Electronic liquid crystal state in the high-temperature superconductor YBCO(6.45)

Electronic phases with symmetry properties matching those of conventional liquid crystals have recently been discovered in transport experiments on semiconductor heterostructures and metal oxides at milli-Kelvin temperatures. We report the spontaneous onset of a onedimensional, incommensurate modula...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2008-07
Main Authors: Hinkov, V, Haug, D, Fauque, B, Bourges, P, Sidis, Y, Ivanov, A, Bernhard, C, Lin, C T, Keimer, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Cuprates
Heterostructures
High temperature superconductors
Liquid crystals
Modulation
Nematic crystals
Superconductivity
Superconductors
Temperature
Variations
YBCO superconductors
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Summary:Electronic phases with symmetry properties matching those of conventional liquid crystals have recently been discovered in transport experiments on semiconductor heterostructures and metal oxides at milli-Kelvin temperatures. We report the spontaneous onset of a onedimensional, incommensurate modulation of the spin system in the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.45 upon cooling below ~150 K, while static magnetic order is absent above 2 K. The evolution of this modulation with temperature and doping parallels that of the in-plane anisotropy of the resistivity, indicating an electronic nematic phase that is stable over a wide temperature range. The results suggest that soft spin fluctuations are a microscopic route towards electronic liquid crystals, and nematic order can coexist with high-temperature superconductivity in underdoped cuprates.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.0807.1861