults, South Island, New Zealand
Field mapping and lidar analysis of surface faulting patterns expressed in flights of geologically similar fluvial terraces at the well-known Branch River and Saxton River sites along the Wairau (Alpine) and Awatere strike-slip faults, South Island, New Zealand, reveal that fault-related deformation patterns expressed in the topography at these sites are markedly less structurally complex along the higher-displacement (hundreds of kilometers), structurally mature Wairau fault than along the Awatere fault (∼13–20 km total slip). These differences, which are generally representative of the surface traces of these faults, provide direct evidence that surface faulting becomes structurally simpler with increasing cumulative fault offset. We also examine the degree to which off-fault deformation (OFD) is expressed in the landscape at the Saxton River site along the less structurally mature Awatere fault. Significantly greater amounts of OFD are discernible as a wide damage zone (∼460 m fault-perpendicular width) in older (ca. 15 ka), more-displaced (64–74 m) fluvial terraces than in younger (ca. 1–7 ka), less-displaced (<55 m) terraces; no OFD is discernible in the lidar data on the least-displaced (<35 m) terraces. From this, we infer that OFD becomes progressively more geomorphically apparent with accumulating displacement. These observations imply that (1) the processes that accommodate OFD are active during each earthquake, but may not be evident in deposits that have experienced relatively small displacements; (2) structures accommodating OFD will become progressively geomorphically clearer with increasing displacement; (3) geomorphic measurements of overall fault zone width taken in deposits that have experienced small displacements will be underestimates; and (4) fault slip rates based on geomorphic surface offsets will be underestimates for immature faults if based solely on measurements along the high-strain fault core
Optical properties of the pseudogap state in underdoped cuprates
Recent optical measurements of deeply underdoped cuprates have revealed that
a coherent Drude response persists well below the end of the superconducting
dome. In addition, no large increase in optical effective mass has been
observed, even at dopings as low as 1%. We show that this behavior is
consistent with the resonating valence bond spin-liquid model proposed by Yang,
Rice, and Zhang. In this model, the overall reduction in optical conductivity
in the approach to the Mott insulating state is caused not by an increase in
effective mass, but by a Gutzwiller factor, which describes decreased coherence
due to correlations, and by a shrinking of the Fermi surface, which decreases
the number of available charge carriers. We also show that in this model, the
pseudogap does not modify the low-temperature, low-frequency behavior, though
the magnitude of the conductivity is greatly reduced by the Gutzwiller factor.
Similarly, the profile of the temperature dependence of the microwave
conductivity is largely unchanged in shape, but the Gutzwiller factor is
essential in understanding the observed difference in magnitude between ortho-I
and -II YBaCuO.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Influence of the pseudogap on the superconductivity-induced phonon renormalization in high-T superconductors
We investigate the influence of a d-density wave (DDW) gap on the
superconductivity-induced renormalization of phonon frequency and linewidth.
The results are discussed with respect to Raman and inelastic neutron
scattering experiments. It turns out that the DDW gap can enhance the range of
frequencies for phonon softening depending on the underlying band
structure. Moreover we show that an anisotropic 'd-wave' pseudogap can also
contribute to the q-dependent linewidth broadening of the 340cm phonon
in YBaCuO.Comment: 4 page
Effect of a Normal-State Pseudogap on Optical Conductivity in Underdoped Cuprate Superconductors
We calculate the c-axis infrared conductivity in
underdoped cuprate superconductors for spinfluctuation exchange scattering
within the CuO-planes including a phenomenological d-wave pseudogap of
amplitude . For temperatures decreasing below a temperature , a gap for develops in in the
incoherent (diffuse) transmission limit. The resistivity shows 'semiconducting'
behavior, i.e. it increases for low temperatures above the constant behavior
for . We find that the pseudogap structure in the in-plane optical
conductivity is about twice as big as in the interplane conductivity
, in qualitative agreement with experiment. This is a
consequence of the fact that the spinfluctuation exchange interaction is
suppressed at low frequencies as a result of the opening of the pseudogap.
