Quasiparticle interference patterns as a test for the nature of the pseudogap phase in the cuprate superconductors

Abstract

Electrons, when scattered by static random disorder, form standing waves that can be imaged using scanning tunneling microscopy. Such interference patterns, observable by the recently developed technique of Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (FT-STS), are shown to carry unique fingerprints characteristic of the electronic order present in a material. We exploit this feature of the FT-STS technique to propose a test for the nature of the enigmatic pseudogap phase in the high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors. Through their sensitivity to the quasiparticle spectra and coherence factors, the FT-STS patterns in principle carry enough information to unambiguously determine the nature of the condensate responsible for the pseudogap phenomenon. We argue that the next generation of FT-STS experiments, currently underway, should be able to distinguish between the pseudogap dominated by the remnants of superconducting order from the pseudogap dominated by some competing order in the particle-hole channel. Using general arguments and detailed numerical calculations, we point to certain fundamental differences between the two scenarios and discuss the prospects for future experiments.

15 pages REVTeX + 9 ps figures. For related work and info visit http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~franz; version 2 to appear in IJMPB

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• Model for nodal quasiparticle scattering in a disordered vortex lattice
• Magnetic field evolution of the quasiparticle interference in a d-wave superconductor
• Theory of Graphene Chiral Quasiparticle LDOS maps
• Vortex as a probe - suggested measurement of the order parameter structure in iron-based superconductors
• Revisiting Quasiparticle Scattering Interference in High-Temperature Superconductors: The Problem of Narrow Peaks
• Magnetic impurities in a superconductor: Effect of domain walls and interference
• Duality and the vibrational modes of a Cooper-pair Wigner crystal
• Quasiparticle interference in altermagnets
• Quasiparticle interference and the interplay between superconductivity and density wave order in the cuprates
• The k-space Origins of Scattering in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x
• Generalized joint density of states and its application to exploring the pairing symmetry of superconductors
• Signatures of the order parameter of a superconducting adatom layer in magnetic field dependent quasiparticle interference
• Quasiparticle spectroscopy as a probe of the topological phase in graphene with heavy adatoms