High-harmonic spectroscopy of quantum phase transitions in a high-Tc superconductor.

ABSTRACT: We report on the nonlinear optical signatures of quantum phase transitions in the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, observed through high harmonic generation. While the linear optical response of the material is largely unchanged when cooling across the phase transitions, the nonlinear optical response sensitively imprints two critical points, one at the critical temperature of the cuprate with the exponential growth of the surface harmonic yield in the superconducting phase and another critical point, which marks the transition from strange metal to pseudogap phase. To reveal the underlying microscopic quantum dynamics, a strong-field quasi-Hubbard model was developed, which describes the measured optical response dependent on the formation of Cooper pairs. Further, the theory provide

SUBMITTER: Alcala J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9546568 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature