Raman scattering from a superconductivity-induced bound state in MgB2MgB_2

It is shown that the sharp peak in the $E_{2g}$ Raman spectrum of superconducting $MgB_2$ is due to a bound state caused by the electron-phonon coupling. Our theory explains why this peak appears only in the spectra with $E_{2g}$ symmetry and only in the $\sigma$ but not $\pi$ bands. The properties of the bound state and the Raman spectrum are investigated, also in the presence of impurity scattering.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, will appear in PR

Electronic correlations, electron-phonon interaction, and isotope effect in high-Tc cuprates

Using a large-N expansion we present and solve the linearized equation for the superconducting gap for a generalized t-J model which also contains phonons within a Holstein model. The leading Tc has d-wave symmetry with phonons giving a positive contribution to Tc. The corresponding isotope coefficient is very small at optimal doping and increases towards the classical value 1/2 with increasing dopings similar as in many cuprates.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

C-Axis Tunneling Spectra in High-Tc_c Superconductors in the Presence of a d Charge-Density Wave

The optimally doped and underdoped region of the $t-J$ model at large N (N is the number of spin components) is governed by the competition of d-wave superconductivity (SC) and a d Charge-Density Wave (d-CDW).The partial destruction of the Fermi surface by the d-CDW and the resulting density of states are discussed. Furthermore, c-axis conductances for incoherent and coherent tunneling are calculated, considering both an isotropic and an anisotropic in-plane momentum dependence of the hopping matrix element between the planes. The influence of self-energy effects on the conductances is also considered using a model where the electrons interact with a dispersionless, low-lying branch of bosons. We show that available tunneling spectra from break-junctions are best explained by assuming that they result from incoherent tunneling with a strongly anisotropic hopping matrix element of the form suggested by band structure calculations. The conductance spectra are then characterized by one single peak which evolves continuously from the superconducting to the d-CDW state with decreasing doping. The intrinsic c-axis tunneling spectra are, on the other hand, best explained by coherent tunneling. Calculated spectra show at low temperatures two peaks due to SC and d-CDW. With increasing temperature the BCS-like peak moves to zero voltage and vanishes at T$_c$,exactly as in experiment.Our results thus can explain why break junction and intrinsic tunneling spectra are different from each other. Moreover, they support a scenario of two competing order parameters in the underdoped region of high-T$_c$ superconductors.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure

Interplay of superconductivity with structural phases in a generalized t-J model

The phase diagram of the t-J-V model is discussed using a 1/N expansion in terms of X operators. It is shown that a flux phase of d-wave symmetry is stabilized by the Coulomb interaction V at intermediate dopings and competes with d-wave superconductivity. Since the flux wave instability is stronger than the superconducting one optimal doping is essentially determined by the onset of the flux phase. Below optimal doping the flux phase coexists with superconductivity at low and exists as a pseudo gap phase at higher temperatures. It is also found that the flux phase boundary is much less sensitive to impurity scattering than the boundary for superconductivity in agreement with experiments in Zn doped La-214 and (Y,Ca)-123.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Proceed. M2S-HTSC-VI Housto

Optical conductivity of unconventional charge density wave systems: Role of vertex corrections

The optical conductivity of a d-CDW conductor is calculated for electrons on a square lattice and a nearest-neighbor charge-charge interaction using the lowest-order conserving approximation. The spectral properties of the Drude-like peak at low frequencies and the broad hump due to transitions across the gap at large frequencies are discussed, also as a function of temperature and of the second-nearest neighbor hopping term t'. We find that vertex corrections enhance the d.c. conductivity, make the Drude peak narrower and provide a smooth transition from a renormalized regime at low to the bare theory at high frequencies. It is also shown that vertex corrections enhance the temperature dependence of the restricted optical sum leading to a non-negligible violation of the sum rule in the d-CDW state.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Superconductivity, d Charge-Density Wave and Electronic Raman Scattering in High-Tc_c Superconductors

The competition of superconductivity and a d charge-density wave (CDW) is studied in the t-J model as a function of temperature at large N where N is the number of spin components. Applying the theory to electronic Raman scattering the temperature dependence of the $B_{1g}$ and the $A_{1g}$ spectra are discussed for a slightly underdoped case.Comment: 2 pages, 3 figures, Proc. M2S-HTSC-VII, to appear in Physica

Effective interactions and superconductivity in the t-J model in the large-N limit

The feasibility of a perturbation expansion for Green's functions of the t-J model directly in terms of X-operators is demonstrated using the Baym- Kadanoff functional method. As an application we derive explicit expressions for the kernel of the linearized equation for the superconducting order parameter in leading order of a 1/N expansion. The linearized equation is solved numerically on a square lattice. We find that a reasonably strong instability occurs only for even frequency pairing with d-wavelike symmetry. Results for the transition temperature and the effective interaction are given as a function of doping.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figure

Collective excitations in unconventional charge-density wave systems

The excitation spectrum of the t-J model is studied on a square lattice in the large $N$ limit in a doping range where a $d$-$density$-$wave$ (DDW) forms below a transition temperature $T^\star$. Characteristic features of the DDW ground state are circulating currents which fluctuate above and condense into a staggered flux state below $T^\star$ and density fluctuations where the electron and the hole are localized at different sites. General expressions for the density response are given both above and below $T^\star$ and applied to Raman, X-ray, and neutron scattering. Numerical results show that the density response is mainly collective in nature consisting of broad, dispersive structures which transform into well-defined peaks mainly at small momentum transfers. One way to detect these excitations is by inelastic neutron scattering at small momentum transfers where the cross section (typically a few per cents of that for spin scattering) is substantially enhanced, exhibits a strong dependence on the direction of the transferred momentum and a well-pronounced peak somewhat below twice the DDW gap. Scattering from the DDW-induced Bragg peak is found to be weaker by two orders of magnitude compared with the momentum-integrated inelastic part.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Influence of collective effects and the d-CDW on electronic Raman scattering in high-Tc_c superconductors

Electronic Raman scattering in high-T$_c$ superconductors is studied within the t-J model. It is shown that the A$_{1g}$ and B$_{1g}$ spectra are dominated by amplitude fluctuations of the superconducting and the d-wave CDW order parameters, respectively. The B$_{2g}$ spectrum contains no collective effects and its broad peak reflects vaguely the doping dependence of T$_c$, similarly to the pronounced peak in the A$_{1g}$ spectrum. The agreement of our theory with the experiment supports the picture of two different, competing order parameters in the underdoped regime of high-T$_c$ superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, will appear in PR

The Hall conductivity in unconventional charge density wave systems

Charge density waves with unconventional order parameters, for instance, with d-wave symmetry (DDW), may be relevant in the underdoped regime of high-T_c cuprates or other quasi-one or two dimensional metals. A DDW state is characterized by two branches of low-lying electronic excitations. The resulting quantum mechanical current has an inter-branch component which leads to an additional mass term in the expression for the Hall conductivity. This extra mass term is parametrically enhanced near the ``hot spots'' of fermionic dispersion and is non-neglegible as is shown by numerical calculations of the Hall number in the DDW state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure