Light-induced Superconductivity Research Articles

Theory of resonantly enhanced photo-induced superconductivity

Optical driving of materials has emerged as a versatile tool to control their properties, with photo-induced superconductivity being among the most fascinating examples. In this work, we show that light or lattice vibrations coupled to an electronic interband transition naturally give rise to electron-electron attraction that may be enhanced when the underlying boson is driven into a non-thermal state. We find this phenomenon to be resonantly amplified when tuning the boson’s frequency close to the energy difference between the two electronic bands. This result offers a simple microscopic mechanism for photo-induced superconductivity and provides a recipe for designing new platforms in which light-induced superconductivity can be realized. We discuss two-dimensional heterostructures as a potential test ground for light-induced superconductivity concretely proposing a setup consisting of a graphene-hBN-SrTiO3 heterostructure, for which we estimate a superconducting Tc that may be achieved upon driving the system.

Dynamical onset of light-induced unconventional superconductivity—a Yukawa-Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev study

Using light irradiation to manipulate quantum materials has opened up avenues for transiently inducing superconductivity in some systems. Despite experimental confirmation across various compounds, the mechanism behind the dynamic formation of Cooper pairs remains highly debated, in part due to the strong electronic correlations at play, which pose challenges for theoretical investigations relying on perturbative or phenomenological approaches. Here, we investigate the dynamical onset of superconductivity in the strongly correlated, yet exactly solvable Yukawa-Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model. Analyzing dynamical protocols motivated by theoretical mechanisms proposed for light-induced superconductivity, that is light-induced cooling and the dressing of Hamiltonian parameters, we investigate the exact relaxation resulting out of undercooling and interaction quenches. While, in contrast to BCS theory, it is not possible for superconductivity to emerge following interaction quenches across the superconducting phase transition, we find that the dynamical relaxation of undercooled states universally leads to superconductivity. Despite the strong correlations, the emerging order parameter dynamics are well captured by a coarse grained Ginzburg-Landau theory. Our study provides an integral stepping stone towards exploring light-induced superconductivity in strongly correlated systems in a theoretically controlled way.

Energy-scale considerations of unconventional superconductors—implications to condensation and pairing

Discovery of high-Tc cuprate superconductors (HTSC) in 1986 by Bednorz and Muller, followed by synthesis of A3C60, iron-pnictides/chalcogenides and other exotic superconducting (SC) systems, introduced unconventional superconductors (UCSC) having their mechanisms of condensation and/or pairing distinctly different from those of simpler metals which can be explained by BCS theory. This article will show how one can demonstrate their new mechanisms by examining correlations among key energy-scale parameters, including the transition temperature Tc, the superfluid density ns/m*, the effective Fermi energy εF, the excitation energy of the magnetic resonance mode (MRM), the onset temperatures of Nernst effect and light-induced transient superconductivity, and the spin fluctuation energy scale ℏωsf, and by resorting to analogy / comparisons with superfluid 4He as a representative system undergoing Bose Einstein Condensation (BEC). We will propose a paring mechanism in HTSC based on resonance of spin (ℏωsf) and charge (εF) energy scales, and apply that concept for explaining unusual behaviors in the overdoped region. We will also discuss modifications of a simple BEC-BCS crossover picture to account for actual situations with additional effects of competing order and phase separation.

Near-infrared light-induced superconducting-like state in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy studied by c -axis terahertz third-harmonic generation

The recent observation of the light-induced superconducting (SC)-like transient response in $c$-axis optical conductivity far above the SC transition temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ in underdoped $\mathrm{Y}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{y}$ (YBCO) has attracted a great deal of attention in the field of high-${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ superconductors. Since then, various theoretical and experimental studies have been devoted to elucidating its microscopic origin. One prominent fingerprint of light-induced superconductivity is the emergence of $1/\ensuremath{\omega}$-like spectral behavior in the imaginary part of the optical conductivity in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. However, the spectral profile can also be described by the Drude response of the quasiparticles (QPs) with a substantially low scattering rate. To circumvent this critical ambiguity, we investigated the light-induced nonequilibrium state in an underdoped YBCO sample with ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ of 61 K using the nonlinear THz optical response originating from the SC collective excitation of the ac-driven Josephson current. Upon the near-infrared (NIR) photoexcitation above ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ in the YBCO sample, the $1/\ensuremath{\omega}$-like spectral behavior in the imaginary part of the optical conductivity emerges, consistent with previous studies. However, the THz third-harmonic generation arising from the ac-driven Josephson current along the $c$-axis was absent in the NIR photoexcited state. These results indicate that the NIR pump-induced state exhibiting the $1/\ensuremath{\omega}$-like response above ${T}_{\mathrm{c}}$ is distinct from the long-range-ordered SC state in equilibrium. Based on these observations, the possible origins of the irregularly coherent charge-carrier response along the $c$-axis induced by photoexcitation are discussed.

