Quasiparticle Nernst effect in stripe-ordered cuprates

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Andreas Hackl - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Matthias Vojta - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Subir Sachdev - , Harvard University (Author)

Abstract

Experiments on underdoped cuprate superconductors suggest an intricate relation between the normal-state Nernst effect and stripe order. The Nernst signal appears enhanced near 1/8 hole doping and its onset temperature scales with the stripe-ordering temperature over some range of doping. Here, we employ a phenomenological quasiparticle model to calculate the normal-state Nernst signal in the presence of stripe order. We find that Fermi pockets caused by translational symmetry breaking lead to a strongly enhanced Nernst signal, with a sign depending on the modulation period of the ordered state and other details of the Fermi surface. This implies differences between antiferromagnetic and charge-only stripes. We also analyze the anisotropy of the Nernst signal and compare our findings with recent data from La1.6-x Nd0.4 Srx CuO4 and YBa2 Cu3 Oy.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number045102
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume81
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jan 2010
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes