Date/Time
Date(s) - 29/01/2014
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: Charge Density Wave Order in Cuprate Superconductors

Speaker: Dr. David Hawthorn

Institute: University of Waterloo

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Despite over 25 years of intensive research the problem of cuprate high temperature superconductors remains unsolved. One aspect that makes understanding the cuprates difficult is that the superconducting phase competes with other phases of matter, in particular a charge density wave (CDW) state â?? a spontaneous, spatial modulation of the charge density. It is now clear that understanding the CDW state is of central importance to understanding many aspects of the cuprates. Recently breakthroughs in the investigation of CDW order and superconductivity in the cuprates have occurred using a novel experimental technique, resonant soft x-ray scattering. I will discuss the development of this technique at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron and how it has illuminated many aspects of the CDW in the cuprates including its microscopic character. Finally, I will discuss the competition between CDW order and superconductivity and how the resonant scattering measurements provide an indication that CDW and superconducting orders are intertwined in a multi-dimensional order parameter.