We study the coexisting smectic modulations and intra-unit-cell nematicity in the pseudogap states of underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta}. By visualizing their spatial components separately, we identified 2\pi topological defects throughout the phase-fluctuating smectic states. Imaging the locations of large numbers of these topological defects simultaneously with the fluctuations in the intra-unit-cell nematicity revealed strong empirical evidence for a coupling between them. From these observations, we propose a Ginzburg-Landau functional describing this coupling and demonstrate how it can explain the coexistence of the smectic and intra-unit-cell broken symmetries and also correctly predict their interplay at the atomic scale. This theoretical perspective can lead to unraveling the complexities of the phase diagram of cuprate high-critical-temperature superconductors.
@article{arxiv.1108.0487,
title = {Topological Defects Coupling Smectic Modulations to Intra-unit-cell Nematicity in Cuprate},
author = {A. Mesaros and K. Fujita and H. Eisaki and S. Uchida and J. C. Davis and S. Sachdev and J. Zaanen and M. J. Lawler and Eun-Ah Kim},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1108.0487},
year = {2015}
}