Charge density wave memory in a cuprate superconductor

X. M. Chen, C. Mazzoli, Y. Cao, V. Thampy, A. M. Barbour, W. Hu, M. Lu, T. A. Assefa, H. Miao, G. Fabbris, G. D. Gu, J. M. Tranquada, M. P.M. Dean, S. B. Wilkins, I. K. Robinson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although CDW correlations are a ubiquitous feature of the superconducting cuprates, their disparate properties suggest a crucial role for pinning the CDW to the lattice. Here, we report coherent resonant X-ray speckle correlation analysis, which directly determines the reproducibility of CDW domain patterns in La 1.875 Ba 0.125 CuO 4 (LBCO 1/8) with thermal cycling. While CDW order is only observed below 54 K, where a structural phase transition creates inequivalent Cu-O bonds, we discover remarkably reproducible CDW domain memory upon repeated cycling to far higher temperatures. That memory is only lost on cycling to 240(3) K, which recovers the four-fold symmetry of the CuO 2 planes. We infer that the structural features that develop below 240 K determine the CDW pinning landscape below 54 K. This opens a view into the complex coupling between charge and lattice degrees of freedom in superconducting cuprates.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1435
JournalNature Communications
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We thank Derek Meyers for useful comments. The work at Brookhaven National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, under Contract no. DESC0012704. This research used resources 23-ID-1 beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract no. DE-SC0012704. The sample pattern was performed at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science Facility, at Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704. Work at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract no. DE-AC0206CH11357.

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