Amplification of Superconducting Fluctuations in Driven YBa2Cu3O6+x

Experiments show that the mechanism of light-induced superconductivity in YBa${}_{2}$Cu${}_{3}$O${}_{6+x}$ bilayer cuprates involves amplification of superconducting fluctuations, which is observed throughout the pseudogap phase.

Calibrating Out-of-Equilibrium Electron–Phonon Couplings in Photoexcited MoS2

Nonequilibrium electron-phonon coupling (EPC) serves as a dominant interaction in a multitude of transient processes, including photoinduced phase transitions, coherent phonon generation, and possible light-induced superconductivity. Here we use monolayer MoS2 as a prototype to investigate the variation in electron-phonon couplings under laser excitation, on the basis of real-time time-dependent density functional theory simulations. Phonon softening, anisotropic modification of the deformation potential, and enhancement of EPC are observed, which are attributed to the reduced electronic screening and modulated potential energy surfaces by photoexcitation. Furthermore, by tracking the transient deformation potential and nonthermal electronic population, we can monitor the ultrafast time evolution of the energy exchange rate between electrons and phonons upon laser excitation. This work provides an effective strategy to investigate the nonequilibrium EPC and constructs a scaffold for understanding nonequilibrium states beyond the multitemperature models.

Fluctuating Nature of Light-Enhanced d -Wave Superconductivity: A Time-Dependent Variational Non-Gaussian Exact Diagonalization Study

Engineering quantum phases using light is a novel route to designing functional materials, where light-induced superconductivity is a successful example. Although this phenomenon has been realized experimentally, especially for the high-$T_c$ cuprates, the underlying mechanism remains mysterious. Using the recently developed variational non-Gaussian exact diagonalization method, we investigate a particular type of photoenhanced superconductivity by suppressing a competing charge order in a strongly correlated electron-electron and electron-phonon system. We find that the $d$-wave superconductivity pairing correlation can be enhanced by a pulsed laser, consistent with recent experiments based on gap characterizations. However, we also find that the pairing correlation length is heavily suppressed by the pump pulse, indicating that light-enhanced superconductivity may be of fluctuating nature. Our findings also imply a general behavior of nonequilibrium states with competing orders, beyond the description of a mean-field framework.

Light-induced electron pairing in two-dimensional systems

The mechanism of electron pairing induced by a circularly polarized off-resonant electromagnetic field is suggested and examined theoretically for various two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures. Particularly, it is demonstrated that such a pairing can exist in 2D systems containing charge carriers with different effective masses. As a result of the pairing, the optically induced hybrid Bose-Fermy system appears. The elementary excitation in the system are analyzed and the possible Bose-Einstein condensation of the paired electrons and the related light-induced superconductivity are discussed.

Light-induced topological superconductivity via Floquet interaction engineering

We propose a mechanism for light-induced unconventional superconductivity in a two-valley semiconductor with a massive Dirac type band structure. The superconducting phase results from the out-of-equilibrium excitation of carriers in the presence of Coulomb repulsion and is stabilized by coupling the driven semiconductor to a bosonic or fermionic thermal bath. We consider a circularly-polarized light pump and show that by controlling the detuning of the pump frequency relative to the band gap, different types of chiral superconductivity would be induced. The emergence of novel superconducting states, such as the chiral $p$-wave pairing, results from the Floquet engineering of the interaction. This is realized by modifying the form of the Coulomb interaction by projecting it into the states that are resonant with the pump frequency. We show that the resulting unconventional pairing in our system can host topologically protected chiral bound states. We discuss a promising experimental platform to realize our proposal and detect the signatures of the emergent superconducting state.

Ultrafast control of magnetic interactions via light-driven phonons.

