Polaron origin for anharmonicity of the axial oxygen in YBa2Cu3O7

Evolution of Charge-Lattice Dynamics across the Kuramoto Synchronization Phase Diagram of Quantum Tunneling Polarons in Cuprate Superconductors

Because of its sensitivity to the instantaneous structure factor, S(Q,t = 0), Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) is a powerful tool for probing the dynamic structure of condensed matter systems in which the charge and lattice dynamics are coupled. When applied to hole-doped cuprate superconductors, EXAFS has revealed the presence of internal quantum tunneling polarons (IQTPs). An IQTP arises in EXAFS as a two-site distribution for certain Cu–O pairs, which is also duplicated in inelastic scattering but not observed in standard diffraction measurements. The Cu–Sr pair distribution has been found to be highly anharmonic and strongly correlated to both the IQTPs and to superconductivity, as, for example, in YSr2Cu2.75Mo0.25O7.54(Tc=84 K). In order to describe such nontrivial, anharmonic charge-lattice dynamics, we have proposed a model Hamiltonian for a prototype six-atom cluster, in which two Cu-apical-O IQTPs are charge-transfer bridged through Cu atoms by an O atom in the CuO2 plane and are anharmonically coupled via a Sr atom. By applying an exact diagonalization procedure to this cluster, we have verified that our model indeed produces an intricate interplay between charge and lattice dynamics. Then, by using the Kuramoto model for the synchronization of coupled quantum oscillators, we have found a first-order phase transition for the IQTPs into a synchronized, phase-locked phase. Most importantly, we have shown that this transition results specifically from the anharmonicity. Finally, we have provided a phase diagram showing the onset of the phase-locking of IQTPs as a function of the charge-lattice and anharmonic couplings in our model. We have found that the charge, initially confined to the apical oxygens, is partially pumped into the CuO2 plane in the synchronized phase, which suggests a possible connection between the synchronized dynamic structure and high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in doped cuprates.

Extremely Overdoped Superconducting Cuprates via High Pressure Oxygenation Methods

Within the cuprate constellation, one fixed star has been the superconducting dome in the quantum phase diagram of transition temperature vs. the excess charge on the Cu in the CuO2-planes, p, resulting from O-doping or cation substitution. However, a more extensive search of the literature shows that the loss of the superconductivity in favor of a normal Fermi liquid on the overdoped side should not be assumed. Many experimental results from cuprates prepared by high-pressure oxygenation show Tc converging to a fixed value or continuing to slowly increase past the upper limit of the dome of p = 0.26–0.27, up to the maximum amounts of excess oxygen corresponding to p values of 0.3 to > 0.6. These reports have been met with disinterest or disregard. Our review shows that dome-breaking trends for Tc are, in fact, the result of careful, accurate experimental work on a large number of compounds. This behavior most likely mandates a revision of the theoretical basis for high-temperature superconductivity. That excess O atoms located in specific, metastable sites in the crystal, attainable only with extreme O chemical activity under HPO conditions, cause such a radical extension of the superconductivity points to a much more substantial role for the lattice in terms of internal chemistry and bonding.

Nonadiabatic coupling of the dynamical structure to the superconductivity in YSr2Cu2.75Mo0.25O7.54 and Sr2CuO3.3

The Cu extended X-ray absorption fine structure of YSr₂Cu_2.75Mo_0.25O_7.54 (with superconducting critical temperature, T_c, = 84 K) and Sr₂CuO_3.3 (T_c = 95 K) through their superconducting transitions demonstrates that the common factor in superconductivity in cuprates, including those prepared by high-pressure oxygenation, is an internal quantum tunneling polaron in its dynamical structure. In addition, Sr₂CuO_3.3 is the first material to show a concomitant transformation in this structure involving atom displacements >1 Å that would be expected to modify its Fermi surface, which would complicate the transition beyond a purely electronic one consisting of the pairing of electrons of opposite momentum across fixed electronic states.

A crucial issue in cuprates is the extent and mechanism of the coupling of the lattice to the electrons and the superconductivity. Here we report Cu K edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements elucidating the internal quantum tunneling polaron (iqtp) component of the dynamical structure in two heavily overdoped superconducting cuprate compounds, tetragonal YSr₂Cu_2.75Mo_0.25O_7.54 with superconducting critical temperature, T_c = 84 K and hole density p = 0.3 to 0.5 per planar Cu, and the tetragonal phase of Sr₂CuO_3.3 with T_c = 95 K and p = 0.6. In YSr₂Cu_2.75Mo_0.25O_7.54 changes in the Cu-apical O two-site distribution reflect a sequential renormalization of the double-well potential of this site beginning at T_c, with the energy difference between the two minima increasing by ∼6 meV between T_c and 52 K. Sr₂CuO_3.3 undergoes a radically larger transformation at T_c, >1-Å displacements of the apical O atoms. The principal feature of the dynamical structure underlying these transformations is the strongly anharmonic oscillation of the apical O atoms in a double-well potential that results in the observation of two distinct O sites whose Cu–O distances indicate different bonding modes and valence-charge distributions. The coupling of the superconductivity to the iqtp that originates in this nonadiabatic coupling between the electrons and lattice demonstrates an important role for the dynamical structure whereby pairing occurs even in a system where displacements of the atoms that are part of the transition are sufficiently large to alter the Fermi surface. The synchronization and dynamic coherence of the iqtps resulting from the strong interactions within a crystal would be expected to influence this process.

