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Discovery of orbital ordering in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x.

ABSTRACT: The primordial ingredient of cuprate superconductivity is the CuO₂ unit cell. Theories usually concentrate on the intra-atom Coulombic interactions dominating the 3d⁹ and 3d¹⁰ configurations of each copper ion. However, if Coulombic interactions also occur between electrons of the 2p⁶ orbitals of each planar oxygen atom, spontaneous orbital ordering may split their energy levels. This long-predicted intra-unit-cell symmetry breaking should generate an orbitally ordered phase, for which the charge transfer energy ε separating the 2p⁶ and 3d¹⁰ orbitals is distinct for the two oxygen atoms. Here we introduce sublattice-resolved ε(r) imaging to CuO₂ studies and discover intra-unit-cell rotational symmetry breaking of ε(r). Spatially, this state is arranged in disordered Ising domains of orthogonally oriented orbital order bounded by dopant ions, and within whose domain walls low-energy electronic quadrupolar two-level systems occur. Overall, these data reveal a Q = 0 orbitally ordered state that splits the oxygen energy levels by ~50 meV, in underdoped CuO₂.

SUBMITTER: Wang S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10990940 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Discovery of orbital ordering in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x.

Wang Shuqiu S Kennedy Niall N Fujita Kazuhiro K Uchida Shin-Ichi SI Eisaki Hiroshi H Johnson Peter D PD Davis J C Séamus JCS O'Mahony Shane M SM

Nature materials 20240304 4

The primordial ingredient of cuprate superconductivity is the CuO2 unit cell. Theories usually concentrate on the intra-atom Coulombic interactions dominating the 3d9 and 3d10 configurations of each copper ion. However, if Coulombic interactions also occur between electrons of the 2p6 orbitals of each planar oxygen atom, spontaneous orbital ordering may split their energy levels. This long-predicted intra-unit-cell symmetry breaking should generate an ...[more]

PMID: 38438620

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Project description:Superconducting phase transitions in two dimensions lie beyond the description of the Ginzburg-Landau symmetry-breaking paradigm for three-dimensional superconductors. They are Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transitions of paired-electron condensate driven by the unbinding of topological excitations, i.e. vortices. The recently discovered monolayers of layered high-transition-temperature ([Formula: see text]) cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi2212) meant that this 2D superconductor promised to be ideal for the study of unconventional superconductivity. But inhomogeneity posed challenges for distinguishing BKT physics from charge correlations in this material. Here, we utilize the phase sensitivity of scanning superconducting quantum interference device microscopy susceptometry to image the local magnetic response of underdoped Bi2212 from the monolayer to the bulk throughout its phase transition. The monolayer segregates into domains with independent phases at elevated temperatures below [Formula: see text]. Within a single domain, we find that the susceptibility oscillates with flux between diamagnetism and paramagnetism in a Fraunhofer-like pattern up to [Formula: see text]. The finite modulation period, as well as the broadening of the peaks when approaching [Formula: see text] from below, suggests well-defined vortices that are increasingly screened by the dissociation of vortex-antivortex plasma through a BKT transition. In the multilayers, the susceptibility oscillation differs in a small temperature regime below [Formula: see text], consistent with a dimensional crossover led by interlayer coupling. Serving as strong evidence for BKT transition in the bulk, we observe a sharp jump in phase stiffness and paramagnetism at small fields just below [Formula: see text]. These results unify the superconducting phase transitions from the monolayer to the bulk underdoped Bi2212, and can be collectively referred to as the BKT transition with interlayer coupling.

Dataset Information

Discovery of orbital ordering in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x.

Publications

Discovery of orbital ordering in Bi<sub>2</sub>Sr<sub>2</sub>CaCu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>8+x</sub>.

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