Temperature dependence of the spectral weight in p- and n-type cuprates: a study of normal state partial gaps and electronic kinetic energy

The optical conductivity of CuO2 (copper-oxygen) planes in p- and n-type cuprates thin films at various doping levels is deduced from highly accurate reflectivity data. The temperature dependence of the real part sigma1(omega) of this optical conductivity and the corresponding spectral weight allow to track the opening of a partial gap in the normal state of n-type Pr{2-x}Ce(x)CuO4 (PCCO), but not of p-type Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta} (BSCCO) cuprates. This is a clear difference between these two families of cuprates, which we briefly discuss. In BSCCO, the change of the electronic kinetic energy Ekin - deduced from the spectral weight- at the superconducting transition is found to cross over from a conventional BCS behavior (increase of Ekin below Tc to an unconventional behavior (decrease of Ekin below Tc) as the free carrier density decreases. This behavior appears to be linked to the energy scale over which spectral weight is lost and goes into the superfluid condensate, hence may be related to Mott physics

Kinetic energy change with doping upon superfluid condensation in high temperature superconductors

In conventional BCS superconductors, the electronic kinetic energy increases upon superfluid condensation (the change DEkin is positive). Here we show that in the high critical temperature superconductor Bi-2212, DEkin crosses over from a fully compatible conventional BCS behavior (DEkin>0) to an unconventional behavior (DEkin<0) as the free carrier density decreases. If a single mechanism is responsible for superconductivity across the whole phase diagram of high critical temperature superconductors, this mechanism should allow for a smooth transition between such two regimes around optimal doping.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

Momentum-resolved evolution of the Kondo lattice into 'hidden-order' in URu2Si2

We study, using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, the evolution of the electronic structure in URu2Si2 at the Gamma, Z and X high-symmetry points from the high-temperature Kondo-screened regime to the low-temperature `hidden-order' (HO) state. At all temperatures and symmetry points, we find structures resulting from the interaction between heavy and light bands, related to the Kondo lattice formation. At the X point, we directly measure a hybridization gap of 11 meV already open at temperatures above the ordered phase. Strikingly, we find that while the HO induces pronounced changes at Gamma and Z, the hybridization gap at X does not change, indicating that the hidden-order parameter is anisotropic. Furthermore, at the Gamma and Z points, we observe the opening of a gap in momentum in the HO state, and show that the associated electronic structure results from the hybridization of a light electron band with the Kondo-lattice bands characterizing the paramagnetic state.Comment: Updated published version. Mansucript + Supplemental Material (8 pages, 9 figures). Submitted 16 September 201

Pairing in cuprates from high energy electronic states

The in-plane optical conductivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d thin films with small carrier density (underdoped) up to large carrier density (overdoped) is analyzed with unprecedented accuracy. Integrating the conductivity up to increasingly higher energies points to the energy scale involved when the superfluid condensate builds up. In the underdoped sample, states extending up to 2 eV contribute to the superfluid. This anomalously large energy scale may be assigned to a change of in-plane kinetic energy at the superconducting transition, and is compatible with an electronic pairing mechanism.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Momentum dependence of the superconducting gap in NdFeAsO1-xFx single crystals measured by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We use angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to study the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap in NdFeAsO1-xFx single crystals. We find that the Gamma hole pocket is fully gapped below the superconducting transition temperature. The value of the superconducting gap is 15 +- 1.5 meV and its anisotropy around the hole pocket is smaller than 20% of this value. This is consistent with an isotropic or anisotropic s-wave symmetry of the order parameter or exotic d-wave symmetry with nodes located off the Fermi surface sheets. This is a significant departure from the situation in the cuprates, pointing to possibility that the superconductivity in the iron arsenic based system arises from a different mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Model-Independent Sum Rule Analysis Based on Limited-Range Spectral Data

Partial sum rules are widely used in physics to separate low- and high-energy degrees of freedom of complex dynamical systems. Their application, though, is challenged in practice by the always finite spectrometer bandwidth and is often performed using risky model-dependent extrapolations. We show that, given spectra of the real and imaginary parts of any causal frequency-dependent response function (for example, optical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, acoustical impedance etc.) in a limited range, the sum-rule integral from zero to a certain cutoff frequency inside this range can be safely derived using only the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relations without any extra model assumptions. This implies that experimental techniques providing both active and reactive response components independently, such as spectroscopic ellipsometry in optics, allow an extrapolation-independent determination of spectral weight 'hidden' below the lowest accessible frequency.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Non-dispersive Fermi arcs and absence of charge ordering in the pseudogap phase of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d

The autocorrelation of angle resolved photoemission data from the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d shows distinct peaks in momentum space which disperse with binding energy in the superconducting state, but not in the pseudogap phase. Although it is tempting to attribute a non-dispersive behavior in momentum space to some ordering phenomenon, a de-construction of the autocorrelation reveals that the non-dispersive peaks arise not from ordering, but rather from the tips of the Fermi arcs, which themselves do not change with binding energy.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure