Abstract
In the search for the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity, intense research has been focused on the evolution of the spin excitation spectrum on doping from the antiferromagnetic insulating to the superconducting state of the cuprates. Because of technical limitations, the experimental investigation of doped cuprates has been largely focused on low-energy excitations in a small range of momentum space. Here we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to show that a large family of superconductors, encompassing underdoped YBa2Cu4O8 and overdoped YBa2Cu3O7, exhibits damped spin excitations (paramagnons) with dispersions and spectral weights closely similar to those of magnons in undoped cuprates. The comprehensive experimental description of this surprisingly simple spectrum enables quantitative tests of magnetic Cooper pairing models. A numerical solution of the Eliashberg equations for the magnetic spectrum of YBa2Cu3O7 reproduces its superconducting transition temperature within a factor of two, a level of agreement comparable to that of Eliashberg theories of conventional superconductors.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Scalapino, D. J. The case for d x 2 − y 2 pairing in the cuprate superconductors. Phys. Rep. 250, 329–365 (1995).
Abanov, A., Chubukov, A. V. & Schmalian, J. Quantum-critical theory of the spin fermion model and its application to cuprates: Normal state analysis. Adv. Phys. 52, 119–218 (2003).
Birgeneau, R. J., Stock, C., Tranquada, J. M. & Yamada, K. Magnetic neutron scattering in hole-doped cuprate superconductors. J. Phys. Soc. Jpn 75, 111003 (2006).
Eschrig, M. The effect of collective spin-1 excitations on electronic spectra in high-Tc superconductors. Adv. Phys. 55, 47–183 (2006).
Dahm, T. et al. Strength of the spin-fluctuation-mediated pairing interaction in a high-temperature superconductor. Nature Phys. 5, 217–221 (2009).
Fong, H. F. et al. Polarized and unpolarized neutron-scattering study of the dynamical spin susceptibility of YBa2Cu3O7 . Phys. Rev. B 54, 6708–6720 (1996).
Hayden, S. M. et al. The structure of the high-energy spin excitations in a high-transition-temperature superconductor. Nature 429, 531–534 (2004).
Hinkov, V. et al. Two-dimensional geometry of spin excitations in the high-transition-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6+x . Nature 430, 650–653 (2004).
He, H. et al. Magnetic resonant mode in the single-layer high-temperature superconductor Tl2Ba2CuO6+δ . Science 295, 1045–1047 (2002).
Reznik, D. et al. Local-moment fluctuations in the optimally doped high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.95 . Phys. Rev. B 78, 132503 (2008).
Xu, G. et al. Testing the itinerancy of spin dynamics in superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ . Nature Phys. 5, 642–646 (2009).
Yu, G. et al. Magnetic resonance in the model high-temperature superconductor HgBa2CuO4+δ . Phys. Rev. B 81, 064518 (2010).
Kee, H-Y., Kivelson, S. A. & Aeppli, G. Spin-1 neutron resonance peak cannot account for electronic anomalies in the cuprate superconductors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 257002 (2002).
Li, Y. et al. Hidden magnetic excitation in the pseudogap phase of a high- Tc superconductor. Nature 468, 283–285 (2010).
Maksimov, E. G., Kuli’c, M. L. & Dolgov, O. V. Bosonic spectral function and the electron–phonon interaction in HTSC cuprates. Adv. Cond. Mat. Phys. 2010, 423725 (2010).
Tranquada, J. M. et al. Neutron scattering study of magnetic excitations in YBa2Cu3O6+x . Phys. Rev. B 40, 4503–4516 (1989).
Reznik, D. et al. Direct observation of optical magnons in YBa2Cu3O6.2 . Phys. Rev. B 53, R14741–R14744 (1996).
Hayden, S. M. et al. High-frequency spin waves in YBa2Cu3O6.15 . Phys. Rev. B 54, R6905–R6908 (1996).
Coldea, R. et al. Spin waves and electronic interactions in La2CuO4 . Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5377–5380 (2001).
Ament, L. J. P. et al. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering studies of elementary excitations. Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 705–767 (2011).
Braicovich, L. et al. Dispersion of magnetic excitations in the cuprate La2CuO4 and CaCuO2 compounds measured using resonant X-ray scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 167401 (2009).
Schlappa, J. et al. Collective magnetic excitations in the spin ladder Sr14Cu24O41 measured using high-resolution resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 047401 (2009).
Guarise, M. et al. measurement of magnetic excitations in the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic Sr2CuO2Cl2 insulator using resonant X-ray scattering: Evidence for extended interactions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 157006 (2010).
