The autocorrelation of angle resolved photoemission data from the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta shows distinct peaks in momentum space which disperse with binding energy in the superconducting state, but not in the pseudogap phase. Although it is tempting to attribute a nondispersive behavior in momentum space to charge ordering, a deconstruction of the autocorrelation reveals that the nondispersive peaks arise from the tips of the Fermi arcs, which themselves do not change with binding energy.
One of the interesting features of the photoemission spectra of the high temperature cuprate superconductors is the presence of a large signal (referred to as the "background") in the unoccupied region of the Brillouin zone. Here we present data indicating that the background signal is a component of the photocurrent that is separate from the spectral function and is most likely due to strong scattering of the photoelectrons. We also present an analytical method that can be used to subtract the background signal.
We examine the momentum and energy dependence of the scattering rate of the high-temperature cuprate superconductors using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The scattering rate is of the form a + bomega around the Fermi surface for under-and optimal doping. The inelastic coefficient b is found to be isotropic. The elastic term a, however, is found to be highly anisotropic for under-and optimally doped samples, with an anisotropy which correlates with that of the pseudogap. This is contrasted with heavily overdoped samples, which show an isotropic scattering rate and an absence of the pseudogap above Tc. We find this to be a generic property for both single-and double-layer compounds.