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Mirror symmetry breaking in a model insulating cuprate

de la Torre, A. and Seyler, K. L. and Zhao, L. and Di Matteo, S. and Scheurer, M. S. and Li, Y. and Yu, B. and Greven, M. and Sachdev, S. and Norman, M. R. and Hsieh, D. (2021) Mirror symmetry breaking in a model insulating cuprate. Nature Physics, 17 (7). pp. 777-781. ISSN 1745-2473. doi:10.1038/s41567-021-01210-6. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200909-101851261

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Abstract

Among the most actively studied issues in the cuprates are the natures of the pseudogap and strange metal states and their relationship to superconductivity1. There is general agreement that the low-energy physics of the Mott-insulating parent state is well captured by a two-dimensional spin S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model. However, recent observations of a large thermal Hall conductivity in several parent cuprates appear to defy this simple model and suggest proximity to a magneto-chiral state that breaks all mirror planes that are perpendicular to the CuO₂ layers. Here we use optical second harmonic generation to directly resolve the point group symmetries of the model parent cuprate Sr₂CuO₂Cl₂. We report evidence of an order parameter that breaks all perpendicular mirror planes and is consistent with a magneto-chiral state in zero magnetic field. Although this order is clearly coupled to the antiferromagnetism, we are unable to realize its time-reversed partner by thermal cycling through the antiferromagnetic transition temperature or by sampling different spatial locations. This suggests that the order onsets above the Néel temperature and may be relevant to the mechanism of pseudogap formation.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01210-6DOIArticle
https://rdcu.be/ciLIMPublisherFree ReadCube access
https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.06516arXivDiscussion Paper
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Seyler, K. L.0000-0003-1553-4518
Li, Y.0000-0003-0886-2919
Greven, M.0000-0002-8055-4358
Sachdev, S.0000-0002-2432-7070
Norman, M. R.0000-0002-9459-078X
Hsieh, D.0000-0002-0812-955X
Alternate Title:Anomalous mirror symmetry breaking in a model insulating cuprate Sr₂CuO₂Cl₂
Additional Information:© 2021 Nature Publishing Group. Received 06 August 2020; Accepted 23 February 2021; Published 05 April 2021. We acknowledge helpful conversations with D. Kennes, S. Kivelson, P. Lee, O. Motrunich, D. Pelc and K. Plumb. We also thank L. Taillefer and G. Grissonnanche for sharing unpublished data. The SHG work is supported by an ARO PECASE award W911NF-17-1-0204. D.H. also acknowledges support for instrumentation from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and from the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM), an NSF Physics Frontiers Center (PHY-1733907). A.d.l.T. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through an Early Postdoc Mobility Fellowship (P2GEP2_165044). K.L.S. acknowledges a Caltech Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship. S.S. acknowledges support from NSF grant DMR-2002850. M.S.S. acknowledges support from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina through Grant LPDS 2016-12. M.R.N. was supported by the Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, US Department of Energy. The work at the University of Minnesota was funded by the US Department of Energy through the University of Minnesota Center for Quantum Materials, under grant no. DE-SC-0016371. Data availability: Source data are provided with this paper. All other data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Author Contributions: A.d.l.T., L.Z., D.H. and M.G. conceived the experiment. A.d.l.T., K.L.S. and L.Z. performed the optical measurements. Y.L. and B.Y. synthesized, characterized and aligned the samples. A.d.l.T., L.Z. and D.H. analysed the data. S.D.M., M.S.S., S.S. and M.R.N. performed the theoretical calculations and, together with A.d.l.T. and D.H., interpreted the results. A.d.l.T. and D.H. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors. The authors declare no competing interests. Peer review information: Nature Physics thanks Manfred Fiebig and Marco Grioni for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Group:Institute for Quantum Information and Matter
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Army Research Office (ARO)W911NF-17-1-0204
David and Lucile Packard FoundationUNSPECIFIED
Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM)UNSPECIFIED
NSFPHY-1733907
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)P2GEP2_165044
Caltech Postdoctoral FellowshipUNSPECIFIED
NSFDMR-2002850
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher LeopoldinaLPDS 2016-12
Department of Energy (DOE)DE-SC-0016371
Subject Keywords:Electronic properties and materials; Magnetic properties and materials; Superconducting properties and materials
Issue or Number:7
DOI:10.1038/s41567-021-01210-6
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20200909-101851261
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20200909-101851261
Official Citation:Torre, A.d.l., Seyler, K.L., Zhao, L. et al. Mirror symmetry breaking in a model insulating cuprate. Nat. Phys. 17, 777–781 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01210-6
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:105292
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:09 Sep 2020 17:26
Last Modified:13 Jul 2021 16:44

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