Resistivity phase diagram of cuprates revisited

Abstract

The phase diagram of the cuprate superconductors has posed a formidable scientific challenge for more than three decades. This challenge is perhaps best exemplified by the need to understand the normal-state charge transport as the system evolves from Mott insulator to Fermi-liquid metal with doping. Here we report a detailed analysis of the temperature (T) and doping (p) dependence of the planar resistivity of simple-tetragonal HgBa2CuO4+δ (Hg1201), the single-CuO2-layer cuprate with the highest optimal superconducting transition temperature, Tc. The data allow us to test a recently proposed phenomenological model for the cuprate phase diagram that combines a universal transport scattering rate with spatially inhomogeneous (de)localization of the Mott-localized hole. We find that the model provides an excellent description of the data. We then extend this analysis to prior transport results for several other cuprates, including the Hall number in the overdoped part of the phase diagram, and find little compound-to-compound variation in (de)localization gap scale. The results point to a robust, universal structural origin of the inherent gap inhomogeneity that is unrelated to doping-related disorder. They are inconsistent with the notion that much of the phase diagram is controlled by a quantum critical point, and instead indicate that the unusual electronic properties exhibited by the cuprates are fundamentally related to strong nonlinearities associated with subtle nanoscale inhomogeneity.

Die hard holographic phenomenology of cuprates

“…(20) claimed to have been able to explain all of Eqs. (1,4,25) by making the assumptions Similar to the earlier proposals [60][61][62][63][64][65] electrical transport was still going to be dominated by σ inc . However, this time around it was supposed to occur at low rather than high temperatures between 10 and 100 K (despite the fact that the must-have exponent (1) could be observed up to 700 K).…”

“…Adding to the puzzle of the cuprates' transport properties, there have been persistent reports of the Fermi liquid-like rate of inelastic quasiparticle scattering [18][19][20][21][22]25] Γ qp ~ T 2 , (9) in contrast to the almost uniformly accepted [23] and seemingly ubiquitous (see, however, Ref. [24]) 'Planckian' dissipation rate that is believed to control local equilibration/thermalization Γ eq ~ T. (…”

“…In the context of the cuprates, a number of the potentially viable quantum critical transitions have been discussed, their list including superconducting, spin, charge, nematic, as well as other, even more exotic, instabilities. However, some data [25] indicate that the quantum critical scenario may not necessarily be at work.…”

“…The matters become further complicated due to the possible onset of CDW order, as in orthorhombic YBCO and tetragonal HgBaCuO which may induce Fermi-surface reconstruction. However, some authors believe that this might be a secondary phenomenon occurring only in high magnetic fields and at temperatures below the zero-field T c [25].…”

“…By contrast, when coupled with the Fermi liquid-like scattering rate ( 9) observed across much of the entire cuprates' phase diagram [18][19][20][21][22]25], the T-dependent carrier density may be hinting at some alternate theoretical scenaria that neither exploit the notion of quantum criticality, nor attribute any special role to the incidental CDW order. In particular, the work of Ref.…”