Abstract
Superconductivity often emerges in the proximity of, or in competition with, symmetry-breaking ground states such as antiferromagnetism or charge density waves1,2,3,4,5 (CDW). A number of materials in the cuprate family, which includes the high transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors, show spin and charge density wave order5,6,7. Thus a fundamental question is to what extent do these ordered states exist for compositions close to optimal for superconductivity. Here we use high-energy X-ray diffraction to show that a CDW develops at zero field in the normal state of superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.67 (Tc = 67 K). This sample has a hole doping of 0.12 per copper and a well-ordered oxygen chain superstructure8. Below Tc, the application of a magnetic field suppresses superconductivity and enhances the CDW. Hence, the CDW and superconductivity in this typical high-Tc material are competing orders with similar energy scales, and the high-Tc superconductivity forms from a pre-existing CDW environment. Our results provide a mechanism for the formation of small Fermi surface pockets9, which explain the negative Hall and Seebeck effects10,11 and the ‘Tc plateau’12 in this material when underdoped.
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Acknowledgements
We thank B. L. Gyorffy, M. W. Long, J. A. Wilson, A. J. Schofield, J. R. Cooper, J. W. Loram, S. A. Kivelson, L. Taillefer, C. Bourbonnais, C. Proust and A. Kapitulnik for discussions and R. Nowak, G. R. Walsh and J. Blume for technical assistance. This work was supported by the EPSRC (grant numbers EP/G027161/1 and EP/J015423/1), the Wolfson Foundation, the Royal Society, the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation under DANSCATT and the Swiss National Science Foundation through NCCR-MaNEP and grant number PZ00P2_142434. J.C., N.B.C. and J.M. are grateful to L. Braicovich, G. Ghiringhelli, B. Keimer and M. Le Tacon for communicating their results to them after this experiment was completed.
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D.A.B., W.N.H. and R.L., prepared the samples. E.B., J.C., N.B.C., E.M.F., S.M.H., M.v.Z. and A.W. conceived and planned the experiment. E.B., J.C., N.B.C., E.M.F., S.M.H., A.T.H., J.L. and M.v.Z. carried out the experiment. J.C., E.M.F. and S.M.H. carried out data analysis and modelling. E.B, J.C., N.B.C., E.M.F and S.M.H. wrote the paper. J. M. was responsible for research direction and planning at PSI. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Chang, J., Blackburn, E., Holmes, A. et al. Direct observation of competition between superconductivity and charge density wave order in YBa2Cu3O6.67. Nature Phys 8, 871–876 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2456
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2456
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