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      Scanning tunnelling microscopy imaging of symmetry-breaking structural distortion in the bismuth-based cuprate superconductors

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          Abstract

          A complicating factor in unravelling the theory of high-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity is the presence of a 'pseudogap' in the density of states, the origin of which has been debated since its discovery. Some believe the pseudogap is a broken symmetry state distinct from superconductivity, whereas others believe it arises from short-range correlations without symmetry breaking. A number of broken symmetries have been imaged and identified with the pseudogap state, but it remains crucial to disentangle any electronic symmetry breaking from the pre-existing structural symmetry of the crystal. We use scanning tunnelling microscopy to observe an orthorhombic structural distortion across the cuprate superconducting Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(n-1)Cu(n)O(2n+4+x) (BSCCO) family tree, which breaks two-dimensional inversion symmetry in the surface BiO layer. Although this inversion-symmetry-breaking structure can impact electronic measurements, we show from its insensitivity to temperature, magnetic field and doping, that it cannot be the long-sought pseudogap state. To detect this picometre-scale variation in lattice structure, we have implemented a new algorithm that will serve as a powerful tool in the search for broken symmetry electronic states in cuprates, as well as in other materials.

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          Most cited references2

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          Electronic liquid-crystal phases of a doped Mott insulator

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            From a Single-Band Metal to a High-Temperature Superconductor via Two Thermal Phase Transitions

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              Author and article information

              Journal
              Nature Materials
              Nature Mater
              Springer Science and Business Media LLC
              1476-1122
              1476-4660
              July 2012
              May 6 2012
              July 2012
              : 11
              : 7
              : 585-589
              Article
              10.1038/nmat3315
              22561901
              028c79a8-94cd-4165-8522-c2252ea53793
              © 2012

              http://www.springer.com/tdm

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