Normal-state charge transport in YBa2Cu3O6.67 under uniaxial stress

Abstract

To provide a foundation for theoretical models of high-temperature superconductivity, experimental research has sought to establish correspondences between macroscopic transport coefficients on the one hand, and atomic-scale correlation functions measured by spectroscopic and scattering probes on the other hand. This research avenue has been confounded by the gradual onset of electronic ordering phenomena and of the corresponding transport anomalies. We report measurements of the uniaxial-stress dependence of the normal-state resistivity and Hall coefficient of the underdoped high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_6.67. We observe a remarkable correspondence between the differential stress responses of the transport coefficients and resonant X-ray diffraction features indicative of charge ordering, which parallels the phenomenology of classical charge-density-wave compounds. However, our observations imply that static charge order is not responsible for a sign reversal of the Hall coefficient, and suggest that the interplay with liquid-like, dynamical charge correlations is essential for the prominent transport anomalies in the underdoped cuprates.