412 research outputs found
Charge order, metallic behavior and superconductivity in La_{2-x}Ba_xCuO_4 with x=1/8
The ab-plane optical properties of a cleaved single crystal of
La_{2-x}Ba_xCuO_4 for x=1/8 (T_c ~ 2.4 K) have been measured over a wide
frequency and temperature range. The low-frequency conductivity is Drude-like
and shows a metallic response with decreasing temperature. However, below ~ 60
K, corresponding to the onset of charge-stripe order, there is a rapid loss of
spectral weight below about 40 meV. The gapping of single-particle excitations
looks surprisingly similar to that observed in superconducting
La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_4, including the presence of a residual Drude peak with
reduced weight; the main difference is that the lost spectral weight moves to
high, rather than zero, frequency, reflecting the absence of a bulk
superconducting condensate.Comment: 4 pages, with 1 table and 3 figure
Infrared Optical Properties of Ferropericlase (Mg1-xFexO): Experiment and Theory
The temperature dependence of the reflectance spectra of magnesium oxide
(MgO) and ferropericlase (Mg1-xFexO, for x=0.06 and x=0.27) have been measured
over a wide frequency range (~50 to 32000 cm-1) at 295 and 6 K. The complex
dielectric function has been determined from a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the
reflectance. The spectra of the doped materials resembles pure MgO in the
infrared region, but with much broader resonances. We use a shell model to
calculate the dielectric function of ferropericlase, including both anharmonic
phonon-phonon interactions and disorder scattering. These data are relevant to
understanding the heat conductivity of ferropericlase in the earth's lower
mantle.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Optical conductivity of nodal metals
Fermi liquid theory is remarkably successful in describing the transport and
optical properties of metals; at frequencies higher than the scattering rate,
the optical conductivity adopts the well-known power law behavior
. We have observed an unusual non-Fermi
liquid response in the ground
states of several cuprate and iron-based materials which undergo electronic or
magnetic phase transitions resulting in dramatically reduced or nodal Fermi
surfaces. The identification of an inverse (or fractional) power-law behavior
in the residual optical conductivity now permits the removal of this
contribution, revealing the direct transitions across the gap and allowing the
nature of the electron-boson coupling to be probed. The non-Fermi liquid
behavior in these systems may be the result of a common Fermi surface topology
of Dirac cone-like features in the electronic dispersion.Comment: 8 pages including supplemental informatio
Doping-dependent studies of the Anderson-Mott localization in polyaniline at the metal-insulator boundary
Temperature-dependent dc conductivity measurements and infrared reflectivity measurements (20–9000 cm−1) were performed on a series of polyaniline samples with two different dopant acids at various doping levels. The typical fingerprints of a disordered metal such as a positive temperature coefficient of resistivity at high temperatures, a very high reflectivity in the far infrared, and a plasma resonance have been observed. The results were analyzed in the framework of the Anderson-Mott localization model and considerable consistency between transport studies and optical measurements was obtained. Various parameters enabling a comparative classification of the materials are also reported
Optical conductivity of URuSi in the Kondo Liquid and Hidden-Order Phases
We measured the polarized optical conductivity of URuSi from room
temperature down to 5 K, covering the Kondo state, the coherent Kondo liquid
regime, and the hidden-order phase. The normal state is characterized by an
anisotropic behavior between the ab plane and c axis responses. The ab plane
optical conductivity is strongly influenced by the formation of the coherent
Kondo liquid: a sharp Drude peak develops and a hybridization gap at 12 meV
leads to a spectral weight transfer to mid-infrared energies. The c axis
conductivity has a different behavior: the Drude peak already exists at 300 K
and no particular anomaly or gap signature appears in the coherent Kondo liquid
regime. When entering the hidden-order state, both polarizations see a dramatic
decrease in the Drude spectral weight and scattering rate, compatible with a
loss of about 50 % of the carriers at the Fermi level. At the same time a
density-wave like gap appears along both polarizations at about 6.5 meV at 5 K.
This gap closes respecting a mean field thermal evolution in the ab plane.
Along the c axis it remains roughly constant and it "fills up" rather than
closing.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
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