Magnetic-field Induced Pair Density Wave State in the Cuprate Vortex Halo

Understand

When very high magnetic fields suppress the superconductivity in underdoped cuprates, an exceptional new electronic phase appears.

• It supports remarkable and unexplained quantum oscillations and exhibits an unidentified density wave (DW) state.
• Although generally referred to as a "charge" density wave (CDW) because of the observed charge density modulations, theory indicates that this could actually be the far more elusive electron-pair density wave state (PDW).
• To search for evidence of a field-induced PDW in cuprates, we visualize the modulations in the density of electronic states $N(\bf{r})$ within the halo surrounding Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ vortex cores.