Three-dimensional collective charge excitations in electron-doped copper oxide superconductors

M. Hepting, L. Chaix, E. W. Huang, R. Fumagalli, Y. Y. Peng, B. Moritz, K. Kummer, N. B. Brookes, W. C. Lee, M. Hashimoto, T. Sarkar, J.-F. He, C. R. Rotundu, Y. S. Lee, R. L. Greene, L. Braicovich, G. Ghiringhelli, Z. X. Shen (), T. P. Devereaux () and W. S. Lee ()
Additional contact information
M. Hepting: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
L. Chaix: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
E. W. Huang: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
R. Fumagalli: Politecnico di Milano
Y. Y. Peng: Politecnico di Milano
B. Moritz: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
K. Kummer: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
N. B. Brookes: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
W. C. Lee: Binghamton University
M. Hashimoto: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
T. Sarkar: University of Maryland
J.-F. He: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
C. R. Rotundu: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
Y. S. Lee: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
R. L. Greene: University of Maryland
L. Braicovich: Politecnico di Milano
G. Ghiringhelli: Politecnico di Milano
Z. X. Shen: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
T. P. Devereaux: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
W. S. Lee: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University

Nature, 2018, vol. 563, issue 7731, 374-378

Abstract: Abstract High-temperature copper oxide superconductors consist of stacked CuO2 planes, with electronic band structures and magnetic excitations that are primarily two-dimensional1,2, but with superconducting coherence that is three-dimensional. This dichotomy highlights the importance of out-of-plane charge dynamics, which has been found to be incoherent in the normal state3,4 within the limited range of momenta accessible by optics. Here we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to explore the charge dynamics across all three dimensions of the Brillouin zone. Polarization analysis of recently discovered collective excitations (modes) in electron-doped copper oxides5–7 reveals their charge origin, that is, without mixing with magnetic components5–7. The excitations disperse along both the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, revealing its three-dimensional nature. The periodicity of the out-of-plane dispersion corresponds to the distance between neighbouring CuO2 planes rather than to the crystallographic c-axis lattice constant, suggesting that the interplane Coulomb interaction is responsible for the coherent out-of-plane charge dynamics. The observed properties are hallmarks of the long-sought ‘acoustic plasmon’, which is a branch of distinct charge collective modes predicted for layered systems8–12 and argued to play a substantial part in mediating high-temperature superconductivity10–12.

Keywords: Acoustic Plasmons; Charge Dynamics; CuO2 Planes; Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS); RIXS Spectra (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0648-3

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