37 research outputs found
On the Relationship Between the Pseudo- and Superconducting Gaps: Effects of Residual Pairing Correlations Below Tc
The existence of a normal state spectral gap in underdoped cuprates raises
important questions about the associated superconducting phase. For example,
how does this pseudogap evolve into its below Tc counterpart? In this paper we
characterize this unusual superconductor by investigating the nature of the
``residual'' pseudogap below Tc and, find that it leads to an important
distinction between the superconducting excitation gap and order parameter. Our
approach is based on a conserving diagrammatic BCS Bose-Einstein crossover
theory which yields the precise BCS result in weak coupling at any T<Tc and
reproduces Leggett's results in the T=0 limit. We explore the resulting
experimental implications.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 1 EPS figure (included
Magnetic Field Effects in the Pseudogap Phase: A Competing Energy Gap Scenario for Precursor Superconductivity
We study the sensitivity of T_c and T^* to low fields, H, within the
pseudogap state using a BCS-based approach extended to arbitrary coupling. We
find that T^* and T_c, which are of the same superconducting origin, have very
different H dependences. This is due to the pseudogap, \Delta_{pg}, which is
present at the latter, but not former temperature. Our results for the
coherence length \xi fit well with existing experiments.We predict that very
near the insulator \xi will rapidly increase.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTe
Superconducting phase coherence in the presence of a pseudogap: Relation to specific heat, tunneling and vortex core spectroscopies
In this paper we demonstrate how, using a natural generalization of BCS
theory, superconducting phase coherence manifests itself in phase insensitive
measurements, when there is a smooth evolution of the excitation gap \Delta
from above to below Tc. In this context, we address the underdoped cuprates.
Our premise is that just as Fermi liquid theory is failing above Tc, BCS theory
is failing below. The order parameter \Delta_{sc} is different from the
excitation gap \Delta. Equivalently there is a (pseudo)gap in the excitation
spectrum above Tc which is also present in the underlying normal state of the
superconducting phase, and can be directly inferred from specific heat and
vortex core experiments. At the same time many features of BCS theory, e.g.,
fermionic quasiparticles below Tc, are clearly present. These observations can
be reconciled by a natural extension of BCS theory, which includes finite
center-of-mass momentum pair excitations, in addition to the usual fermionic
quasiparticles. Applying this theory we find that the Bose condensation of
Cooper pairs, which is reflected in \Delta_{sc}, leads to sharp peaks in the
spectral function once . These are manifested in ARPES spectra as
well as in specific heat jumps, which become more like the behavior in a
\lambda transition as the pseudogap develops. We end with a discussion of
tunneling experiments and condensation energy issues. Comparison between
theoretical and experimental plots of C_v, and of tunneling and vortex core
spectroscopy measurements is good.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, ReVTeX 3.
Superconducting transitions from the pseudogap state: d-wave symmetry, lattice, and low-dimensional effects
We investigate the behavior of the superconducting transition temperature
within a previously developed BCS-Bose Einstein crossover picture. This
picture, based on a decoupling scheme of Kadanoff and Martin, further extended
by Patton, can be used to derive a simple form for the superconducting
transition temperature in the presence of a pseudogap. We extend previous work
which addressed the case of s-wave pairing in jellium, to explore the solutions
for T_c as a function of variable coupling in more physically relevant
situations. We thereby ascertain the effects of reduced dimensionality,
periodic lattices and a d-wave pairing interaction. Implications for the
cuprate superconductors are discussed.Comment: REVTeX, 11 pages, 6 EPS figures included, Replace with published
versio
Theory of Radio Frequency Spectroscopy Experiments in Ultracold Fermi Gases and Their Relation to Photoemission Experiments in the Cuprates
In this paper we present an overview of radio frequency (RF) spectroscopy in
the atomic Fermi superfluids. An ultimate goal is to suggest new directions in
the cold gas research agenda from the condensed matter perspective.Our focus is
on the experimental and theoretical literature of cold gases and photoemission
spectroscopy of the cuprates particularly as it pertains to areas of overlap.
