Odd parity charge density-wave scattering in cuprates

We investigate a model where superconducting electrons are coupled to a frequency dependent charge-density wave (CDW) order parameter Delta(w). Our approach can reconcile the simultaneous existence of low energy Bogoljubov quasiparticles and high energy electronic order as observed in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments. The theory accounts for the contrast reversal in the STM spectra between positive and negative bias observed above the pairing gap. An intrinsic relation between scattering rate and inhomogeneities follows naturally.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Theory of isotope effect in photoemission spectra of high-T_c superconducting cuprates

We investigate the effect of isotope substitution on the electronic spectral functions within a model where the charge carriers are coupled to bosonic charge-order (CO) fluctuations centered around some mean frequency \omega_0 and with enhanced scattering at wave-vector q_c. It is shown that a mass dependence of \omega_0 is not sufficient in order to account, especially at high energies, for the dispersion shifts experimentally observed in an optimally doped superconducting cuprate. We argue that isotope substitution induces a change of the spatial CO correlations which gives good account of the experimental data.Comment: 5 pages and 2 figure

Joint superexchange--Jahn-Teller mechanism for A-type antiferromagnetism in LaMnO3LaMnO_3

We propose a mechanism for A-type antiferromagnetism in orthorombic LaMnO_3, compatible with the large Jahn-Teller splitting inferred from structural data. Orbital ordering resulting from Jahn-Teller distortions effectively leads to A-type ordering (antiferromagnetic in the c axis and ferromagnetic in the ab plane) provided the in-plane distorsion Q_2 is large enough, a condition generally fulfilled in existing data.Comment: 4 pages Late

Negative electronic compressibility and nanoscale inhomogeneity in ionic-liquid gated two-dimensional superconductors

When the electron density of highly crystalline thin films is tuned by chemical doping or ionic liq- uid gating, interesting effects appear including unconventional superconductivity, sizeable spin-orbit coupling, competition with charge-density waves, and a debated low-temperature metallic state that seems to avoid the superconducting or insulating fate of standard two-dimensional electron systems. Some experiments also find a marked tendency to a negative electronic compressibility. We suggest that this indicates an inclination for electronic phase separation resulting in a nanoscopic inhomo- geneity. Although the mild modulation of the inhomogeneous landscape is compatible with a high electron mobility in the metallic state, this intrinsically inhomogeneous character is highlighted by the peculiar behaviour of the metal-to-superconductor transition. Modelling the system with super- conducting puddles embedded in a metallic matrix, we fit the peculiar resistance vs. temperature curves of systems like TiSe2, MoS2, and ZrNCl. In this framework also the low-temperature debated metallic state finds a natural explanation in terms of the pristine metallic background embedding non-percolating superconducting clusters. An intrinsically inhomogeneous character naturally raises the question of the formation mechanism(s). We propose a mechanism based on the interplay be- tween electrons and the charges of the gating ionic liquid.Comment: substantially modified presentation: 12 pages 7 figure

Phase separation and long wave-length charge instabilities in spin-orbit coupled systems

We investigate a two-dimensional electron model with Rashba spin-orbit interaction where the coupling constant $g=g(n)$ depends on the electronic density. It is shown that this dependence may drive the system unstable towards a long-wave length charge density wave (CDW) where the associated second order instability occurs in close vicinity to global phase separation. For very low electron densities the CDW instability is nesting-induced and the modulation follows the Fermi momentum $k_F$. At higher density the instability criterion becomes independent of $k_F$ and the system may become unstable in a broad momentum range. Finally, upon filling the upper spin-orbit split band, finite momentum instabilities disappear in favor of phase separation alone. We discuss our results with regard to the inhomogeneous phases observed at the LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ or LaTiO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Theory of the spin galvanic effect at oxide interfaces

The spin galvanic effect (SGE) describes the conversion of a non-equilibrium spin polarization into a transverse charge current. Recent experiments have demonstrated a large conversion efficiency for the two-dimensional electron gas formed at the interface between two insulating oxides, LaAlO$_3$ and SrTiO$_3$. Here we analyze the SGE for oxide interfaces within a three-band model for the Ti t$_{2g}$ orbitals which displays an interesting variety of effective spin-orbit couplings in the individual bands that contribute differently to the spin-charge conversion. Our analytical approach is supplemented by a numerical treatment where we also investigate the influence of disorder and temperature, which turns out to be crucial to provide an appropriate description of the experimental data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Electron-phonon Interaction close to a Mott transition

The effect of Holstein electron-phonon interaction on a Hubbard model close to a Mott-Hubbard transition at half-filling is investigated by means of Dynamical Mean-Field Theory. We observe a reduction of the effective mass that we interpret in terms of a reduced effective repulsion. When the repulsion is rescaled to take into account this effect, the quasiparticle low-energy features are unaffected by the electron-phonon interaction. Phonon features are only observed within the high-energy Hubbard bands. The lack of electron-phonon fingerprints in the quasiparticle physics can be explained interpreting the quasiparticle motion in terms of rare fast processes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 color figures. Slightly revised text and references. Kondo effect result added in Fig. 2 for comparison with DMFT dat

Fermi surface dichotomy on systems with fluctuating order

We investigate the effect of a dynamical collective mode coupled with quasiparticles at specific wavevectors only. This coupling describes the incipient tendency to order and produces shadow spectral features at high energies, while leaving essentially untouched the low energy quasiparticles. This allows to interpret seemingly contradictory experiments on underdoped cuprates, where many converging evidences indicate the presence of charge (stripe or checkerboard) order, which remains instead elusive in the Fermi surface obtained from angle-resolved photoemission experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Checkerboard and stripe inhomogeneities in cuprates

We systematically investigate charge-ordering phases by means of a restricted and unrestricted Gutzwiller approximation to the single-band Hubbard model with nearest ($t$) and next-nearest neighbor hopping ($t'$). When $|t'/t|$ is small, as appropriate for ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$, stripes are found, whereas in compounds with larger $|t'/t|$ (such as ${\rm Ca_{2-x}Na_x CuO_2Cl_2}$ and ${\rm Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}}$) checkerboard structures are favored. In contrast to the linear doping dependence found for stripes the charge periodicity of checkerboard textures is locked to 4 unit cells over a wide doping range. In addition we find that checkerboard structures are favored at surfaces.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Dynamical charge density waves rule the phase diagram of cuprates

In the last few years charge density waves (CDWs) have been ubiquitously observed in high-temperature superconducting cuprates and are now the most investigated among the competing orders in the still hot debate on these systems. A wealth of new experimental data raise several fundamental issues that challenge the various theoretical proposals. Here, we account for the complex experimental temperature vs. doping phase diagram and we provide a coherent scenario explaining why different CDW onset curves are observed by different experimental probes and seem to extrapolate at zero temperature into seemingly different quantum critical points (QCPs) in the intermediate and overdoped region. We also account for the pseudogap and its onset temperature T*(p) on the basis of dynamically fluctuating CDWs. The nearly singular anisotropic scattering mediated by these fluctuations also account for the rapid changes of the Hall number seen in experiments and provides the first necessary step for a possible Fermi surface reconstruction fully establishing at lower doping. Finally we show that phase fluctuations of the CDWs, which are enhanced in the presence of strong correlations near the Mott insulating phase, naturally account for the disappearance of the CDWs at low doping with yet another QCP.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure