The change of Fermi surface topology in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with doping

We report the observation of a change in Fermi surface topology of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with doping. By collecting high statistics ARPES data from moderately and highly overdoped samples and dividing the data by the Fermi function, we answer a long standing question about the Fermi surface shape of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 close to the (pi,0) point. For moderately overdoped samples (Tc=80K) we find that both the bonding and antibonding sheets of the Fermi surface are hole-like. However for a doping level corresponding to Tc=55K we find that the antibonding sheet becomes electron-like. This change does not directly affect the critical temperature and therefore the superconductivity. However, since similar observations of the change of the topology of the Fermi surface were observed in LSCO and Bi2Sr2Cu2O6, it appears to be a generic feature of hole-doped superconductors. Because of bilayer splitting, though, this doping value is considerably lower than that for the single layer materials, which again argues that it is unrelated to Tc

The coherent {\it d}-wave superconducting gap in underdoped La2−x_{2-x}Srx_{x}CuO4_4 as studied by angle-resolved photoemission

We present angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data on moderately underdoped La$_{1.855}$Sr$_{0.145}$CuO$_4$ at temperatures below and above the superconducting transition temperature. Unlike previous studies of this material, we observe sharp spectral peaks along the entire underlying Fermi surface in the superconducting state. These peaks trace out an energy gap that follows a simple {\it d}-wave form, with a maximum superconducting gap of 14 meV. Our results are consistent with a single gap picture for the cuprates. Furthermore our data on the even more underdoped sample La$_{1.895}$Sr$_{0.105}$CuO$_4$ also show sharp spectral peaks, even at the antinode, with a maximum superconducting gap of 26 meV.Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Phenomenological theory of the underdoped phase of a high-Tc_c superconductor

We model the Fermi surface of the cuprates by one-dimensional nested parts near $(0,\pi)$ and $(\pi,0)$ and unnested parts near the zone diagonals. Fermions in the nested regions form 1D spin liquids, and develop spectral gaps below some $\sim T^*$, but superconducting order is prevented by 1D phase fluctuations. We show that the Josephson coupling between order parameters at $(0,\pi)$ and $(\pi,0)$ locks their relative phase at a crossover scale $T^{**}< T^*$. Below $T^{**}$, the system response becomes two-dimensional, and the system displays Nernst effect. The remaining total phase gets locked at $T_c < T^{**}$, at which the system develops a (quasi-) long-range superconducting order.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; typos corrected, references adde

Photoemission and the Origin of High Temperature Superconductivity

The condensation energy can be shown to be a moment of the change in the occupied part of the spectral function when going from the normal to the superconducting state. As a consequence, there is a one to one correspondence between the energy gain associated with forming the superconducting ground state, and the dramatic changes seen in angle resolved photoemission spectra. Some implications this observation has are offered.Comment: 4 pages, M2S conference proceeding

Destroying coherence in high temperature superconductors with current flow

The loss of single-particle coherence going from the superconducting state to the normal state in underdoped cuprates is a dramatic effect that has yet to be understood. Here, we address this issue by performing angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements in the presence of a transport current. We find that the loss of coherence is associated with the development of an onset in the resistance, in that well before the midpoint of the transition is reached, the sharp peaks in the ARPES spectra are completely suppressed. Since the resistance onset is a signature of phase fluctuations, this implies that the loss of single-particle coherence is connected with the loss of long-range phase coherence.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Self-energy of a nodal fermion in a d-wave superconductor

We re-consider the self-energy of a nodal (Dirac) fermion in a 2D d-wave superconductor. A conventional belief is that Im \Sigma (\omega, T) \sim max (\omega^3, T^3). We show that \Sigma (\omega, k, T) for k along the nodal direction is actually a complex function of \omega, T, and the deviation from the mass shell. In particular, the second-order self-energy diverges at a finite T when either \omega or k-k_F vanish. We show that the full summation of infinite diagrammatic series recovers a finite result for \Sigma, but the full ARPES spectral function is non-monotonic and has a kink whose location compared to the mass shell differs qualitatively for spin-and charge-mediated interactions.Comment: 4pp 3 eps figure