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Arpaia R, Martinelli L, Sala MM, Caprara S, Nag A, Brookes NB, Camisa P, Li Q, Gao Q, Zhou X, Garcia-Fernandez M, Zhou KJ, Schierle E, Bauch T, Peng YY, Di Castro C, Grilli M, Lombardi F, Braicovich L, Ghiringhelli G. Signature of quantum criticality in cuprates by charge density fluctuations. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7198. [PMID: 37938250 PMCID: PMC10632404 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42961-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The universality of the strange metal phase in many quantum materials is often attributed to the presence of a quantum critical point (QCP), a zero-temperature phase transition ruled by quantum fluctuations. In cuprates, where superconductivity hinders direct QCP observation, indirect evidence comes from the identification of fluctuations compatible with the strange metal phase. Here we show that the recently discovered charge density fluctuations (CDF) possess the right properties to be associated to a quantum phase transition. Using resonant x-ray scattering, we studied the CDF in two families of cuprate superconductors across a wide doping range (up to p = 0.22). At p* ≈ 0.19, the putative QCP, the CDF intensity peaks, and the characteristic energy Δ is minimum, marking a wedge-shaped region in the phase diagram indicative of a quantum critical behavior, albeit with anomalies. These findings strengthen the role of charge order in explaining strange metal phenomenology and provide insights into high-temperature superconductivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Arpaia
- Quantum Device Physics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden.
| | - Leonardo Martinelli
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Marco Moretti Sala
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Sergio Caprara
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Roma, Italy
- CNR-ISC, via dei Taurini 19, I-00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Abhishek Nag
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas B Brookes
- ESRF, The European Synchrotron, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, F-38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Pietro Camisa
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Qizhi Li
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, CN-100871, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Gao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN-100190, Beijing, China
| | - Xingjiang Zhou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN-100190, Beijing, China
| | | | - Ke-Jin Zhou
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
| | - Enrico Schierle
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, D-12489, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thilo Bauch
- Quantum Device Physics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Ying Ying Peng
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, CN-100871, Beijing, China
| | - Carlo Di Castro
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Marco Grilli
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Roma, Italy
- CNR-ISC, via dei Taurini 19, I-00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Floriana Lombardi
- Quantum Device Physics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Lucio Braicovich
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy
- ESRF, The European Synchrotron, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, F-38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Giacomo Ghiringhelli
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy.
- CNR-SPIN, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133, Milano, Italy.
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