Parametrically amplified phase-incoherent superconductivity in YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6+x}$

Abstract

The possibility of enhancing desirable functional properties of complex materials by optical driving is motivating a series of studies of their nonlinear terahertz response. In high-Tc cuprates, large amplitude excitation of certain infrared-active lattice vibrations has been shown to induce transient features in the reflectivity suggestive of non-equilibrium superconductivity. Yet, a microscopic mechanism for these observations is still lacking. Here, we report measurements of time- and scattering-angle-dependent second-harmonic generation in YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6+x}$, taken under the same excitation conditions that result in superconductor-like terahertz reflectivity. We discover a three-order-of-magnitude amplification of a 2.5-terahertz electronic mode, which is unique because of its symmetry, momentum, and temperature dependence. A theory for parametric three-wave amplification of Josephson plasmons, which are assumed to be well-formed below T${}_c$ but overdamped throughout the pseudogap phase, explains all these observations and provides a mechanism for non-equilibrium superconductivity. More broadly, our work underscores the role of parametric mode mixing to stabilize fluctuating orders in quantum materials.

arXiv comment56 pages, 18 figures

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Cited by in corpus (16)

• Near-infrared light-induced superconducting-like state in underdoped YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_y$ studied by $c$-axis terahertz third-harmonic generation
• Periodic dynamics in superconductors induced by an impulsive optical quench
• Principles of 2D terahertz spectroscopy of collective excitations: the case of Josephson plasmons in layered superconductors
• Generalized Josephson plasmons in bilayer superconductors
• Coherent control of the translational and point group symmetries of crystals with light
• Nonequilibrium phononic first-order phase transition in a driven fermion chain
• Laser-enhanced magnetism in SmFeO${}_3$
• Equilibrium Parametric Amplification in Raman-Cavity Hybrids
• Ghost Josephson plasmon in bilayer superconductors
• Two-fluid dynamics in driven YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6.48}$
• Ultrafast Raman thermometry in driven YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6.48}$
• Dynamics of photo-induced ferromagnetism in oxides with orbital degeneracy
• Signatures of three-dimensional photo-induced superconductivity in YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6.48}$
• Interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions induced via non-linear phononics in bilayer van der Waals materials
• Phonon-induced renormalization of exchange interactions in metallic two-dimensional magnets
• Enhanced coherent terahertz emission from critical superconducting fluctuations in YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6.6}$