Abstract
The diffusion of vortices down a thermal gradient produces a Josephson signal which is detected as a vortex Nernst effect. In a recent report by Xu et al. [Nature 406, 486 (2000)], an enhanced Nernst signal identified with vortex-like excitations was observed in a series of (LSCO) crystals at temperatures 50–100 K above To pin down the onset temperature of the vortexlike signal in the lightly doped regime we have reanalyzed the carrier contribution to the Nernst signal in detail. By supplementing Nernst measurements with thermopower and Hall-angle data, we isolate the off-diagonal Peltier conductivity and show that its profile provides an objective determination of With the results, we revise the phase diagram for the fluctuation regime in LSCO to accommodate the lightly doped regime. In the cuprate we find that the carrier contribution is virtually negligible for y in the range 0.4–0.6. The evidence of an extended temperature interval with vortexlike excitations is even stronger in this system. Finally, we discuss how relates to the pseudogap temperature and the implications of strong fluctuations between the pseudogap state and the d-wave superconducting state.
- Received 16 August 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.64.224519
©2001 American Physical Society