On the stability of hole crystals in layered cuprates

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stability of hole crystal formations in layered cuprates, linking observed charge modulations to a three-dimensional hole crystal structure and its stability constraints across layers.

Contribution

It demonstrates that surface charge patterns in cuprates are consistent with a 3D hole crystal, highlighting the importance of interlayer interactions for stability.

Findings

Charge modulations match a 3D hole crystal model

Stability depends on interlayer distance

Periodic electronic patterns are constrained by crystal stability

Abstract

Recent STM measurements have revealed the existence of periodic charge modulations at the surface of certain cuprate superconductors. Here we show that the observed patterns are compatible with the formation of a three-dimensional crystal of doped holes, with space correlations extending between different Cu-O layers. This puts severe constraints on the dynamical stability of the crystallised hole structure, resulting in a close relationship between the periodicity of the electronic modulation and the interlayer distance.