Visualizing a Terahertz Superfluid Plasmon in a Two-Dimensional Superconductor

Abstract

The superconducting gap defines the fundamental energy scale for the emergence of dissipationless transport and collective phenomena in a superconductor. In layered high-temperature cuprate superconductors, where the Cooper pairs are confined to weakly coupled two-dimensional copper-oxygen planes, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy at sub-gap millielectronvolt energies has provided crucial insights into the collective superfluid response perpendicular to the superconducting layers. However, within the copper-oxygen planes the collective superfluid response manifests as plasmonic charge oscillations at energies far exceeding the superconducting gap, obscured by strong dissipation. Here, we present spectroscopic evidence of a below-gap, two-dimensional superfluid plasmon in few-layer Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x and spatially resolve its deeply sub-diffractive THz electrodynamics. By placing the superconductor in the near-field of a spintronic THz emitter, we reveal this distinct resonance-absent in bulk samples and observed only in the superconducting phase-and determine its plasmonic nature by mapping the geometric anisotropy and dispersion. Crucially, these measurements offer a direct view of the momentum- and frequency dependent superconducting transition in two dimensions. These results establish a new platform for investigating superfluid phenomena at finite momenta and THz frequencies, highlighting the potential to engineer and visualize superconducting devices operating at ultrafast THz rates.