Spatial complexity due to bulk electronicnematicity in a superconducting underdopedcuprate

摘要

Surface probes such as scanning tunnelling microscopy have detected complex electronicpatterns at the nanoscale in many high-temperature superconductors. In cuprates, the patternformation is associated with the pseudogap phase, a precursor to the high-temperaturesuperconducting state. Rotational symmetry breaking of the host crystal in the form ofelectronic nematicity has recently been proposed as a unifying theme of the pseudogap phase.However, the fundamental physics governing the nanoscale pattern formation has not yet beenidentifed. Here we introduce a new set of methods for analysing strongly correlated electronicsystems, including the effects of both disorder and broken symmetry. We use universal clusterproperties extracted from scanning tunnelling microscopy studies of cuprate superconductorsto identify the fundamental physics controlling the complex pattern formation. Because ofa delicate balance between disorder, interactions, and material anisotropy, we find that theelectron nematic is fractal in nature, and that it extends throughout the bulk of the material.