Fermi-surface reconstruction by stripe order in cuprate superconductors

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that stripe order causes Fermi-surface reconstruction in cuprate superconductors, evidenced by quantum oscillations indicating an electron pocket, linking stripe order to electronic structure changes in underdoped cuprates.

Contribution

It provides direct evidence that stripe order induces Fermi-surface reconstruction in cuprates, establishing a universal mechanism in underdoped high-temperature superconductors.

Findings

Quantum oscillations reveal an electron pocket in YBCO.

Fermi-surface evolution in YBCO matches that in stripe-ordered Eu-LSCO.

Fermi-surface reconstruction correlates with stripe order strength at p=1/8.

Abstract

Quantum oscillations have revealed the presence of a small pocket in the Fermi surface of the cuprate superconductor YBCO, whose nature and origin are the subject of much debate. Interpretations include electron and hole pockets; scenarios include Fermi-surface reconstruction by antiferromagnetism, d-density-wave order, and stripe order. Here we report quantum oscillations in the Seebeck and Nernst coefficients of YBCO and show, from the magnitude and sign of the Seebeck coefficient, that they come from an electron pocket. Using measurements of the Seebeck coefficient as a function of hole doping p, we show that the evolution of the Fermi surface in YBCO is the same as in Eu-LSCO, a cuprate where stripe order (a modulation of spin and charge densities) is well established. The electron pocket is most prominent where stripe order is strongest, at p = 1/8. This shows that Fermi-surface reconstruction is a generic mechanism of underdoped cuprates, intimately related to stripe order.