Examination of the c-axis resistivity of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+\delta} in magnetic fields up to 58 T

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic-field dependence of c-axis resistivity in Bi-based cuprate superconductors across various doping levels, revealing a peak field related to T_c and insights into the pseudogap closing field.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of ho_c(H) up to 58 T in BSLCO, clarifies the relation between peak field H_p and T_c, and proposes modifications to existing methods for estimating the pseudogap closing field.

Findings

H_p occurs at a field much lower than H_{c2}

H_p correlates with T_c and follows a specific relation

The method for estimating H_{pg} requires modification for BSLCO

Abstract

We measure the magnetic-field dependence of the c-axis resistivity, \rho_c(H), in a series of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+\delta} (BSLCO) single crystals for a wide range of doping using pulsed magnetic fields up to 58 T. The behavior of \rho_c(H) is examined in light of the recent determination of the upper critical field H_{c2} for this material using Nernst effect measurements. We find that the peak in \rho_c(H) shows up at a field H_p that is much lower than H_{c2} and there is no discernable feature in \rho_c(H) at H_{c2}. Intriguingly, H_p shows a doping dependence similar to that of T_c, and there is an approximate relation k_{B}T_c \simeq {1/2}g\mu_{B}H_p. Moreover, we show that the data for the lowest-T_c sample can be used to estimate the pseudogap closing field H_{pg}, but the method to estimate H_{pg} proposed by Shibauchi {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 86}, 5763 (2001)] must be modified to apply to the BSLCO system.