Unconventional temperature dependence of the cuprate excitation spectrum (original) (raw)

Key properties of the cuprates, such as the pseudogap observed above the critical temperature Tc, remain highly debated. Given their importance, we recently proposed a novel mechanism based on the Bose-like condensation of mutually interacting Cooper pairs [W. Sacks, A. Mauger, Y. Noat, Superconduct. Sci. Technol. 28 105014, (2015)]. In this work, we calculate the temperature dependent DOS using this model for different doping levels from underdoped to overdoped. In all situations, due to the presence of excited pairs, a pseudogap is found above Tc while the normal DOS is recovered at T * , the pair formation temperature. A similar behavior is found as a function of magnetic field, crossing a vortex, where a pseudogap exists in the vortex core. We show that the precise DOS shape depends on combined pair (boson) and quasiparticle (fermion) excitations, allowing for a deeper understanding of the SC to the PG transition.