Evidence for crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate to a BCS-like superconductor with doping in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 − δ from quasiparticle relaxation dynamics experiments
Jure Demsar, Boštjan Podobnik, Jan E. Evetts +2 more
Time-resolved measurements of quasiparticle (QP) relaxation dynamics on the femtosecond timescale are reported as a function of temperature and doping in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 − δ for (0.48 < δ < 0.1). In the underdoped state (δ > 0.15), there is no evidence for any changes in the low-energy gap structure at T c from either photoinduced QP absorption or QP relaxation time data. In combination with the sum rule, this implies the existence of pre-formed pairs up to a much higher temperature T *. Near δ = 0.1 a rapid cross-over is observed, to a state where the QP recombination time diverges and the photoinduced QP density falls to zero at T c , indicating the existence of a temperature-dependent superconducting gap which closes at T c .
arXiv:cond-mat/9812079•Europhysics Letters (EPL)•Feb 1, 1999•22 citations