Observation of two types of charge-density-wave orders in superconducting La<sub>2-x</sub>Sr<sub>x</sub>CuO<sub>4</sub>.

Wen, J-J; Huang, H; Lee, S-J; Jang, H; Knight, J; Lee, Y S; Fujita, M; Suzuki, K M et al. · Nat Commun · 2019

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The discovery of charge- and spin-density-wave (CDW/SDW) orders in superconducting cuprates has altered our perspective on the nature of high-temperature superconductivity (SC). However, it has proven difficult to fully elucidate the relationship between the density wave orders and SC. Here, using resonant soft X-ray scattering, we study the archetypal cuprate La<sub>2-x</sub>Sr<sub>x</sub>CuO<sub>4</sub> (LSCO) over a broad doping range. We reveal the existence of two types of CDW orders in LSCO, namely CDW stripe order and CDW short-range order (SRO). While the CDW-SRO is suppressed by SC, it is partially transformed into the CDW stripe order with developing SDW stripe order near the superconducting T<sub>c</sub>. These findings indicate that the stripe orders and SC are inhomogeneously distributed in the superconducting CuO<sub>2</sub> planes of LSCO. This further suggests a new perspective on the putative pair-density-wave order that coexists with SC, SDW, and CDW orders.