While the c-axis conductivity in the underdoped regime is described best by
incoherent transmission, in the overdoped regime coherent conductance gives a
better description.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. B (November 1, 1999
Optical Hall conductivity of systems with gapped spectral nodes
We calculate the optical Hall conductivity within the Kubo formalism for
systems with gapped spectral nodes, where the latter have a power-law
dispersion with exponent n. The optical conductivity is proportional to n and
there is a characteristic logarithmic singularity as the frequency approaches
the gap energy. The optical Hall conductivity is almost unaffected by thermal
fluctuations and disorder for n=1, whereas disorder has a stronger effect on
transport properties if n=2
Far-infrared transmission studies of c-axis oriented superconducting MgB2 thin film
We reported far-infrared transmission measurements on a c-axis oriented
superconducting MgB thin film in the frequency range of 30 250
cm. We found that these measurements were sensitive to values of
scattering rate and superconducting gap . By fitting the
experimental transmission spectra at 40 K and below, we obtained
(700 1000) cm and 42 cm. These two
quantities suggested that MgB belong to the dirty limit.Comment: submitted at May
Electronic structure in underdoped cuprates due to the emergence of a pseudogap
The phenomenological Green's function developed in the works of Yang, Rice
and Zhang has been very successful in understanding many of the anomalous
superconducting properties of the deeply underdoped cuprates. It is based on
considerations of the resonating valence bond spin liquid approximation and is
designed to describe the underdoped regime of the cuprates. Here we emphasize
the region of doping, , just below the quantum critical point at which the
pseudogap develops. In addition to Luttinger hole pockets centered around the
nodal direction, there are electron pockets near the antinodes which are
connected to the hole pockets by gapped bridging contours. We determine the
contours of nearest approach as would be measured in angular resolved
photoemission experiments and emphasize signatures of the Fermi surface
reconstruction from the large Fermi contour of Fermi liquid theory (which
contains hole states) to the Luttinger pocket (which contains hole
states). We find that the quasiparticle effective mass renormalization
increases strongly towards the edge of the Luttinger pockets beyond which it
diverges.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
Hole concentration and phonon renormalization in Ca-doped YBa_2Cu_3O_y (6.76 < y < 7.00)
In order to access the overdoped regime of the YBa_2Cu_3O_y phase diagram, 2%
Ca is substituted for Y in YBa_2Cu_3O_y (y = 7.00,6.93,6.88,6.76). Raman
scattering studies have been carried out on these four single crystals.
Measurements of the superconductivity-induced renormalization in frequency
(Delta \omega) and linewidth (\Delta 2\gamma) of the 340 cm^{-1} B_{1g} phonon
demonstrate that the magnitude of the renormalization is directly related to
the hole concentration (p), and not simply the oxygen content. The changes in
\Delta \omega with p imply that the superconducting gap (\Delta_{max})
decreases monotonically with increasing hole concentration in the overdoped
regime, and \Delta \omega falls to zero in the underdoped regime. The linewidth
renormalization \Delta 2\gamma is negative in the underdoped regime, crossing
over at optimal doping to a positive value in the overdoped state.Comment: 18 pages; 5 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. B Oct. 24, 2002 (BX8292
Optical Sum Rule in Finite Bands
In a single finite electronic band the total optical spectral weight or
optical sum carries information on the interactions involved between the charge
carriers as well as on their band structure. It varies with temperature as well
as with impurity scattering. The single band optical sum also bears some
relationship to the charge carrier kinetic energy and, thus, can potentially
provide useful information, particularly on its change as the charge carriers
go from normal to superconducting state. Here we review the considerable
advances that have recently been made in the context of high oxides, both
theoretical and experimental.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in J. Low Temp. Phys. 29
pages, 33 figure
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