Atomic-scale interpretation of the quantum oscillations in cuprate superconductors

Cuprate superconductors display unusual features in both k space and real space as the superconductivity is suppressed-a broken Fermi surface, charge density wave, and pseudogap. Contrarily, recent transport measurements on cuprates under high magnetic fields report quantum oscillations (QOs), which imply rather a usual Fermi liquid behavior. To settle the disagreement, we investigated Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta under a magnetic field in an atomic scale. A particle-hole (p-h) asymmetrically dispersing density of states (DOSs) modulation was found at the vortices on a slightly underdoped sample, while on a highly underdoped sample, no trace of the vortex was found even at 13 T. However, a similar p-h asymmetric DOS modulation persisted in almost an entire field of view. From this observation, we infer an alternative explanation of the QO results by providing a unifying picture where the aforementioned seemingly conflicting evidence from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy, and magneto-transport measurements can be understood solely in terms of the DOS modulations.

Automated summary

We investigated Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta under a magnetic field in an atomic scale and found a particle-hole asymmetric density of states modulation in slightly underdoped samples, while no trace of the vortex was found in highly underdoped samples. However, a similar particle-hole asymmetric density of states modulation persisted in almost the entire field of view. This finding provides an alternative explanation for the quantum oscillations results.