5 research outputs found
Admixture of an s-wave component to the d-wave gap symmetry in high-temperature superconductors
Neutron crystal-field spectroscopy experiments in the Y- and La-type
high-temperature superconductors HoBa2Cu3O6.56, HoBa2Cu4O8, and
La1.81Sr0.15Ho0.04CuO4 are reviewed. By this bulk-sensitive technique,
information on the gap function is obtained from the relaxation behavior of
crystal-field transitions associated with the Ho3+ ions which sit as local
probes close to the superconducting copper-oxide planes. The relaxation data
exhibit a peculiar change from a convex to a concave shape between the
superconducting transition temperature Tc and the pseudogap temperature T*
which can only be modelled satisfactorily if the gap function of predominantly
d-wave symmetry includes an s-wave component of the order of 20-25%,
independent of the doping level. Moreover, our results are compatible with an
unusual temperature dependence of the gap function in the pseudogap region
(Tc<T<T*), i.e., a breakup of the Fermi surface into disconnected arcs.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in J.
Supercond. Nov. Mag