Microwave determination of the quasiparticle scattering time in YBa2Cu3O6.95

Electronic diffusion in a normal state of high-Tc cuprate YBa2Cu3O6+x

The bad metallic phase with resistivity above the Mott-Ioffe-Regel (MIR) limit, which appears also in cuprate superconductors, was recently understood by cold atom and computer simulations of the Hubbard model via charge susceptibility and charge diffusion constant. However, since reliable simulations can be typically done only at temperatures above the experimental temperatures, the question for cuprate superconductors is still open. This paper addresses this question by resorting to heat transport, which allows for the estimate of electronic diffusion and it further combines it with the resistivity to estimate the charge susceptibility. The doping and temperature dependencies of diffusion constant and charge susceptibilities are shown and discussed for two samples of YBa2Cu3O6+x. Results indicate strongly incoherent transport, mean free path corresponding to the MIR limit for the underdoped sample at temperatures above ~200 K and significant effect of the charge susceptibility on the resistivity.

Translational-Invariant Bipolarons and Superconductivity

A translation-invariant (TI) bipolaron theory of superconductivity based, like Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory, on Fröhlich Hamiltonian is presented. Here the role of Cooper pairs belongs to TI bipolarons which are pairs of spatially delocalized electrons whose correlation length of a coupled state is small. The presence of Fermi surface leads to the stabilization of such states in its vicinity and a possibility of their Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). The theory provides a natural explanation of the existence of a pseudogap phase preceding the superconductivity and enables one to estimate the temperature of a transition T * from a normal state to a pseudogap one. It is shown that the temperature of BEC of TI bipolarons determines the temperature of a superconducting transition T c which depends not on the bipolaron effective mass but on the ordinary mass of a band electron. This removes restrictions on the upper limit of T c for a strong electron-phonon interaction. A natural explanation is provided for the angular dependence of the superconducting gap which is determined by the angular dependence of the phonon spectrum. It is demonstrated that a lot of experiments on thermodynamic and transport characteristics, Josephson tunneling and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of high-temperature superconductors does not contradict the concept of a TI bipolaron mechanism of superconductivity in these materials. Possible ways of enhancing T c and producing new room-temperature superconductors are discussed on the basis of the theory suggested.

Superconducting Properties of 3D Low-Density TI-Bipolaron Gas in Magnetic Field

Consideration is given to thermodynamical properties of a three-dimensional Bose-condensate of translation-invariant bipolarons (TI-bipolarons) in magnetic field. The critical temperature of transition, critical magnetic fields, energy, heat capacity and the transition heat of TI-bipolaron gas are calculated. Such values as maximum magnetic field, London penetration depth and their temperature dependencies are calculated. The results obtained are used to explain experiments on high-temperature superconductors.

Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition to the superconducting state of heavy-fermion superlattices

We propose an explanation of the superconducting transitions discovered in the heavy-fermion superlattices by Mizukami et al. [Nature Phys. 7, 849 (2011)] in terms of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. We observe that the effective mass mismatch between the heavy-fermion superconductor and the normal metal regions provides an effective barrier that enables quasi-2D superconductivity in such systems. We show that the resistivity data, both with and without magnetic field, are consistent with BKT transition. Furthermore, we study the influence of a nearby magnetic quantum critical point on the vortex system and find that the vortex core energy can be significantly reduced due to magnetic fluctuations. Further reduction of the gap with decreasing number of layers is understood as a result of pair breaking effect of Yb ions at the interface.

Flux exclusion superconducting quantum metamaterial: towards quantum-level switching

Nonlinear and switchable metamaterials achieved by artificial structuring on the subwavelength scale have become a central topic in photonics research. Switching with only a few quanta of excitation per metamolecule, metamaterial's elementary building block, is the ultimate goal, achieving which will open new opportunities for energy efficient signal handling and quantum information processing. Recently, arrays of Josephson junction devices have been proposed as a possible solution. However, they require extremely high levels of nanofabrication. Here we introduce a new quantum superconducting metamaterial which exploits the magnetic flux quantization for switching. It does not contain Josephson junctions, making it simple to fabricate and scale into large arrays. The metamaterial was manufactured from a high-temperature superconductor and characterized in the low intensity regime, providing the first observation of the quantum phenomenon of flux exclusion affecting the far-field electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial.

