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Light Uncovers Hidden Physics in Superconductors




New light-based studies of Bi2212 superconductors reveal key insights into high-temperature superconductivity, advancing the quest for room-temperature applications.

Copper-oxide (CuO2) superconductors, including Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi2212), are notable for their unusually high critical temperatures. Previous studies using optical reflectivity measurements revealed that Bi2212 exhibits strong optical anisotropy, meaning its optical properties change depending on the direction of incoming light. However, its optical anisotropy had not been thoroughly explored through optical transmittance measurements, which provide more direct insights into the material’s internal structure.

Recently, researchers used ultraviolet and visible light transmittance techniques on lead-doped Bi2212 single crystals, uncovering the source of this anisotropy and paving the way for a deeper understanding of its superconducting mechanisms.

High-Temperature Superconductors

Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance when cooled below a specific critical temperature. This unique property makes them essential for cutting-edge technologies like electric motors, power generators, high-speed maglev trains, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Among superconductors, copper-oxide-based materials such as Bi2212 are particularly remarkable because they function at relatively high temperatures, exceeding the theoretical superconductivity limit set by the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory. Despite decades of research, the underlying mechanism behind superconductivity in these high-temperature materials remains one of the most compelling mysteries in physics.

Exploring Optical Anisotropy in Superconductors

A key piece of the puzzle lies in the two-dimensional CuO2 crystal plane of these materials, which has been extensively studied using various experiments. Measurements of optical reflectivity, which analyze how light of varying wavelengths reflects off the crystal plane from different directions reveal that Bi2212 displays pronounced optical anisotropy in both its “ab” and “ac” crystal planes.

Optical anisotropy describes the variation in a material’s optical properties based on the direction in which light travels through it. Now, while reflectivity measurements have provided valuable information, studying how light passes through a crystal at different wavelengths via optical “transmittance” measurements of the optical anisotropy of Bi2212 can offer more direct insights into bulk properties. However, such studies have been rarely conducted before.

Innovative Research Approaches in Superconductivity

To bridge this gap, a Japanese research team, led by Professor Dr. Toru Asahi, Researcher Dr. Kenta Nakagawa, and master’s student Keigo Tokita from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Comprehensive Research Organization at Waseda University, investigated the origin of the strong optical anisotropy of lead-doped Bi2212 single crystals using ultraviolet and visible light transmittance measurements.

Elaborating further, Prof. Dr. Asahi shares that, “Achieving room-temperature superconductivity has long been a dream, requiring an understanding of superconducting mechanisms in high-temperature superconductors. Our unique approach of using ultraviolet-visible light transmission measurements as a probe enables us to elucidate these mechanisms in Bi2212, taking us one step closer to this goal.”

The study, also involving Prof. Dr. Masaki Fujita from the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University, was published recently in the journal Scientific Reports.

Advances in Understanding Optical Anisotropy

In their previous work, the researchers studied the wavelength dependence of Bi2212’s optical anisotropy at room temperature along its “c” crystal axis, using a generalized high-accuracy universal polarimeter. This powerful instrument allows simultaneous transmission measurements of optical anisotropy markers linear birefringence (LB) and linear dichroism (LD) along with optical activity (OA) and circular dichroism (CD) in the ultraviolet-to-visible light region. Their earlier findings revealed significant peaks in the LB and LD spectra, which they hypothesize to be coming from incommensurate modulation of Bi2212’s crystal structure, characterized by periodic variations that are not commensurate with the usual pattern of its atomic arrangements.

To clarify whether this is indeed the case, the team investigated the optical anisotropy of lead-doped Bi2212 crystals in this study. “Previous studies have shown that the partial substitution of Bi by Pb in Bi2212 crystals suppresses incommensurate modulation,” explains Mr. Tokita. To this end, the team fabricated single cylindrical crystals of Bi2212 with varying lead content using the floating zone method. Ultrathin plate specimens, which allow the transmission of ultraviolet and visible light, were then obtained from these crystals by exfoliation with water-soluble tape.

The experiments revealed that the large peaks in the LB and LD spectra reduced considerably with increasing lead content, consistent with the suppression of incommensurate modulation. This reduction is crucial as it allows for more accurate measurement of OA and CD in future experiments.

Commenting on these findings, Prof. Dr. Asahi remarks, “This finding enables investigation into the presence or absence of symmetry breaking in the pseudo-gap and superconducting phases, a critical issue in understanding the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. It contributes to the development of new high-temperature superconductors.”

This study marks a crucial step in the quest for room-temperature superconductivity, a breakthrough that could revolutionize technologies ranging from energy transmission to medical imaging and transportation.

Website: International Conference on High Energy Physics and Computational Science.

#HighEnergyPhysics#ParticlePhysics#QuantumPhysics#AstroparticlePhysics#ColliderPhysics#HiggsBoson#LHC#QuantumFieldTheory#NeutrinoPhysics#PhysicsResearch#ComputationalScience#DataScience#ScientificComputing#NumericalMethods#HighPerformanceComputing#MachineLearningInScience#BigData#AlgorithmDevelopment#SimulationScience#ParallelComputing

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