title: Photo-enhanced antinodal conductivity in the pseudogap state of high-Tc cuprates.
abstract: A major challenge in understanding the cuprate superconductors is to clarify the nature of the fundamental electronic correlations that lead to the pseudogap phenomenon. Here we use ultrashort light pulses to prepare a non-thermal distribution of excitations and capture novel properties that are hidden at equilibrium. Using a broadband (0.5-2 eV) probe, we are able to track the dynamics of the dielectric function and unveil an anomalous decrease in the scattering rate of the charge carriers in a pseudogap-like region of the temperature (T) and hole-doping (p) phase diagram. In this region, delimited by a well-defined T*neq(p) line, the photoexcitation process triggers the evolution of antinodal excitations from gapped (localized) to delocalized quasiparticles characterized by a longer lifetime. The novel concept of photo-enhanced antinodal conductivity is naturally explained within the single-band Hubbard model, in which the short-range Coulomb repulsion leads to a k-space differentiation between nodal quasiparticles and antinodal excitations.
authors.affiliation: Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., I-34149 Basovizza, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cilento
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] i-LAMP (Interdisciplinary Laboratories for Advanced Materials Physics), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [3].
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dal Conte
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy [2].
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coslovich
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano, I-20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peli
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano, I-20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nembrini
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] i-LAMP (Interdisciplinary Laboratories for Advanced Materials Physics), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Banfi
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] i-LAMP (Interdisciplinary Laboratories for Advanced Materials Physics), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrini
authors.affiliation: Nanoelectronics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eisaki
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Dorow
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Veit
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Greven
authors.affiliation: Département de Physique de la Matière Condensée, Université de Genève, CH1211 Genève, Switzerland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van der Marel
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1 [2] Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Comin
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1 [2] Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damascelli
authors.affiliation: 1] Fakultaet fuer Physik and Zentrum für Nanointegration (CENIDE), Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, 47048 Duisburg, Germany [2].
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rettig
authors.affiliation: Fakultaet fuer Physik and Zentrum für Nanointegration (CENIDE), Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, 47048 Duisburg, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bovensiepen
authors.affiliation: CNR-IOM Democritos National Simulation Center and Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy [2] i-LAMP (Interdisciplinary Laboratories for Advanced Materials Physics), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I-25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giannetti
authors.affiliation: 1] Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., I-34149 Basovizza, Italy [2] Department of Physics, Università degli Studi di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Parmigiani