Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy Imaging of Symmetry-breaking Structural Distortion in the Bismuth-based Cuprate Superconductors

Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy Imaging of Symmetry-breaking Structural Distortion in the Bismuth-based Cuprate Superconductors

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Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy Imaging of Symmetry-breaking Structural Distortion in the Bismuth-based Cuprate Superconductors

dc.contributor.author	Zeljkovic, Ilija
dc.contributor.author	Main, Elizabeth J.
dc.contributor.author	Williams, Tess Lawanna
dc.contributor.author	Boyer, M. C.
dc.contributor.author	Chatterjee, Kamalesh
dc.contributor.author	Wise, W. D.
dc.contributor.author	Yin, Yi
dc.contributor.author	Zech, Martin
dc.contributor.author	Pivonka, Adam Edward
dc.contributor.author	Kondo, Takeshi
dc.contributor.author	Takeuchi, T.
dc.contributor.author	Ikuta, Hiroshi
dc.contributor.author	Wen, Jinsheng
dc.contributor.author	Xu, Zhijun
dc.contributor.author	Gu, G. D.
dc.contributor.author	Hoffman, Jenny Eve
dc.date.accessioned	2012-05-18T17:21:39Z
dash.embargo.terms	2012-11-07
dc.date.issued	2012
dc.identifier.citation	Zeljkovic, Illija, Elizabeth J. Main, Tess L. Williams, M. C. Boyer, Kamalesh Chatterjee, W. D. Wise, Yi Yin, et al. Forthcoming. Scanning tunnelling microscopy imaging of symmetry-breaking structural distortion in the bismuth-based cuprate superconductors. Nature Materials.	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1476-1122	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1476-4660	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8784321
dc.description.abstract	A complicating factor in unravelling the theory of high-temperature (high-\(T_c\)) superconductivity is the presence of a ‘pseudogap’ in the density of states, the origin of which has been debated since its discovery. Some believe the pseudogap is a broken symmetry state distinct from superconductivity whereas others believe it arises from short-range correlations without symmetry breaking. A number of broken symmetries have been imaged and identified with the pseudogap state, but it remains crucial to disentangle any electronic symmetry breaking from the pre-existing structural symmetry of the crystal. We use scanning tunnelling microscopy to observe an orthorhombic structural distortion across the cuprate superconducting \(Bi_{2}Sr_{2}Ca_{n−1}Cu_{n}O_{2n+4+x}\) (BSCCO) family tree, which breaks two-dimensional inversion symmetry in the surface BiO layer. Although this inversion-symmetry-breaking structure can impact electronic measurements, we show from its insensitivity to temperature, magnetic field and doping, that it cannot be the long-sought pseudogap state. To detect this picometre-scale variation in lattice structure, we have implemented a new algorithm that will serve as a powerful tool in the search for broken symmetry electronic states in cuprates, as well as in other materials.	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	Physics	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	Other Research Unit	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher	Nature Publishing Group	en_US
dc.relation.isversionof	doi:10.1038/nmat3315	en_US
dc.relation.hasversion	http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.4342	en_US
dash.license	LAA
dc.subject	superconductivity	en_US
dc.title	Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy Imaging of Symmetry-breaking Structural Distortion in the Bismuth-based Cuprate Superconductors	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article	en_US
dc.description.version	Accepted Manuscript	en_US
dc.relation.journal	Nature Materials	en_US
dash.depositing.author	Hoffman, Jenny Eve
dash.waiver	2012-03-21
dc.date.available	2012-11-07T08:30:41Z