Pressure-induced Lifshitz and quantum phase transitions in electron-doped cuprate superconductor
We report the first observations of a pressure-induced Lifshitz transition coupled with a quantum phase transition in electron-doped cuprate superconductor Pr0.87LaCe0.13CuO4 (PLCCO), by combining high-pressure electrical resistance, Hall coefficient and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements at low temperatures. Our low-temperature Hall coefficient measurements reveal that the Hall coefficient decreases continuously and reaches zero at about 10 GPa (critical pressure of Pc1). Upon further compression beyond Pc1, Hall coefficient unexpectedly changes its sign from negative to positive, signaling a reconstruction of the Fermi surface from electron-dominated to hole-dominated topology. Concurrently, the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) exhibits a monotonic suppression, vanishing completely at 17.6 GPa (critical pressure of Pc2), where the system enters a non-superconducting metallic state. Our low temperature XRD measurements unequivocally demonstrate the absence of any structural phase transition across Pc1 and Pc2. Therefore, the sign change in RH at Pc1 is associated with a Lifshitz transition, which is never found in the compressed bulk electron- or hole-doped cuprate superconductors. Moreover, the quantum phase transition observed at Pc2 contrasts sharply with known high-pressure behavior of hole-doped cuprates, uncovering a fundamental difference on how pressure tunes the ground states of electron- versus hole-doped systems. These findings provide crucial insights into the different pressure responses on the interplay among Fermi surface topology, electronic correlations, and superconductivity between these two kinds of cuprate superconductors.