Local lattice distortions and dynamics in extremely overdoped superconducting YSr2Cu2.75Mo0.25O7.54

A common characteristic of many "overdoped" cuprates prepared with high-pressure oxygen is T _c values ≥ 50 K that often exceed that of optimally doped parent compounds, despite O stoichiometries that place the materials at the edge or outside of the conventional boundary between superconducting and normal Fermi liquid states. X-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) measurements at 52 K on samples of high-pressure oxygen (HPO) YSr₂Cu_2.75Mo_0.25O_7.54, T _c = 84 K show that the Mo is in the (VI) valence in an unusually undistorted octahedral geometry with predominantly Mo neighbors that is consistent with its assigned substitution for Cu in the chain sites of the structure. Perturbations of the Cu environments are minimal, although the Cu X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) differs from that in other cuprates. The primary deviation from the crystal structure is therefore nanophase separation into Mo- and Cu-enriched domains. There are, however, indications that the dynamical attributes of the structure are altered relative to YBa₂Cu₃O₇, including a shift of the Cu-apical O two-site distribution from the chain to the plane Cu sites. Another effect that would influence T _c is the possibility of multiple bands at the Fermi surface caused by the presence of the second phase and the lowering of the Fermi level.

Local structure of Sr2CuO3.3, a 95 K cuprate superconductor without CuO2 planes

The local structure of the highly "overdoped" 95 K superconductor Sr₂CuO_3.3 determined by Cu K X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) at 62 K in magnetically oriented samples shows that 1) the magnetization is perpendicular to the c axis; 2) at these levels of precision the Cu sublattice is tetragonal in agreement with the crystal structure; the O sublattice has 3) continuous -Cu-O- chains that orient perpendicular to an applied magnetic field; 4) approximately half-filled -Cu-O- chains that orient parallel to this field; 5) a substantial number of apical O vacancies; 6) O ions at some apical positions with expanded Cu-O distances; and 7) interstitial positions that imply highly displaced Sr ions. These results contradict the universally accepted features of cuprates that require intact CuO₂ planes, magnetization along the c axis, and a termination of the superconductivity when the excess charge on the CuO₂ Cu ions exceeds 0.27. These radical differences in charge and structure demonstrate that this compound constitutes a separate class of Cu-O-based superconductors in which the superconductivity originates in a different, more complicated structural unit than CuO₂ planes while retaining exceptionally high transition temperatures.

Possible Demonstration of a Polaronic Bose-Einstein(-Mott) Condensate in UO2(+x) by Ultrafast THz Spectroscopy and Microwave Dissipation

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) composed of polarons would be an advance because they would combine coherently charge, spin, and a crystal lattice. Following our earlier report of unique structural and spectroscopic properties, we now identify potentially definitive evidence for polaronic BECs in photo- and chemically doped UO_2(+x) on the basis of exceptional coherence in the ultrafast time dependent terahertz absorption and microwave spectroscopy results that show collective behavior including dissipation patterns whose precedents are condensate vortex and defect disorder and condensate excitations. That some of these signatures of coherence in an atom-based system extend to ambient temperature suggests a novel mechanism that could be a synchronized, dynamical, disproportionation excitation, possibly via the solid state analog of a Feshbach resonance that promotes the coherence. Such a mechanism would demonstrate that the use of ultra-low temperatures to establish the BEC energy distribution is a convenience rather than a necessity, with the actual requirement for the particles being in the same state that is not necessarily the ground state attainable by other means. A macroscopic quantum object created by chemical doping that can persist to ambient temperature and resides in a bulk solid would be revolutionary in a number of scientific and technological fields.

Charge transfer in strongly correlated systems: an exact diagonalization approach to model Hamiltonians

We study charge transfer in bridged di- and triruthenium complexes from a theoretical and computational point of view. Ab initio computations are interpreted from the perspective of a simple empirical Hamiltonian, a chemically specific Mott-Hubbard model of the complexes' π electron systems. This Hamiltonian is coupled to classical harmonic oscillators mimicking a polarizable dielectric environment. The model can be solved without further approximations in a valence bond picture using the method of exact diagonalization and permits the computation of charge transfer reaction rates in the framework of Marcus' theory. In comparison to the exact solution, the Hartree-Fock mean field theory overestimates both the activation barrier and the magnitude of charge-transfer excitations significantly. For triruthenium complexes, we are able to directly access the interruthenium antiferromagnetic coupling strengths.

Lattice effect of strong electron correlation: implication for ferroelectricity and superconductivity

Much theoretical work has been devoted to understanding the role of strong electron correlations in high-temperature superconductivity mainly through magnetic interactions, but the possible role of electron correlation in ferroelectricity of metal oxides has not received attention. Diagonalization of a simple many-body, tight-binding Hamiltonian shows that the electron-lattice interaction is dramatically enhanced in some cases by strong electron correlation because of deformation-induced charge transfer. This effect may be closely related to ferroelectricity and superconductivity in transition metal oxides.

Metastability of Superconducting Compounds in the Y-Ba-Cu-O System

Precision isothermal solution calorimetry was used to determine the standard-state enthalpy of formation of a number of phases in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system. An analysis of the data indicates that YBa(2)Cu(4)O(8) is thermodynamically metastable under ambient conditions. Taken together with the results from previous investigations, these data show that all of the superconducting compounds in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system are thermodynamically metastable at low temperatures.