Temperature-dependent pseudogap-like features in tunnel spectra of high-Tccuprates as a manifestation of charge-density waves

Temperature, T, variations of the tunnel conductance G(V) were calculated for junctions between a normal metal and a spatially inhomogeneous superconductor with a dielectric gap on the nested sections of the Fermi surface or between two such superconductors. The dielectric gapping was considered to be a consequence of the charge density wave (CDW) appearance due to the electron–phonon (for a Peierls insulator) or a Coulomb (for an excitonic insulator) interactions. Spatial averaging was carried out over random domains with varying parameters of the CDW superconductor (CDWS). The calculated tunnel spectra demonstrate a smooth transformation from asymmetric patterns with a pronounced dip–hump structure at low T into those with a pseudogap depletion of the electron densities of states at higher T in the vicinity or above the actual critical temperatures of the superconducting transition for any of the CDWS domains. Thus, it is demonstrated that both the dip-hump structure and pseudogapping are manifestations of the same phenomenon. A possible CDW-induced asymmetry of the background contribution to G(V) is also touched upon. The results explain the peculiar features of G(V) for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and other related high-Tc cuprates.