Strange metal dynamics across the phase diagram of Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ cuprates

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution optical measurements to investigate the persistent signatures of the strange metal phase across the entire phase diagram of Bi-based cuprates, revealing insights into its optical properties and doping dependence.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive optical analysis of the strange metal phase over a wide doping and temperature range in Bi$_{2-x}$Pb$_{x}$Sr$_{2-y}$La$_{y}$CuO$_{6+ ext{δ}}$, highlighting the roles of Drude and conformal components.

Findings

Strange metal signatures persist throughout the phase diagram.

Optical conductivity shows a Drude response and a doping-independent high-energy tail.

Resistivity is mainly governed by the Drude width.

Abstract

Unlocking the mystery of the strange metal state has become the focal point of high T$_{c}$ research, not because of its importance for superconductivity, but because it appears to represent a truly novel phase of matter dubbed `quantum supreme matter'. Detected originally through high magnetic field, transport experiments, signatures of this phase have now been uncovered with a variety of probes. Our high resolution optical data of the low T$_{c}$ cuprate superconductor, Bi$_{2-x}$Pb$_{x}$Sr$_{2-y}$La$_{y}$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ allows us to probe this phase over a large energy and temperature window. We demonstrate that the optical signatures of the strange metal phase persist throughout the phase diagram. The strange metal signatures in the optical conductivity are two-fold, (i): a low energy Drude response with Drude width on the order of temperature and (ii): a high energy conformal tail with doping dependent power-law exponent. While the Drude weight evolves monotonously throughout the entire doping range studied, the spectral weight contained in the high energy conformal tail appears to be doping and temperature independent. Our analysis further shows that the temperature dependence of the optical conductivity is completely determined by the Drude parameters. Our results indicate that there is no critical doping level inside the superconducting dome where the carrier density starts to change drastically and that the previously observed 'return to normalcy' is a consequence of the increasing importance of the Drude component relative to the conformal tail with doping. Importantly, both the doping and temperature dependence of the resistivity are largely determined by the Drude width.