This paper contains a systematic overview of the theory of RF spectroscopy,
both momentum integrated and momentum resolved. We discuss the effects of
traps, population imbalance, final state interactions over the entire range of
temperatures and compare theory and experiment. We show that this broad range
of phenomena can be accomodated within the BCS-Leggett description of BCS-BEC
crossover and that this scheme also captures some of the central observations
in photoemission experiments in the cuprates. In this last context, we note
that the key themes which have emerged in cuprate photoemission studies involve
characterization of the fermionic self energy, of the pseudogap and of the
effects of superconducting coherence (in passing from above to below the
superfluid transition temperature, ).These issues have a counterpart in
the cold Fermi gases and it would be most useful in future to use these atomic
systems to address these and the more sweeping question of how to describe that
anomalous superfluid phase which forms in the presence of a normal state
excitation gap.Comment: 23 pages, 22 figure
Pairing fluctuations and pseudogaps in the attractive Hubbard model
The two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model is studied in the weak to
intermediate coupling regime by employing a non-perturbative approach. It is
first shown that this approach is in quantitative agreement with Monte Carlo
calculations for both single-particle and two-particle quantities. Both the
density of states and the single-particle spectral weight show a pseudogap at
the Fermi energy below some characteristic temperature T*, also in good
agreement with quantum Monte Carlo calculations. The pseudogap is caused by
critical pairing fluctuations in the low-temperature renormalized classical
regime of the two-dimensional system. With increasing temperature
the spectral weight fills in the pseudogap instead of closing it and the
pseudogap appears earlier in the density of states than in the spectral
function. Small temperature changes around T* can modify the spectral weight
over frequency scales much larger than temperature. Several qualitative results
for the s-wave case should remain true for d-wave superconductors.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure
Nanoscale Confinement and Fluorescence Effects of Bacterial Light Harvesting Complex LH2 in Mesoporous Silicas
Many key chemical and biochemical reactions, particularly in living cells, take place in confined space at the mesoscopic scale. Toward understanding of physicochemical nature of biomacromolecules confined in nanoscale space, in this work we have elucidated fluorescence effects of a light harvesting complex LH2 in nanoscale chemical environments. Mesoporous silicas (SBA-15 family) with different shapes and pore sizes were synthesized and used to create nanoscale biomimetic environments for molecular confinement of LH2. A combination of UV-vis absorption, wide-field fluorescence microscopy, and in situ ellipsometry supports that the LH2 complexes are located inside the silica nanopores. Systematic fluorescence effects were observed and depend on degree of space confinement. In particular, the temperature dependence of the steady-state fluorescence spectra was analyzed in detail using condensed matter band shape theories. Systematic electronic-vibrational coupling differences in the LH2 transitions between the free and confined states are found, most likely responsible for the fluorescence effects experimentally observed
Catalyst-free growth and tailoring morphology of zinc oxide nanostructures by plasma-enhanced deposition at low temperature
ZnO nanostructures were grown under different deposition conditions from Zn films pre-deposited onto Si substrates in O2-Ar plasma, ignited in an advanced custom-designed plasma-enhanced horizontal tube furnace deposition system. The morphology and structure of the synthesized ZnO nanostructures were systematically and extensively investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. It is shown that the morphology of ZnO nanostructures changes from the hybrid ZnO/nanoparticle and nanorod system to the mixture of ZnO nanosheets and nanorods when the growth temperature increases, and the density of ZnO nanorods increases with the increase of oxygen flow rate. The formation of ZnO nanostructures was explained in terms of motion of Zn atoms on the Zn nanoparticle surfaces, and to the local melting of Zn nanoparticles or nanosheets. Moreover, the photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanostructures were studied, and it was revealed that the photoluminescence spectrum features two strong ultraviolet bands at about 378 and 399Â nm and a series of weak blue bands within a range of 440--484Â nm, related to the emissions of free excitons, near-band edge, and defects of ZnO nanostructures. The obtained results enrich our knowledge on the synthesis of ZnO-based nanostructures and contribute to the development of ZnO-based optoelectronic devices