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Fermi surface transformation at the pseudogap critical point of a cuprate superconductor

Author

Yawen Fang
Gael Grissonnanche
Anaëlle Legros
Simon Verret
Francis Laliberté
C. Collignon
Amirreza Ataei
Maxime Dion
Jianshi Zhou
David Graf
Michael Lawler
Paul Goddard
Louis Taillefer
B. Ramshaw

Abstract

The nature of the pseudogap phase remains a major puzzle in our understanding of cuprate high-temperature superconductivity. Whether or not this metallic phase is defined by any of the reported broken symmetries, the topology of its Fermi surface remains a fundamental open question. Here we use angle-dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR) to measure the Fermi surface of the La1.6–xNd0.4SrxCuO4 cuprate. Outside the pseudogap phase, we fit the ADMR data and extract a Fermi surface geometry that is in excellent agreement with angle-resolved photoemission data. Within the pseudogap phase, the ADMR is qualitatively different, revealing a transformation of the Fermi surface. We can rule out changes in the quasiparticle lifetime as the sole cause of this transformation. We find that our data are most consistent with a pseudogap Fermi surface that consists of small, nodal hole pockets, thereby accounting for the drop in carrier density across the pseudogap transition found in several cuprates. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

Date Published

Journal

Nature Physics

Volume

18

Issue

5

Number of Pages

558-564,

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85126044610&doi=10.1038%2fs41567-022-01514-1&partnerID=40&md5=263d13f33437c1e9bd34d01c820fc7a6

DOI

10.1038/s41567-022-01514-1

Group (Lab)

Brad Ramshaw Group
Michael Lawler Group

Funding Source

681260
MRSEC DMR-1720595
DMR-1644779
DMR-1752784
GBMF5306

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