Persistent short-range charge correlations revealed by ultrafast melting of electronic order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$

C. Seo; L. Shen; A. N. Petsch; S. Wandel; V. Esposito; J. D. Koralek; G. L. Dakovski; M-F. Lin; S. P. Moeller; W. F. Schlotter; A. H. Reid; M. P. Minitti; R. Liang; D. Bonn; W. Hardy; A. Damascelli; C. Giannetti; E. H. da Silva Neto; J. J. Turner; F. Boschini; G. Coslovich

arXiv · 2603.10486

Persistent short-range charge correlations revealed by ultrafast melting of electronic order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$

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Abstract

Charge density waves (CDW) are ubiquitous in the complex phase diagram of cuprate superconductors and exhibit both short- and long-range correlations. Using time-resolved resonant X-ray scattering, we investigate the photo-induced dynamics of CDW in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.67}$. We discover an excitation threshold ($Φ$$_\mathrm{C}$ $\approx$ 65 $μ$J/cm$^2$) above which long-range CDW disappear, revealing a persistent CDW peak with short-range correlation length. Ultrafast photo-excitation promptly uncovers this residual short-range CDW correlations, appearing within $\approx$ 0.2 ps. Long-range CDW coherence recovers within $\approx$ 0.6 ps, while the peak intensity remains partially suppressed. We rationalize the dichotomic behavior in the fluence and temporal dependencies as the signature of two coexisting CDW peaks, arising from short- and long-range correlations, which we disentangle through their distinct response to photo-excitation. We provide evidence that the collapse of long-range correlations is driven by an electronic process, while short-range correlations are characterized by distinct timescales and stiffness against photo-excitation. This approach establishes ultrafast X-ray scattering as an effective tool for disentangling coexisting density waves and correlations in quantum materials.

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C. Seo, L. Shen, A. N. Petsch, S. Wandel, V. Esposito, J. D. Koralek, G. L. Dakovski, M-F. Lin, S. P. Moeller, W. F. Schlotter, A. H. Reid, M. P. Minitti, R. Liang, D. Bonn, W. Hardy, A. Damascelli, C. Giannetti, E. H. da Silva Neto, J. J. Turner, F. Boschini, G. Coslovich. 2026-03-11. Persistent short-range charge correlations revealed by ultrafast melting of electronic order in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10486

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