Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Markiewicz, R. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Markiewicz, R. S..

Spectroscopic Evidence for Electron-Boson Coupling in Electron-Doped Sr 2 IrO 4

The pseudogap, d-wave superconductivity and electron-boson coupling are three intertwined key ingredients in the phase diagram of the cuprates. Sr 2 IrO 4 is a 5d-electron counterpart of the cuprates in which both the pseudogap and a d-wave instability have been observed. Here, we report spectroscopic evidence for the presence of the third key player in electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 : electron-boson coupling. A kink in nodal dispersion is observed with an energy scale of ~50 meV. The strength of the kink changes with doping, but the energy scale remains the same. Furthermore, these results provide the first noncuprate platform for exploring the relationship between the pseudogap, d-wave instability, and electron-boson coupling in doped Mott insulators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A New Model of Pseudogap Physics in the Cuprates

We discuss a short-range order mechanism for understanding pseudogap physics of cuprates in which the competition between a variety of magnetic orders frustrates the development of the long-range order. We show in particular that the competition between the effects of Van Hove singularity nesting and conventional Fermi surface nesting leads to a material-dependent transition between Mott and Slater physics, and the emergence of a spin-frustrated state in the crossover region.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Entropic Origin of Pseudogap Physics and a Mott-Slater Transition in Cuprates

Here, we propose a new approach to understand the origin of the pseudogap in the cuprates, in terms of bosonic entropy. The near-simultaneous softening of a large number of different q-bosons yields an extended range of short-range order, wherein the growth of magnetic correlations with decreasing temperature T is anomalously slow. These entropic effects cause the spectral weight associated with the Van Hove singularity (VHS) to shift rapidly and nearly linearly toward half filling at higher T, consistent with a picture of the VHS driving the pseudogap transition at a temperature ~T*. As a byproduct, we develop an order-parameter classification scheme that predicts supertransitions between families of order parameters. As one example, we find that by tuning the hopping parameters, it is possible to drive the cuprates across a transition between Mott and Slater physics, where a spin-frustrated state emerges at the crossover.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Short range smectic order driving long range nematic order: Example of cuprates

We present a model for describing the combined presence of nematic and ‘smectic’ or stripe-like orders seen in recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments on cuprates. The smectic order is treated as an electronic charge density wave with an associated Peierls distortion or a ‘Pomeranchuk wave’. This primary order is restricted to nanoscale domains by disorder effects, while the secondary coupling to strain generates the nematic order with a considerably longer range. Lastly, a variety of experimental results are shown to be consistent with our theoretical predictions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Spectroscopic evidence for negative electronic compressibility in a quasi-three-dimensional spin–orbit correlated metal

Negative compressibility is a sign of thermodynamic instability of open1,2,3 or non-equilibrium4,5 systems. In quantum materials consisting of multiple mutually coupled subsystems, the compressibility of one subsystem can be negative if it is countered by positive compressibility of the others. Manifestations of this effect have so far been limited to low-dimensional dilute electron systems6,7,8,9,10,11. Here, we present evidence from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) for negative electronic compressibility (NEC) in the quasi-three-dimensional (3D) spin–orbit correlated metal (Sr1-xLax)3Ir2O7. Increased electron filling accompanies an anomalous decrease of the chemical potential, as indicated by the overall movement of the deep valence bands. Such anomaly, suggestive of NEC, is shown to be primarily driven by the lowering in energy of the conduction band as the correlated bandgap reduces. Our finding points to a distinct pathway towards an uncharted territory of NEC featuring bulk correlated metals with unique potential for applications in low-power nanoelectronics and novel metamaterials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fermi arcs vs. fermi pockets in electron-doped perovskite iridates

We report on an angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) study of bulk electron-doped perovskite iridate, (Sr 1-x La x )₃Ir₂O₇. Fermi surface pockets are observed with a total electron count in keeping with that expected from La substitution. Depending on the energy and polarization of the incident photons, these pockets show up in the form of disconnected “Fermi arcs”, reminiscent of those reported recently in surface electron-doped Sr₂IrO₄. Our observed spectral variation is consistent with the coexistence of an electronic supermodulation with structural distortion in the system.

He, Junfeng↗

Gutzwiller charge phase diagram of cuprates, including electron–phonon coupling effects

Besides significant electronic correlations, high-temperature superconductors also show a strong coupling of electrons to a number of lattice modes. Combined with the experimental detection of electronic inhomogeneities and ordering phenomena in many high-T c compounds, these features raise the question as to what extent phonons are involved in the associated instabilities. Here we address this problem based on the Hubbard model including a coupling to phonons in order to capture several salient features of the phase diagram of hole-doped cuprates. Charge degrees of freedom, which are suppressed by the large Hubbard U near half-filling, are found to become active at a fairly low doping level. We find that possible charge order is mainly driven by Fermi surface nesting, with competition between a near-(π, π) order at low doping and antinodal nesting at higher doping, very similar to the momentum structure of magnetic fluctuations. The resulting nesting vectors are generally consistent with photoemission and tunneling observations, evidence for charge density wave order in YBa₂Cu₃O 7-δ including Kohn anomalies, and suggestions of competition between one- and two-q-vector nesting.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A Minimal tight-binding model for ferromagnetic canted bilayer manganites

Half-metallicity in materials has been a subject of extensive research due to its potential for applications in spintronics. Ferromagnetic manganites have been seen as a good candidate and aside from a small minority-spin pocket observed in La 2–2 x Sr 1+2 x Mn 2 O 7 ( x = 0.38), transport measurements show that ferromagnetic manganites essentially behave like half metals. Here we develop robust tight-binding models to describe the electronic band structure of the majority as well as minority spin states of ferromagnetic, spin-canted antiferromagnetic and fully antiferromagnetic bilayer manganites. Both the bilayer coupling between the MnO 2 planes and the mixing of the | x 2 – y 2 > and |3 z 2 – r 2 > Mn 3d orbitals play an important role in the subtle behavior of the bilayer splitting. Effects of k z dispersion are included.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Minority-spin t 2 g states and the degree of spin polarization in ferromagnetic metallic La 2-2x Sr 1+2x Mn 2 O 7 (x = 0.38)

In this paper, a half-metal is a material with conductive electrons of one spin orientation. This type of substance has been extensively searched for due to the fascinating physics as well as the potential applications for spintronics. Ferromagnetic manganites are considered to be good candidates, though there is no conclusive evidence for this notion. Here we show that the ferromagnet La 2–2x Sr 1+2x Mn 2 O 7 (x = 0.38) possesses minority-spin states, challenging whether any of the manganites may be true half-metals. However, when electron transport properties are taken into account on the basis of the electronic band structure, we found that the La 2–2x Sr 1+2x Mn 2 O 7 (x = 0.38) can essentially behave like a complete half metal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