Strange metal behaviour from charge density fluctuations in cuprates
Journal article, 2021

Besides the mechanism responsible for high critical temperature superconductivity, the grand unresolved issue of the cuprates is the occurrence of a strange metallic state above the so-called pseudogap temperature T-*. Even though such state has been successfully described within a phenomenological scheme, the so-called Marginal Fermi-Liquid theory, a microscopic explanation is still missing. However, recent resonant X-ray scattering experiments identified a new class of charge density fluctuations characterized by low characteristic energies and short correlation lengths, which are related to the well-known charge density waves. These fluctuations are present over a wide region of the temperature-vs-doping phase diagram and extend well above T-*. Here we investigate the consequences of charge density fluctuations on the electron and transport properties and find that they can explain the strange metal phenomenology. Therefore, charge density fluctuations are likely the long-sought microscopic mechanism underlying the peculiarities of the metallic state of cuprates. The strange metallic state of cuprates occurring in a broad region of their phase diagram outside the superconducting and pseudogapped regions remains a mystery. Here the authors consider the charge density fluctuations recently discovered in resonant X-ray experiments as a possible source of scattering and show that these fluctuations can account for the strange metallic behavior.

Author

Goetz Seibold

Brandenburg University of Technology

Riccardo Arpaia

Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics

Polytechnic University of Milan

Ying Ying Peng

Beijing University of Technology

Polytechnic University of Milan

Roberto Fumagalli

Polytechnic University of Milan

Lucio Braicovich

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)

Polytechnic University of Milan

Carlo Di Castro

Sapienza University of Rome

Marco Grilli

Sapienza University of Rome

National Research Council of Italy (CNR)

Giacomo Claudio Ghiringhelli

Polytechnic University of Milan

Sergio Caprara

Sapienza University of Rome

National Research Council of Italy (CNR)

Communications Physics

23993650 (eISSN)

Vol. 4 1 7

Subject Categories

Physical Chemistry

Other Physics Topics

Condensed Matter Physics

DOI

10.1038/s42005-020-00505-z

More information

Latest update

3/21/2023