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Competing orders suppressed by disorder around a hidden quantum critical point in cuprate high Tc superconductors

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2010-10-14 v2 Superconductivity

Abstract

We report extensive muon spin rotation measurements on the lightly doped Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O6+y compound, which allows us to disentangle the effect of disorder, controlled by random Ca2+ substitution, from that of mere doping. A 3D phase diagram of lightly doped cuprates is accurately drawn, showing that a thermally activated antiferromagnetic phase competes with superconductivity around a quantum critical point, hidden underneath a frozen insulating magnetic state. Disorder suppresses both competing order parameters and unveils the underlying frozen state. Doping and disorder destroy the activated magnetic phase along a line of first order phase transitions that ends at the critical point.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.1002.2610,
  title  = {Competing orders suppressed by disorder around a hidden quantum critical point in cuprate high Tc superconductors},
  author = {S. Sanna and F. Coneri. A. Rigoldi and G. Concas and S. Giblin and R. De Renzi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1002.2610},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

4 figures, v.2: new more intuitive 3D cuprate phase diagram