Specific heat of underdoped cuprate superconductors in high magnetic fields

Condensed Matter Seminars

Speaker: Jonathon Kemper, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, University of Florida
Date & Time: December 1, 2014, 12:00 - 13:00
Location: UBC, AMPEL 311
Local Contact: Andrea Damascelli
Intended Audience: Graduate

I will discuss specific heat measurements on three families of hole-doped cuprate superconductors, including YBa2Cu3O6+x where x=0.43, 0.47,0.51 and 0.67, aimed at tracking the low energy electronic density of states as a function of magnetic field in both the superconducting and resistive state. The underlying goal is one of understanding how superconducting state at zero field evolves into one with strong Fermi liquid signatures in the high field resistive state, such as quantum magneto-oscillations. The results of specific heat measurements on allow for significant constraints on the Fermi surface topology at dopings near p=0.10-0.12 where quantum oscillations are observed, and also show a mysterious onset of linear-in-field specific heat near p=0.08 where a quantum critical point is purported to exist.