Enhanced charge density wave coherence in a light-quenched, high-temperature superconductor

S Wandel; F Boschini; E H da Silva Neto; L Shen; M X Na; S Zohar; Y Wang; S B Welch; M H Seaberg; J D Koralek; G L Dakovski; W Hettel; M-F Lin; S P Moeller; W F Schlotter; A H Reid; M P Minitti; T Boyle; F He; R Sutarto; R Liang; D Bonn; W Hardy; R A Kaindl; D G Hawthorn; J-S Lee; A F Kemper; A Damascelli; C Giannetti; J J Turner; G Coslovich

doi:10.1126/science.abd7213

Enhanced charge density wave coherence in a light-quenched, high-temperature superconductor

Science. 2022 May 20;376(6595):860-864. doi: 10.1126/science.abd7213. Epub 2022 May 19.

Authors

S Wandel¹, F Boschini^{2

3

4}, E H da Silva Neto^{5

6

7}, L Shen^{1

8}, M X Na^{2

3}, S Zohar¹, Y Wang¹, S B Welch¹, M H Seaberg¹, J D Koralek¹, G L Dakovski¹, W Hettel¹, M-F Lin¹, S P Moeller¹, W F Schlotter¹, A H Reid¹, M P Minitti¹, T Boyle^{5

6

7}, F He⁹, R Sutarto⁹, R Liang^{2

3}, D Bonn^{2

3}, W Hardy^{2

3}, R A Kaindl^{10

11}, D G Hawthorn¹², J-S Lee¹³, A F Kemper¹⁴, A Damascelli^{2

3}, C Giannetti¹⁵, J J Turner^{1

8}, G Coslovich¹

Affiliations

¹ Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada.
³ Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
⁴ Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Varennes, QC J3X 1S2, Canada.
⁵ Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
⁶ Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06516, USA.
⁷ Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁸ Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
⁹ Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK S7N 2V3, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
¹¹ Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
¹² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
¹³ Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Mathematics and Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia, BS I-25121, Italy.

PMID: 35587968
DOI: 10.1126/science.abd7213

Abstract

Superconductivity and charge density waves (CDWs) are competitive, yet coexisting, orders in cuprate superconductors. To understand their microscopic interdependence, a probe capable of discerning their interaction on its natural length and time scale is necessary. We use ultrafast resonant soft x-ray scattering to track the transient evolution of CDW correlations in YBa₂Cu₃O₆₊_x after the quench of superconductivity by an infrared laser pulse. We observe a nonthermal response of the CDW order characterized by a near doubling of the correlation length within ≈1 picosecond of the superconducting quench. Our results are consistent with a model in which the interaction between superconductivity and CDWs manifests inhomogeneously through disruption of spatial coherence, with superconductivity playing the dominant role in stabilizing CDW topological defects, such as discommensurations.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't