Low-energy antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations limit the coherent superconducting gap in cuprates

Abstract

Motivated by recent attention to a potential antiferromagnetic quantum critical point at $x_c\sim 0.19$, we have used inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the low-energy spin excitations in crystals of La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ bracketing $x_c$. We observe a peak in the normal-state spin-fluctuation weight at $\sim 20$~meV for both $x=0.21$ and 0.17, inconsistent with quantum critical behavior. The presence of the peak raises the question of whether low-energy spin fluctuations limit the onset of superconducting order. Empirically evaluating the spin gap ${\Delta }_{\mathrm{spin}}$ in the superconducting state, we find that ${\Delta }_{\mathrm{spin}}$ is equal to the coherent superconducting gap ${\Delta }_c$ determined by electronic spectroscopies. To test whether this is a general result for other cuprate families, we have checked through the literature and find that ${\Delta }_c\le {\Delta }_{\mathrm{spin}}$ for cuprates with uniform $d$-wave superconductivity. We discuss the implications of this result.

11 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; accepted version

References in corpus (32)

• Mantid - Data Analysis and Visualization Package for Neutron Scattering and $\mu SR$ Experiments
• Theory of Intertwined Orders in High Temperature Superconductors
• Inelastic Light Scattering From Correlated Electrons
• Electronic liquid crystal state in the high-temperature superconductor YBCO(6.45)
• Two-Dimensional Superconducting Fluctuations in Stripe-Ordered La(1.875)Ba(0.125)CuO(4)
• Dynamical layer decoupling in a stripe-ordered, high T_c superconductor
• Strength of the Spin-Fluctuation-Mediated Pairing Interaction in a High-Temperature Superconductor
• Phase competition in trisected superconducting dome
• Spin dynamics in the pseudogap state of a high-temperature superconductor
• Competing charge, spin, and superconducting orders in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy
• Two energy scales in the spin excitations of the high-T_c superconductor La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$
• Magnetic neutron scattering in hole doped cuprate superconductors
• Rapid change of superconductivity and electron-phonon coupling through 19% doping in Bi2212
• Tuning competing orders in La2-xSrxCuO4 cuprate superconductors by the application of an external magnetic field
• Extending Universal Nodal Excitations Optimizes Superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
• Quantum Oscillations in Hole-Doped Cuprates
• Testing the itinerancy of spin dynamics in superconducting Bi2212
• The Persistence of High-Frequency Spin Fluctuations in Overdoped La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ ($x$=0.22)
• Phase Diagram of Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+\delta }$ Revisited
• Linear Response Theory and the Universal Nature of the Magnetic Excitation Spectrum of the Cuprates
• Evolution from a nodeless gap to d(x2-y2) form in underdoped La(2-x)SrxCuO4
• Fermi surface reconstruction and drop of Hall number due to spiral antiferromagnetism in high-$T_c$ cuprates
• Magnetic Excitations and their energy change available to Superconducting Condensation in Optimally Doped YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6.95}$
• A Tale of Two Metals: contrasting criticalities in the pnictides and hole-doped cuprates
• Coherent superconductivity with large gap ratio from incoherent metals
• Resonance in Optimally Electron-Doped Superconductor Nd${}_{1.85}$Ce${}_{0.15}$CuO${}_{4-\delta }$
• The nodal gap component as a good candidate for the superconducting order parameter in cuprates
• Hourglass dispersion and resonance of magnetic excitations in the superconducting state of the single-layer cuprate HgBa2CuO4+δ near optimal doping
• Evidence of a critical hole concentration in underdoped YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_y$ single crystals revealed by ${}^{63}$Cu NMR
• Doping evolution of charge and spin excitations in two-leg Hubbard ladders: comparing DMRG and RPA+FLEX results
• Continuous doping of a cuprate surface: new insights from in-situ ARPES
• Dependence of $T_c$ on the $q-\omega$ structure of the spin-fluctuation spectrum

Cited by in corpus (21)

• Hidden magnetism at the pseudogap critical point of a high temperature superconductor
• Cuprate superconductors as viewed through a striped lens
• Nematic Fluctuations in the Cuprate Superconductor Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+\delta }$
• Strongly-overdoped La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$: Evidence for Josephson-coupled grains of strongly-correlated superconductor
• Disappearance of Superconductivity Due to Vanishing Coupling in the Overdoped Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+\delta }$
• Vortex phase diagram and the normal state of cuprates with charge and spin orders
• Spin fluctuations associated with the collapse of the pseudogap in a cuprate superconductor
• Superconductivity from charge order in cuprates
• Superconductor-Metal Transition in Odd-Frequency Paired Superconductor in Magnetic Field
• Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La${}_2$CuO${}_4$
• Competition between spin ordering and superconductivity near the pseudogap boundary in La2-xSrxCuO4: insights from NMR
• From non-metal to strange metal at the stripe-percolation transition in La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$
• Coexistence of Two Components in Magnetic Excitations of La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ ($x$ = 0.10 and 0.16)
• Topological Doping and Superconductivity in Cuprates: An Experimental Perspective
• Magnetic Field Tuning of Parallel Spin Stripe Order and Fluctuations near the Pseudogap Quantum Critical Point in La${}_{1.36}$Nd${}_{0.4}$Sr${}_{0.24}$CuO${}_4$
• Spin excitations coupled with lattice and charge dynamics in La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$
• Gapless spin excitations in superconducting La${}_{2-x}$Ca${}_{1+x}$Cu${}_2$O${}_6$ with $T_c$ up to 55 K
• La${}_{2-x}$Ba${}_x$CuO${}_4$ as a superconducting Rosetta Stone
• Empirical case for two pseudogaps in cuprate superconductors
• Terahertz nonlinear response in cuprate superconductors and the Higgs field in doped Mott insulators
• Dynamic Parallel Spin Stripes from the 1/8 anomaly to the End of Superconductivity in La${}_{1.6-x}$Nd${}_{0.4}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$