Resonant ultrafast excitation of infrared-active phonons is a powerful technique to control the electronic properties of materials, leading to remarkable phenomena such as light-induced enhancement of superconductivity1,2, switching of ferroelectric polarization3,4 and ultrafast insulator to metal transitions5. Here we show that light-driven phonons can be utilized to coherently manipulate macroscopic magnetic states. Intense mid-infrared electric field pulses, tuned to resonance with a phonon mode of the archetypical antiferromagnet DyFeO3, induce ultrafast and long-living changes of the fundamental exchange interaction between rare-earth orbitals and transition metal spins. Non-thermal lattice control of the magnetic exchange, defining the very stability of the macroscopic magnetic state, allows us to perform picosecond coherent switching between competing antiferromagnetic and weakly ferromagnetic spin orders. Our discovery emphasizes the potential of resonant phonon excitation for the manipulation of ferroic order on ultrafast timescales6.

Stay just a little bit longer

The short lifetime of light-induced superconductivity prevents the measurement of its transport properties. Encouraging this state to stay a little longer in K3C60 allows the observation of vanishing electrical resistance.

Possible experimental test of the nonlinear phononics interpretation of light-induced superconductivity

Experimental evidence for a transient enhancement of the superconducting critical temperature of YBa2Cu3O6+x in the presence of an intense THz or infrared pump pulse was ascribed to nonlinear phononics effects. Here, I introduce a simple phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau model of this phenomenon, to explore further consequences and possible experimental tests of this interpretation. This treatment predicts that, upon cooling below Tc in the absence of pumping, (a) an abrupt softening of a Raman-active mode frequency and (b) a spontaneous lattice distortion, growing linearly with (Tc−T) should occur. Numerical estimates for YBa2Cu3O6+x indicate that the frequency softening could likely be observable, whereas the lattice distortion may be too small. A comparison with Raman experiments for the relevant phonon modes in YBa2Cu3O6+x does not lend support to the nonlinear phononics interpretation. On the other hand, however, a very large (up to 18%) phonon frequency softening just below Tc, qualitatively similar to the predictions of the present model for its size and abrupt temperature dependence, was observed over 20 years ago in HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10+x; its explanation in terms of Josephson plasmons has been controversial. Light-induced superconductivity still needs to be investigated in this material and it may be of interest to explore if it is present and possibly connected, via the mechanism discussed here, to the observed anomalous phonon behavior.Received 12 March 2020Revised 20 August 2020Accepted 21 August 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033384Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by the Max Planck Society.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDynamical phase transitionsSuperconducting phase transitionTransition temperatureCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Superconducting optical response of photodoped Mott insulators

Ultrafast laser pulses can redistribute charges in Mott insulators on extremely short time scales, leading to the fast generation of photocarriers. It has recently been demonstrated that these photocarriers can form a novel [Formula: see text]-paired condensate at low temperatures, featuring a staggered superconducting pairing field. In this conference paper, we discuss the origin of the [Formula: see text]-paired hidden phase and its optical response, which may be detected in a pump-probe experiment. The hidden phase may be relevant for possible light-induced superconductivity in Mott insulators.

Hybrid optical fiber for light-induced superconductivity

We exploit the recent proposals for the light-induced superconductivity mediated by a Bose-Einstein condensate of exciton-polaritons to design a superconducting fiber that would enable long-distance transport of a supercurrent at elevated temperatures. The proposed fiber consists of a conventional core made of a silica glass with the first cladding layer formed by a material sustaining dipole-polarised excitons with a binding energy exceeding 25 meV. To be specific, we consider a perovskite cladding layer of 20 nm width. The second cladding layer is made of a conventional superconductor such as aluminium. The fiber is covered by a conventional coating buffer and by a plastic outer jacket. We argue that the critical temperature for a superconducting phase transition in the second cladding layer may be strongly enhanced due to the coupling of the superconductor to a bosonic condensate of exciton-polaritons optically induced by the evanescent part of the guiding mode confined in the core. The guided light mode would penetrate to the first cladding layer and provide the strong exciton-photon coupling regime. We run simulations that confirm the validity of the proposed concept. The fabrication of superconducting fibers where a high-temperature superconductivity could be controlled by light would enable passing superconducting currents over extremely long distances.

Light-induced anomalous Hall effect in graphene.

