Scanning tunneling spectroscopic evidence for magnetic field-induced microscopic orders in the high-$T_c$ superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$

Abstract

We report spatially resolved tunneling spectroscopic evidence for field-induced microscopic orders in a high-$T_c$ superconductor $\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$. The spectral characteristics inside vortices reveal a pseudogap ($V_{\rm CO}$) larger than the superconducting gap ($Δ\_{\rm SC}$) as well as a subgap ($Δ\^{\prime}$) smaller than $Δ\_{\rm SC}$, and the spectral weight shifts steadily from $Δ_{\rm SC}$ to $V_{\rm CO}$ and $Δ\^{\prime}$ upon increasing magnetic field. Additionally, energy-independent conductance modulations at 3.6 and 7.1 lattice constants along the Cu-O bonding directions and at 9.5 lattice constants along the nodal directions are manifested in the vortex state. These wave-vectors differ fundamentally from the strongly dispersive modes due to Bogoliubov quasiparticle scattering interferences and may be associated with field-induced microscopic orders of pair-, charge- and spin-density waves.

Paper updated and accepted for publication in Europhysics Letters. 4 figures and 6 pages. Corresponding author: Nai-Chang Yeh (E-mail: ncyeh@caltech.edu)