Spectroscopic Fingerprint of Phase-Incoherent Superconductivity in the Underdoped Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ

Abstract

Mind the Pseudogap Below the transition temperature, an energy gap opens in superconductors, which effectively protects the superconducting phase. Above the transition temperature, the gap closes, creating excitations and a loss of superconductivity. In the high-temperature superconducting cuprates, however, the gap persists above the transition temperature. Understanding the electronic structure of this pseudogap region is important in understanding the mechanism of superconductivity in the cuprates. Lee et al. (p. 1099 ; see the Perspective by Norman ) use high-resolution, temperature-dependent scanning tunneling microscopy to reveal that the pseudogap regime is an incoherent (or phase-disordered) d-wave superconductor.