Concerning the superconducting gap symmetry in YBa₂Cu₃O₇- δ, YBa₂Cu₄O, and La₂ - xSrxCuO₄ determined from muon spin rotation in mixed states of crystals and powders

Muon spin rotation (μ(+)SR) measurements of square-root second moments of local magnetic fields σ in superconducting mixed states, as published for oriented crystals and powder samples of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7 - δ) (δ≈0.05), YBa(2)Cu(4)O(8) and La(2 - x)Sr(x)CuO(4) (x ∼ 0.15-0.17), are subjected to comparative analysis for superconducting gap symmetry. For oriented crystals it is shown that anomalous dependences of σ on temperature T and applied field H, as-measured and extracted a- and b-axial components, are attributable to fluxon depinning and disorder that obscure the intrinsic character of the superconducting penetration depth. Random averages derived from oriented crystal data differ markedly from corresponding non-oriented powders, owing to the weaker influence of pinning in high-quality crystals. Related indicators for pinning perturbations, such as non-monotonic H dependence of σ, irreproducible data and strong H dependence of apparent transition temperatures, are also evident. Strong intrinsic pinning suppresses thermal anomalies in c-axis components of σ, which reflect nodeless gap symmetries in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7 - δ) and YBa(2)Cu(4)O(8). For YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7 - δ), the crystal (a-b components, corrected for depinning) and powder data all reflect a nodeless gap (however, a-b symmetries remain unresolved for crystalline YBa(2)Cu(4)O(8) and La(1.83)Sr(0.17)CuO(4)). Inconsistencies contained in multiple and noded gap interpretations of crystal data, and observed differences between bulk μ(+)SR and surface-sensitive measurements are discussed.

Microwave penetration depth and quasiparticle conductivity of PrFeAsO1-y single crystals: evidence for a full-gap superconductor

In-plane microwave penetration depth lambda_{ab} and quasiparticle conductivity at 28 GHz are measured in underdoped single crystals of the Fe-based superconductor PrFeAsO_{1-y} (T_{c} approximately 35 K) by using a sensitive superconducting cavity resonator. lambda_{ab}(T) shows flat dependence at low temperatures, which is incompatible with the presence of nodes in the superconducting gap Delta(k). The temperature dependence of the superfluid density demonstrates that the gap is nonzero (Delta/k_{B}T_{c} greater, similar1.6) all over the Fermi surface. The microwave conductivity below T_{c} exhibits an enhancement larger than the coherence peak, reminiscent of high-T_{c} cuprate superconductors.

Temperature dependent complex photonic band structures in two-dimensional photonic crystals composed of high-temperature superconductors

Complex photonic band structures in two-dimensional photonic crystals composed of high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) for the case of E-polarization are calculated as a function of temperature below T(c), where T(c) is the critical temperature of the HTSC. The calculations are based on a temperature dependent complex dielectric function, which includes contributions of both superconducting electrons (SCEs) and normal conducting electrons (NCEs), and a frequency dependent plane wave expansion method. Both temperature independent and temperature dependent damping term in the dielectric function are considered to calculate dispersion relations and the lifetime of the eigenmodes. The results are compared with those obtained by existing calculation methods, which neglect the contribution of NCEs. Our results correspond quite well with those obtained by the existing method in the low-temperature range 0<T/T(c)≤0.3; however, results obtained with the two methods are quite different in the temperature range 0.3<T/T(c)≤1. We demonstrate that the contribution of NCEs is non-negligible with increasing temperature.

effects of rattling phonons on the dynamics of quasiparticle excitation in the beta-pyrochlore KOs(2)O(6) Superconductor

Microwave penetration depth lambda and surface resistance at 27 GHz are measured in high quality crystals of KOs(2)O(6). Firm evidence for fully gapped superconductivity is provided from lambda(T). Below the second transition at T(p) approximately 8 K, the superfluid density shows a steplike change with a suppression of effective critical temperature T(c). Concurrently, the extracted quasiparticle scattering time shows a steep enhancement, indicating a strong coupling between the anomalous rattling motion of K ions and quasiparticles. The results imply that the rattling phonons help to enhance superconductivity, and that K sites freeze to an ordered state with long quasiparticle mean free path below T(p).