Optical response of high-Tc cuprates: Possible role of scattering rate saturation and in-plane anisotropy

Abstract

We present a generalized Drude analysis of the in-plane optical conductivity σab(T,ω) in cuprates taking into account the effects of in-plane anisotropy. A simple ansatz for the scattering rate Γ(T,ω), that includes anisotropy, a quadratic frequency dependence, and saturation at the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit, is able to reproduce recent normal state data on an optimally doped cuprate over a wide frequency range. We highlight the potential importance of including anisotropy in the full expression for σab(T,ω) and challenge previous determinations of Γ(ω) in which anisotropy was neglected and Γ(ω) was indicated to be strictly linear in frequency over a wide frequency range. Possible implications of our findings for understanding thermodynamic properties and self-energy effects in high-Tc cuprates will also be discussed.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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