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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Anomalous lattice relaxation dynamics in optimally doped La2−xSrxCuO4

A. N. Petsch1,2,*, L. Shen1,3,*,†, Z. Porter1,2, A. Alshemi3, A. Stellhorn3, A. Israelski1,2, C. Peng1,2, H. Yavas1, V. Thampy1 et al.

R. J. Arthur1, Z. Ren4, F. Westermeier4, M. Sprung4, S. M. Hayden5, E. Blackburn3,‡, and J. J. Turner1,2,§

  • *These two authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: lingjias@slac.stanford.edu
  • ‡Contact author: elizabeth.blackburn@sljus.lu.se
  • §Contact author: joshuat@slac.stanford.edu
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Phys. Rev. B 112, L100505 – Published 18 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9sg4-52qz

Abstract

The atomic lattice plays a critical role in the emergence of high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates. While the dynamics associated with electron-lattice coupling typically unfold on picosecond-to-femtosecond timescales, we present an x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy investigation on an optimally doped La-based cuprate that reveals a strong response of kilosecond-scale lattice relaxation dynamics to the superconducting state. Notably, an anomaly emerges around Tc: upon cooling into the superconducting state, the average atomic relaxation lifetime decreases, i.e., dynamics accelerate. This indicates a significant change in the local disorder-induced strain field dynamics at the superconducting transition, highlighting a remarkable coupling between superconductivity and the lattice on quasistatic timescales.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, L100505– Published 18 September, 2025
  • Received 16 February 2025
  • Revised 3 August 2025
  • Accepted 21 August 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by Bibsam.

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