Many non-equilibrium phenomena have been discovered or predicted in optically-driven quantum solids1. Examples include light-induced superconductivity2,3 and Floquet-engineered topological phases4–8. These are short lived effects that should lead to measurable changes in electrical transport, which can be characterized using an ultrafast device architecture based on photoconductive switches9. Here, we report the observation of a light-induced anomalous Hall effect in monolayer graphene driven by a femtosecond pulse of circularly polarized light. The dependence of the effect on a gate potential used to tune the Fermi level reveals multiple features that reflect a Floquet-engineered topological band structure4,5, similar to the band structure originally proposed by Haldane10. This includes an approximately 60 meV wide conductance plateau centered at the Dirac point, where a gap of equal magnitude is predicted to open. We find that when the Fermi level lies within this plateau, the estimated anomalous Hall conductance saturates around 1.8±0.4 e2/h.

Possible Light-Induced Superconductivity in a Strongly Correlated Electron System

Using a nonequilibrium implementation of the Lanczos-based exact diagonalisation technique we study the possibility of the light-induced superconducting phase coherence in a solid state system after an ultrafast optical excitation. In particular, we investigate the buildup of superconducting correlations by calculating an exact time-dependent wave function reflecting the properties of the system in non-equilibrium and the corresponding transient response functions. Within our picture we identify a possible transient Meissner effect after dynamical quenching of the non-superconducting wavefunction and extract a characteristic superfluid density that we compare to experimental data. Finally, we find that the stability of the induced superconducting state depends crucially on the nature of the excitation quench: namely, a pure interaction quench induces a long-lived superconducting state, whereas a phase quench leads to a short-lived transient superconductor.

Time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau model for light-induced superconductivity in the cuprate LESCO

Cavalleri and coworkers have discovered evidence of light-induced superconductivity and related phenomena in several different materials. Here, we suggest that some features may be naturally interpreted using a time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau model. In particular, we focus on the lifetime of the transient state in La1.675Eu0.2Sr0.125CuO4 (LESCO1∕8), which is remarkably long below about 25 K, but exhibits different behavior at higher temperature.

Magnetic-Field Tuning of Light-Induced Superconductivity in Striped La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4}.

Optical excitation of stripe-ordered La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4} has been shown to transiently enhance superconducting tunneling between the CuO_{2} planes. This effect was revealed by a blueshift, or by the appearance of a Josephson plasma resonance in the terahertz-frequency optical properties. Here, we show that this photoinduced state can be strengthened by the application of high external magnetic fields oriented along the c axis. For a 7T field, we observe up to a tenfold enhancement in the transient interlayer phase correlation length, accompanied by a twofold increase in the relaxation time of the photoinduced state. These observations are highly surprising, since static magnetic fields suppress interlayer Josephson tunneling and stabilize stripe order at equilibrium. We interpret our data as an indication that optically enhanced interlayer coupling in La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4} does not originate from a simple optical melting of stripes, as previously hypothesized. Rather, we speculate that the photoinduced state may emerge from activated tunneling between optically excited stripes in adjacent planes.

Light-Induced Coherence in an Atom-Cavity System.

We demonstrate a light-induced formation of coherence in a cold atomic gas system that utilizes the suppression of a competing density wave (DW) order. The condensed atoms are placed in an optical cavity and pumped by an external optical standing wave, which induces a long-range interaction mediated by photon scattering and a resulting DW order above a critical pump strength. We show that the light-induced temporal modulation of the pump wave can suppress this DW order and restore coherence. This establishes a foundational principle of dynamical control of competing orders analogous to a hypothesized mechanism for light-induced superconductivity in high-T_{c} cuprates.

Light-Enhanced Spin Fluctuations and d-Wave Superconductivity at a Phase Boundary.

Time-domain techniques have shown the potential of photomanipulating existing orders and inducing new states of matter in strongly correlated materials. Using time-resolved exact diagonalization, we perform numerical studies of pump dynamics in a Mott-Peierls system with competing charge and spin density waves. A light-enhanced d-wave superconductivity is observed when the system resides near a quantum phase boundary. By examining the evolution of spin, charge, and superconducting susceptibilities, we show that a subdominant state in equilibrium can be stabilized by photomanipulating the charge order to allow superconductivity to appear and dominate. This work provides an interpretation of light-induced superconductivity from the perspective of order competition and offers a promising approach for designing novel emergent states out of equilibrium.