Sum rules and energy scales in BiSrCaCuO

Original · EN

From very high accuracy reflectivity spectra, we have derived the optical conductivity and estimated the spectral weight up to various cut-off frequencies in underdoped Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊δ (Bi-2212). We show that, when evaluating the optical spectral weight over the full conduction band (1 eV), the kinetic energy decreases in the superconducting state, unlike in conventional BCS superconductors. As a consequence, the Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham sum rule is not satisfied up to this energy scale. This stands as a very unconventional behavior, contrasted with the overdoped Bi-2212 sample.