High Energy Secondary Peak Structure in Tunneling Spectra (hump) as Possible Magnetic Pseudogap

Abstract

It is demonstrated that tunneling spectra in various high Tc cuprates display generic features. The principal conductance peaks in superconductor-insulator-normal metal (SIN) junctions indicate the superconducting gap in the density of states (DOS), Higher energy features include a dip and hump structure with a strength that is asymmetric in bias voltage. The dip and hump features follow the doping trends of the superconducting gap, Δ, with a rough scaling as ∼2Δ and ∼3Δ respectively. Tunneling spectra in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ display a more pronounced hump feature suggestive of a second gap in the DOS. It is observed that the hump feature in the tunneling density of states is consistent with other experimental observations of the so-called high energy pseudogap which may have magnetic origins