Tuning of charge order by uniaxial stress in a cuprate superconductor
Journal article, 2024
Strongly correlated electron materials are often characterized by competition and interplay of multiple quantum states. For example, in high-temperature cuprate superconductors unconventional superconductivity, spin- and charge-density wave orders coexist. A key question is whether competing states coexist on the atomic scale or if they segregate into distinct regions. Using X-ray diffraction, we investigate the competition between charge order and superconductivity in the archetypal cuprate La2−xBaxCuO4, around x = 1/8-doping, where uniaxial stress restores optimal 3D superconductivity at σ3D ≈ 0.06 GPa. We find that the charge order peaks and the correlation length along the stripe are strongly reduced up to σ3D. Upon the increase of stress beyond this point, no further changes were observed. Simultaneously, the charge order onset temperature only shows a modest decrease. Our findings suggest that optimal 3D superconductivity is not linked to the absence of charge stripes but instead requires their arrangement into smaller regions. Our results provide insight into the length scales over which the interplay between superconductivity and charge order takes place.
Author
Laure Thomarat
Paul Scherrer Institut
Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan
Frank Elson
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
E. Nocerino
Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, Villigen
Stockholm University
D. Das
Paul Scherrer Institut
O. Ivashko
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
M. Bartkowiak
Paul Scherrer Institut
Martin Månsson
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Yasmine Sassa
Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics
Tadashi Adachi
Sophia University
M. V. Zimmermann
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
H. Luetkens
Paul Scherrer Institut
J. Chang
University of Zürich
Marc Janoschek
Paul Scherrer Institut
University of Zürich
Zurab Guguchia
Paul Scherrer Institut
Gediminas Simutis
Paul Scherrer Institut
Communications Physics
23993650 (eISSN)
Vol. 7 1 271Subject Categories
Condensed Matter Physics
DOI
10.1038/s42005-024-01760-0