Charge density wave memory in a cuprate superconductor

X M Chen; C Mazzoli; Y Cao; V Thampy; A M Barbour; W Hu; M Lu; T A Assefa; H Miao; G Fabbris; G D Gu; J M Tranquada; M P M Dean; S B Wilkins; I K Robinson

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09433-1

Charge density wave memory in a cuprate superconductor

Nat Commun. 2019 Mar 29;10(1):1435. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09433-1.

Authors

X M Chen^{1

2}, C Mazzoli³, Y Cao⁴, V Thampy^{4

5}, A M Barbour³, W Hu³, M Lu⁶, T A Assefa⁴, H Miao⁴, G Fabbris⁴, G D Gu⁴, J M Tranquada⁴, M P M Dean⁷, S B Wilkins⁸, I K Robinson^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA. [email protected].
² Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. [email protected].
³ National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA.
⁴ Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA.
⁵ Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA.
⁶ Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA.
⁷ Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA. [email protected].
⁸ National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA. [email protected].
⁹ Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA. [email protected].
¹⁰ London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College, Gower St., London, WC1E 6BT, UK. [email protected].

Abstract

Although CDW correlations are a ubiquitous feature of the superconducting cuprates, their disparate properties suggest a crucial role for pinning the CDW to the lattice. Here, we report coherent resonant X-ray speckle correlation analysis, which directly determines the reproducibility of CDW domain patterns in La_1.875Ba_0.125CuO₄ (LBCO 1/8) with thermal cycling. While CDW order is only observed below 54 K, where a structural phase transition creates inequivalent Cu-O bonds, we discover remarkably reproducible CDW domain memory upon repeated cycling to far higher temperatures. That memory is only lost on cycling to 240(3) K, which recovers the four-fold symmetry of the CuO₂ planes. We infer that the structural features that develop below 240 K determine the CDW pinning landscape below 54 K. This opens a view into the complex coupling between charge and lattice degrees of freedom in superconducting cuprates.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't