Signatures of the electronic nature of pairing in high-T(c) superconductors obtained by non-equilibrium boson spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the pairing mechanism that gives rise to high-temperature superconductivity is one of the longest-standing problems of condensed-matter physics. Almost three decades after its discovery, even the question of whether or not phonons are involved remains a point of contention to some. Here we describe a technique for determining the spectra of bosons generated during the formation of Cooper pairs on recombination of hot electrons as they tunnel between the layers of a cuprate superconductor. The results obtained indicate that the bosons that mediate pairing decay over micrometre-scale distances and picosecond timescales, implying that they propagate at a speed of around 10⁶ m s⁻¹. This value is more than two orders of magnitude greater than the phonon propagation speed but close

SUBMITTER: Krasnov VM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3905708 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature