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Despite often being dismissively described as exhibiting conventional Fermi-liquid-like behaviour, heavily overdoped high-Tc cuprates sport several unexpected features. Thermodynamic properties expected to be roughly constant with doping decrease towards zero, signalling that a growing fraction of carriers remain in the normal state below Tc. Near Tc, the superconducting energy gap fills in with temperature, contrary to the expectations of BCS theory. Most recently a transition in the Hall number of some cuprates was found to extend to a very high doping (x~0.27), far beyond the pseudogap critical point identified by a peak in thermodynamic properties (x=0.19). This presents a challenge to the view that the pseudogap is a consequence of Fermi surface reconstruction. In this paper we present a consistent explanation for all these observations by combining pair-breaking scattering with a Fermi surface reconstruction model for the pseudogap. Notably, an increase in pair-breaking with doping leads to a separation of the points where reconstruction begins and the thermodynamic properties peak. This result highlights pair-breaking as an essential ingredient in the electronic recipe for heavily overdoped cuprate superconductors., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

High-temperature superconducting cuprates are distinguished by an enigmatic pseudogap which opens near optimal doping where the superconducting transition temperature is highest. Key questions concern its origin and whether it is essential in any way to superconductivity. Recent field-induced normal-state transport experiments on hole-doped cuprates have measured abrupt changes in the doping dependent Hall number and resistivity, consistent with a drop in carrier density from $1+p$ to $p$ holes per copper atom, on entering the pseudogap phase. In this work the change in resistivity is analyzed in terms of an antiferromagnetic-order-induced Fermi surface reconstruction model that has already successfully described the Hall number. In order for this model to describe the resistivity we find that the zero-temperature mean free path must also drop abruptly in proportion to the size of the Fermi surface. This suggests that intrapocket scattering underlies the observed upturn in resistivity in the pseudogap state., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

Cuprate superconductors have long been known to exhibit an energy gap that persists high above the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$). Debate has continued now for decades as to whether it is a precursor superconducting gap or a pseudogap arising from some competing correlation. Failure to resolve this has arguably delayed explaining the origins of superconductivity in these highly complex materials. Here we effectively settle the question by calculating a variety of thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties, exploring the effect of a temperature-dependent pair-breaking term in the self-energy in the presence of pairing interactions that persist well above $T_c$. We start by fitting the detailed temperature-dependence of the electronic specific heat and immediately can explain its hitherto puzzling field dependence. Taking this same combination of pairing temperature and pair-breaking scattering we are then able to simultaneously describe in detail the unusual temperature and field dependence of the superfluid density, tunneling, Raman and optical spectra, which otherwise defy explanation in terms a superconducting gap that closes conventionally at $T_c$. These findings demonstrate that the gap above $T_c$ in the overdoped regime likely originates from incoherent superconducting correlations, and is distinct from the competing-order "pseudogap" that appears at lower doping., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

The mechanism by which the Fermi surface of high-$T_c$ cuprates undergoes a dramatic change from a large hole-like barrel to small arcs or pockets on entering the pseudogap phase remains a question of fundamental importance. Here we calculate the normal-state Hall coefficient from the resonating-valence-bond spin-liquid model developed by Yang, Rice and Zhang. In this model, reconstruction of the Fermi surface occurs via an intermediate regime where the Fermi surface consists of both hole- and electron-like pockets. We find that the doping $(x)$ dependence of the Hall number transitions from $1+x$ to $x$ over this narrow doping range. At low temperatures, a switch from a downturn to an upturn in the Hall coefficient signals the departure of the electron-like pockets from the Fermi surface., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

The physical properties of hole-doped cuprate high-temperature superconductors are heavily influenced by an energy gap known as the pseudogap whose origin remains a mystery second only to that of superconductivity itself. A key question is whether the pseudogap closes at a temperature T*. The absence of a specific heat anomaly, together with persistent entropy losses up to 300K, have long suggested that the pseudogap does not vanish at T*. However, amid a growing body of evidence from other techniques pointing to the contrary we revisit this question. Here we investigate if, by adding a temperature dependence to the pseudogap energy and quasiparticle lifetime in the resonating-valence-bond spin-liquid model of Yang Rice and Zhang, we can close the pseudogap quietly in the specific heat., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We discuss a recent resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) study of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+\delta}$, which infers a line of phase transitions bounding the pseudogap phase and argue that this scenario is not supported by thermodynamic evidence. We show that the anomalies in RUS, heat capacity and thermal expansion at the superconducting transition temperatures agree well. But there are large discrepancies between RUS and thermodynamic measurements at $T^*$ where the pseudogap phase transitions are purported to occur. Moreover, the frequency and temperature dependence of the RUS data for the crystal with $\delta = 0.98$, interpreted in terms of critical slowing down near an electronic phase transition, is five orders of magnitude smaller than what is expected. For this crystal the RUS data near $T^*$ are more consistent with non-equilibrium effects such as oxygen relaxation., Comment: Published version

The optimally doped 122 iron-based superconductor Ba(0.6)K(0.4)Fe2As2 has been studied by 57Fe Moessbauer spectroscopy versus temperature ranging from 4.2 K till 300 K with particular attention paid to the superconducting transition around 38 K. The spectra do not contain magnetic components and they exhibit quasi-continuous distribution of quadrupole split doublets. A distribution follows the electric field gradient (EFG) spatial modulation (wave) - EFGW. The EFGW is accompanied by some charge density wave (CDW) having about an order of magnitude lesser influence on the spectrum. The EFGW could be modeled as widely separated narrow sheets with the EFG increasing from small till maximum value almost linearly and subsequently dropping back to the original value in a similar fashion - across the sheet. One encounters very small and almost constant EFG between sheets. The EFGW shape and amplitude as well as the amplitude of CDW are strongly affected by a superconducting transition. All modulations are damped significantly at transition (38 K) and recover at a temperature being about 14 K lower. The maximum quadrupole splitting at 4.2 K amounts to about 2.1 mm/s, while the dispersion of CDW seen on the iron nuclei could be estimated far away from the superconducting gap opening and at low temperature as 0.5 el./a.u.^3. It drops to about 0.3 el./a.u.^3 just below transition to the superconducting state.

We show from a bond valence sum correlation that very high superconducting $ T_{c} $ values should be found in optimally hole-doped infinite-layer ACuO$ _{2} $ cuprates - up to 160~K for A = Ba. The projected increase in $ T_{c} $ across the series arises from "internal pressure" effects as A runs from Mg to Ba. We then use density functional theory to investigate these pressure effects on the band structure in an attempt to understand this progressive increase in $ T_{c} $. Where these materials have been synthesised we find good agreement between our calculated structural parameters and the experimental ones. We find that internal pressure associated with increasing ion size does indeed enhance the superconducting energy gap, as observed, via modifications to the electronic dispersion. Furthermore, in our calculations, pressure alters the dispersion independently of how it is applied (internal or external) so that the superconducting energy gap correlates with the unit-cell volume and a Fermi-surface shape-parameter describing ratio of next-nearest-neighbor to nearest-neighbor hopping integrals. We infer an energy scale for the pairing interaction of the order of 1~eV, well above the magnetic energy scale.

Using a high-resolution differential technique we have determined the electronic specific heat coefficient gamma(T) of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 with x=0 to 1.0, at temperatures (T) from 2K to 380K and in magnetic fields H=0 to 13T. In the normal state gamma_n(x,T) increases strongly with x at low temperature, compatible with a mass renormalisation ~12 at x=1, and decreases weakly with x at high temperature. A superconducting transition is seen in all samples from x=0.2 to 1, with transition temperatures and condensation energies peaking sharply at x=0.4. Superconducting coherence lengths xi_{ab}~20{\AA} and xi_c~3{\AA} are estimated from an analysis of Gaussian fluctuations. For many dopings we see features in the H and T-dependences of gamma_s(T,H) in the superconducting state that suggest superconducting gaps in three distinct bands. A broad "knee" and a sharp mean-field-like peak are typical of two coupled gaps. However, several samples show a shoulder above the sharp peak with an abrupt onset at T_{c,s} and a T-dependence gamma_s(T)\propto\sqrt{1-T/T_{c,s}}. We provide strong evidence that the shoulder is not due to doping inhomogeneity and suggest it is a distinct gap with an unconventional T-dependence Delta_s(T)\propto(1-T/T_{c,s})^{0.75} near T_{c,s}. We estimate band fractions and T=0 gaps from 3-band alpha-model fits to our data and compare the x-dependences of the band fractions with spectroscopic studies of the Fermi surface., Comment: 20 pages, 23 figures, published in Physical Review B

We calculate the diffusion thermoelectric power of high-Tc cuprates using the resonating-valence-bond spin-liquid model developed by Yang, Rice and Zhang (YRZ). In this model, reconstruction of the energy-momentum dispersion results in a pseudogap in the density of states that is heavily asymmetric about the Fermi level. The subsequent asymmetry in the spectral conductivity is found to account for the large magnitude and temperature dependence of the thermopower observed in underdoped cuprates. In addition we find evidence in experimental data for electron pockets in the Fermi surface, arising from a YRZ-like reconstruction, near the onset of the pseudogap in the slightly overdoped regime., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in EPL

Evidence from NMR of a two-component spin system in cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductors is shown to be paralleled by similar evidence from the electronic entropy so that a two-component quasiparticle fluid is implicated. We propose that this two-component scenario is restricted to the optimal and underdoped regimes and arises from the upper and lower branches of the reconstructed energy-momentum dispersion proposed by Yang, Rice and Zhang (YRZ) to describe the pseudogap. We calculate the spin susceptibility within the YRZ formalism and show that the doping and temperature dependence reproduces the experimental data for the cuprates., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in European Physics Letters

We show that a multilayer analysis of the infrared c-axis response of RBa2Cu3O7-d (R=Y, Gd, Eu) provides important new information about the anomalous normal state properties of underdoped cuprate high temperature superconductors. Besides competing correlations which give rise to a pseudogap that depletes the low-energy electronic states below T*>>Tc, it enables us to identify the onset of a precursor superconducting state below Tons>Tc. We map out the doping phase diagram of Tons which reaches a maximum of ~180 K at strong underdoping and present magnetic field dependent data which confirm our conclusions., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Using a differential technique, we have measured the specific heats of polycrystalline Ba1-xKxFe2As2 samples with x=0, 0.1 and 0.3, between 2K and 380K and in magnetic fields 0 to 13 Tesla. From this data we have determined the electronic specific heat coefficient, gamma, over the entire range for the three samples. The most heavily doped sample (x=0.3) exhibits a large superconducting anomaly Delta gamma(Tc)~48mJ/molK^2 at Tc=35K, and we determine the energy gap, condensation energy, superfluid density and coherence length. In the normal state for the x=0.3 sample, gamma~47 mJ/molK^2 is constant from Tc to 380K. In the parent compound (x=0) there is a large almost first order anomaly at the spin density wave (SDW) transition at To=136K. This anomaly is smaller and broader for x=0.1. At low T, gamma is strongly reduced by the SDW gap for both x=0 and 0.1, but above To, gamma for all three samples are similar., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review B

We analyse fluctuations about $T_c$ in the specific heat of (Y,Ca)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$, YBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ and Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. The mean-field transition temperature, $T_c^{mf}$, in the absence of fluctuations lies well above $T_c$ especially at low doping where it reaches as high as 150K. We show that phase and amplitude fluctuations set in simultaneously and $T_c^{mf}$ scales with the gap, $\Delta_0$, such that $2\Delta_0/k_BT_c^{mf}$ is comparable to the BCS weak-coupling value, 4.3, for d-wave superconductivity. We also show that $T_c^{mf}$ is unrelated to the pseudogap temperature, $T^*$., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRL. A key follow up paper to this work is on the arXiv:0908.4430

A major impediment to solving the problem of high-$T_c$ superconductivity is the ongoing confusion about the magnitude, structure and doping dependence of the superconducting gap, $\Delta_0$, and of the mysterious pseudogap found in underdoped samples\cite{TallonLoram}. The pseudogap opens around the ($\pi$,0) antinodes below a temperature $T^*$ leaving Fermi arcs across the remnant Fermi surface\cite{Kanigel} on which the superconducting gap forms at $T_c$. One thing that seems agreed is that the ratio $2\Delta_0/k_BT_c$ well exceeds the BCS value and grows with underdoping\cite{Miyakawa1,Miyakawa2}, suggesting unconventional, non-BCS superconductivity. Here we re-examine data from many spectroscopies, especially Raman $B_{1g}$ and $B_{2g}$ scattering\cite{Sacuto,Guyard}, and reconcile them all within a two-gap scenario showing that the points of disagreement are an artefact of spectral-weight loss arising from the pseudogap. Crucially, we find that $\Delta_0(p)$, or more generally the order parameter, now scales with the mean-field $T_c$ value, adopting the weak-coupling BCS ratio across the entire phase diagram., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, a key reference is the arXiv paper arXiv:0908.4428

We have calculated the thermopower of the Bi2Sr2CuO6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 superconductors using an ARPES-derived dispersion, with a model pseudogap, and a marginal-Fermi liquid scattering rate that has a minimum with respect to energy at the van Hove singularity (vHs). Good fits with data are achieved across the entire phase diagram, thus confirming the dispersions, the locations of the vHs and the dominance of the diffusion thermopower over the phonon drag contribution., Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review B as a Rapid Communication

By re-examining recently-published data from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we demonstrate that, in the superconducting region of the phase diagram, the pseudogap ground state is an arc metal. This scenario is consistent with results from Raman spectroscopy, specific heat and NMR. In addition, we propose an explanation for the "Fermi pockets" inferred from quantum oscillations in terms of a pseudogapped bilayer Fermi surface., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, added discussion of NMR and optical conductivity data, submitted to Physical Review B as a rapid communication

We have carried out measurements of the pressure dependence to 1.2 GPa of the oxygen isotope effect on $T_c$ in the high-$T_c$ superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ using a clamp cell in a SQUID magnetometer. This compound lies close to, but just above, the 1/8$^{th}$ doping point where in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ marked anomalies in isotope effects occur. Both isotopes show the same very large pressure dependence of $T_c$ with the result that the isotope exponent remains low ($\sim$0.08) but increases slightly with increasing pressure. This is discussed in terms of stripe suppression, a competing pseudogap and the effect of superconducting fluctuations., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B

We examine the generic phase behavior of high-Tc cuprate superconductors in terms a universal van Hove singularity in the strongly overdoped region. Using a rigid ARPES-derived dispersion we solve the BCS gap equation and show that the pairing interaction or pairing energy cutoff must be a rapidly declining function of doping. This result is prejudicial to a phonon-based pairing interaction and more consistent with a magnetic or magnetically enhanced interaction., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review B

Using an energy-momentum dispersion for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 obtained from angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy we show that the shrinking Fermi arc model of the pseudogap is inconsistent with Raman scattering below Tc and specific heat near T*. By simulating the quasiparticle energy dispersion curves we show that Fermi arcs are an artifact of a T-dependent scattering rate., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Physical Review B

The electronic dispersion for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+d) has been determined from angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). From this dispersion we calculate the entropy and superfluid density. Even with no adjustable parameters we obtain an exceptional match with experimental data across the entire phase diagram, thus indirectly confirming both the ARPES and thermodynamic data. The van Hove singularity is crossed in the overdoped region giving a distinctive linear-in-T temperature dependence in the superfluid density there., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters