Generic character of charge and spin density waves in superconducting cuprates

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 119; no. 15; p. e2119429119
• Main Authors: Lee, Sangjun, Huang, Edwin W, Johnson, Thomas A, Guo, Xuefei, Husain, Ali A, Mitrano, Matteo, Lu, Kannan, Zakrzewski, Alexander V, de la Peña, Gilberto A, Peng, Yingying, Huang, Hai, Lee, Sang-Jun, Jang, Hoyoung, Lee, Jun-Sik, Joe, Young Il, Doriese, William B, Szypryt, Paul, Swetz, Daniel S, Chi, Songxue, Aczel, Adam A, MacDougall, Gregory J, Kivelson, Steven A, Fradkin, Eduardo, Abbamonte, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 12.04.2022
• Subjects: Amplitudes; Charge density waves; Compressibility; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Cuprates; Doping; High temperature; high-temperature superconductivity; Isotopic enrichment; Low temperature; Neutron scattering; Physical Sciences; Soft x rays; Spin density waves; Superconductors; Temperature; Temperature dependence; X-ray scattering; X-ray scattering, charge density waves, cuprates; charge density waves; spin density waves; high-temperature superconductivity; cuprates
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119429119

Charge density waves (CDWs) have been observed in nearly all families of copper-oxide superconductors. But the behavior of these phases across different families has been perplexing. In La-based cuprates, the CDW wavevector is an increasing function of doping, exhibiting the so-called Yamada behavior, while in Y- and Bi-based materials the behavior is the opposite. Here, we report a combined resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSXS) and neutron scattering study of charge and spin density waves in isotopically enriched La1.8−xEu0.2SrxCuO4 over a range of doping 0.07≤x≤0.20. We find that the CDW amplitude is temperature independent and develops well above experimentally accessible temperatures. Further, the CDW wavevector shows a nonmonotonic temperature dependence, exhibiting Yamada behavior at low temperature with a sudden change occurring near the spin ordering temperature. We describe these observations using a Landau–Ginzburg theory for an incommensurate CDW in a metallic system with a finite charge compressibility and spin-CDW coupling. Extrapolating to high temperature, where the CDW amplitude is small and spin order is absent, our analysis predicts a decreasing wavevector with doping, similar to Y and Bi cuprates. Our study suggests that CDW order in all families of cuprates forms by a common mechanism.