title: Inhomogeneity of charge-density-wave order and quenched disorder in a high-Tc superconductor.
abstract: It has recently been established that the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconducting state coexists with short-range charge-density-wave order and quenched disorder arising from dopants and strain. This complex, multiscale phase separation invites the development of theories of high-temperature superconductivity that include complexity. The nature of the spatial interplay between charge and dopant order that provides a basis for nanoscale phase separation remains a key open question, because experiments have yet to probe the unknown spatial distribution at both the nanoscale and mesoscale (between atomic and macroscopic scale). Here we report micro X-ray diffraction imaging of the spatial distribution of both short-range charge-density-wave 'puddles' (domains with only a few wavelengths) and quenched disorder in HgBa2CuO4 + y, the single-layer cuprate with the highest Tc, 95 kelvin (refs 26-28). We found that the charge-density-wave puddles, like the steam bubbles in boiling water, have a fat-tailed size distribution that is typical of self-organization near a critical point. However, the quenched disorder, which arises from oxygen interstitials, has a distribution that is contrary to the usually assumed random, uncorrelated distribution. The interstitial-oxygen-rich domains are spatially anticorrelated with the charge-density-wave domains, because higher doping does not favour the stripy charge-density-wave puddles, leading to a complex emergent geometry of the spatial landscape for superconductivity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, CNR, via Salaria Km 29.300, Monterotondo Roma, I-00015, Italy.|Rome International Center for Materials Science, Superstripes, RICMASS, via dei Sabelli 119A, I-00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, CNR, via Salaria Km 29.300, Monterotondo Roma, I-00015, Italy.|Rome International Center for Materials Science, Superstripes, RICMASS, via dei Sabelli 119A, I-00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bianconi
authors.affiliation: Rome International Center for Materials Science, Superstripes, RICMASS, via dei Sabelli 119A, I-00185 Roma, Italy.|MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Poccia
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4SN, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bianconi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, Sincrotrone Elettra UOS Trieste, Strada Statale 14 - Km 163,5 Area Science Park, 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barba
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography, Sincrotrone Elettra UOS Trieste, Strada Statale 14 - Km 163,5 Area Science Park, 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arrighetti
authors.affiliation: Rome International Center for Materials Science, Superstripes, RICMASS, via dei Sabelli 119A, I-00185 Roma, Italy.|EPFL, Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Innocenti
authors.affiliation: EPFL, Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.|ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Laboratory for Solid State Physics, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karpinski
authors.affiliation: ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Laboratory for Solid State Physics, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Zhigadlo
authors.affiliation: ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Laboratory for Solid State Physics, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kazakov
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex, France.|Department of Analytical Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S12 B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burghammer
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M v
authors.initials: Mv
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sprung
authors.affiliation: Rome International Center for Materials Science, Superstripes, RICMASS, via dei Sabelli 119A, I-00185 Roma, Italy.|Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricci