Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 OHE, UK.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Apr 6;107(14):6175-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913711107. Epub 2010 Mar 19.
An enduring question in correlated systems concerns whether superconductivity is favored at a quantum critical point (QCP) characterized by a divergent quasiparticle effective mass. Despite such a scenario being widely postulated in high T(c) cuprates and invoked to explain non-Fermi liquid transport signatures, experimental evidence is lacking for a critical divergence under the superconducting dome. We use ultrastrong magnetic fields to measure quantum oscillations in underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x), revealing a dramatic doping-dependent upturn in quasiparticle effective mass at a critical metal-insulator transition beneath the superconducting dome. Given the location of this QCP under a plateau in T(c) in addition to a postulated QCP at optimal doping, we discuss the intriguing possibility of two intersecting superconducting subdomes, each centered at a critical Fermi surface instability.
在关联系统中,一个持久存在的问题是,在具有发散准粒子有效质量的量子临界点 (QCP) 处是否有利于超导性。尽管这种情况在高温超导 cuprates 中被广泛假设,并被用来解释非费米液体输运特征,但在超导穹顶下缺乏临界发散的实验证据。我们使用超强磁场来测量欠掺杂 YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x)中的量子振荡,揭示了在超导穹顶下的超导转变下方的临界金属-绝缘体转变处,准粒子有效质量出现显著的掺杂依赖性上翘。鉴于这个 QCP 的位置除了在最佳掺杂处的假设 QCP 之外,还处于 T(c)的一个平台上,我们讨论了两个相交的超导子域的有趣可能性,每个子域都以临界费米面不稳定性为中心。