Suppression of spectral gap and flat bands on a cuprate superconductor side-surface
Abstract Side surfaces of cuprate superconductors are expected to display a suppressed d -wave order parameter and zero-energy topological flat bands with a large density of states, making them susceptible to symmetry broken orders. Yet such surfaces have never been investigated with momentum-resolved, surface-sensitive probes, because high-temperature superconductors rarely cleave along them. Using focused-ion-beam milling to define a controlled breaking point, we expose pristine (110) side surfaces of overdoped La 2− x Sr x CuO 4 ( x = 0.22) suitable for angle-resolved photoemission. We do not resolve an opening or closing of a superconducting spectral gap within our energy resolution ( ~ 4 meV), in agreement with theoretical predictions. Surprisingly, the expected zero-energy flat band peak is also suppressed, despite the high topographic quality of the surface. Self-consistent Bogoliubov–de Gennes calculations show that the measured geometric roughness of the cleaved surface is too weak to eliminate these modes. The calculations further demonstrate that bulk inhomogeneities characteristic of high-temperature superconductors, modelled as moderate Anderson-type disorder, can broaden the flat-band states beyond detectability. Our results provide the first momentum-resolved view of the electronic structure on a cuprate side surface and identify disorder as a plausible mechanism obscuring the spectroscopic signatures of the predicted flat-band states.
Authors
- T. Kurosawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5065-6823)
- Jiabao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8840-6694)
- N. Momono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8408-8617)
- Yiran Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3819-6743)
- Shigemi Terakawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5790-7234)
- Daiyu Geng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8564-7465)
- Andreas P. Schnyder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1029-815X)
- I. Biało (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3431-6102)
- Mihir Date (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9778-6104)
- S. Parkin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4702-6139)
- Banabir Pal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2423-4373)
- Tianlun Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8973-2782)
- Niels B. M. Schröter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6159-4576)
- S. M. Hayden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3209-027X)
- S. K. Y. Dufresne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0616-085X)
- M. Minola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4084-0664)
- J. Küspert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2905-9992)
- Gabriele Domaine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8121-3547)
- Migaku Oda
- M. D. Watson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0737-2814)
- J. F. Chang
- Kritika Singh
- Jiaju Wang
- Markel Pardo Almanza
- Chien-Ching Chang
- Swosti P. Sarangi
- Natalie Lehmann
- Ding Pei
- Timur K. Kim
- Amit Kumar
Institutions
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Synchrotron soleil (FR)
- Diamond Light Source (GB)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Muroran Institute of Technology (JP)
- Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (DE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (DE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-10-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78020-y
- Primary Topic
- Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00