Braicovich, L. et al. Momentum and polarization dependence of single-magnon spectral weight for Cu L3-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering from layered cuprates. Phys. Rev. B 81, 174533 (2010).
Ament, L. J. P. et al. Theoretical demonstration of how the dispersion of magnetic excitations in cuprate compounds can be determined using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 117003 (2009).
Haverkort, M. W. Theory of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering by collective magnetic excitations. Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 167404 (2010).
Braicovich, L. et al. Magnetic excitations and phase separation in the underdoped La2−xSrxCuO4 superconductor measured by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 077002 (2010).
Bobroff, J. et al. Absence of static phase separation in the high Tc cuprate YBa2Cu3O6+y . Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 157002 (2002).
Ghiringhelli, G. et al. Low energy electronic excitations in the layered cuprates studied by copper L3 resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 117406 (2004).
Stock, C. et al. From incommensurate to dispersive spin-fluctuations: The high-energy inelastic spectrum in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.5 . Phys. Rev. B 71, 024522 (2005).
Vignolle, B. et al. Two energy scales in the spin excitations of the high-temperature superconductor La2−xSrxCuO4 . Nature Phys. 3, 163–167 (2007).
Lipscombe, O. J. et al. Emergence of coherent magnetic excitations in the high temperature underdoped La2−xSrxCuO4 superconductor at low temperatures. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 167002 (2009).
Stock, C. et al. Effect of the pseudogap on suppressing high energy inelastic neutron scattering in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.5 . Phys. Rev. B 82, 174505 (2010).
Hinkov, V. et al. Spin dynamics in the pseudogap state of a high-temperature superconductor. Nature Phys. 3, 780–785 (2007).
Bourges, P. et al. High-energy spin excitations in YBa2Cu3O6.5 . Phys. Rev. B 56, R11439 (1997).
Tohyama, T., Horsch, P. & Maekawa, S. Spin and charge dynamics of the t–J model. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 980–983 (1995).
Eder, R., Ohta, Y. & Maekawa, S. Anomalous spin and charge dynamics of the t–J model at low doping. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 5124–5127 (1995).
Dagotto, E. Correlated electrons in high-temperature superconductors. Rev. Mod. Phys. 66, 763–840 (1994).
Prelovšek, P. & Ramšak, A. Spectral functions and the pseudogap in the t–J model. Phys. Rev. B 63, 180506(R) (2001).
Carbotte, J. P. Properties of boson-exchange superconductors. Rev. Mod. Phys. 62, 1027–1157 (1990).
Schrieffer, J. R. Ward’s identity and the suppression of spin fluctuation superconductivity. J. Low Temp. Phys. 99, 397–402 (1995).
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge P. Bourges, J. van den Brink, D. Haug, J. P. Hill, B. J. Kim, D. Manske, D. F. McMorrow, Ch. Rüegg, S. Sachdev, G. Sawatzky, Y. Sidis and R. Zehyer for discussions, and B. Pingault for YBa2Cu4O8 sample surface preparation. This work was carried out at the ADRESS beamline using the SAXES instrument jointly built by the Paul Scherrer Institut (Villigen, Switzerland), Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland). Part of this research project has been supported by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme: Research Infrastructures (grant agreement no 226716) and the European project SOPRANO under Marie Curie actions (grant no PITNGA-2008-214040).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
M.L.T., G.G., L.B., V.H. and B.K. managed the project. Y.T.S., G.L.S. and C.T.L. grew the single-crystalline samples; G.M.D.L. and M.S. prepared the thin films. M.L.T., G.G., M.M.S., V.H., M.M., M.B., S.B-C. and L.B. carried out the experiment assisted by K.J.Z., C.M. and T.S. M.L.T. and L.B. analysed the data. J.C., G.K. and M.W.H. carried out the theoretical calculations. M.L.T. and B.K. wrote the paper with comments from all co-authors.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information
Supplementary Information (PDF 349 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Le Tacon, M., Ghiringhelli, G., Chaloupka, J. et al. Intense paramagnon excitations in a large family of high-temperature superconductors. Nature Phys 7, 725–730 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2041
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2041
This article is cited by
-
Theoretical understanding of correlation between magnetic phase transition and the superconducting dome in high-Tc cuprates
Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy (2024)
-
Coherent propagation of spin-orbit excitons in a correlated metal
npj Quantum Materials (2023)
-
Topology stabilized fluctuations in a magnetic nodal semimetal
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Paramagnons and high-temperature superconductivity in a model family of cuprates
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Unconventional exciton evolution from the pseudogap to superconducting phases in cuprates
Nature Communications (2022)
