Phenomenology of ⁶³Cu Nuclear Relaxation in Cuprate Superconductors

Nuclear relaxation is an important thermodynamic probe of electronic excitations, in particular in conducting and superconducting systems. Here, an empirical phenomenology based on all available literature data for planar Cu in hole-doped cuprates is developed. It is found that most of the seemingly different relaxation rates among the systems are due to a temperature-independent anisotropy that affects mostly measured 1/T_1∥, the rate with an external magnetic field along the crystal c-axis, while 1/T_1⊥ is largely independent on doping and material above the critical temperature of superconductivity (T_c). This includes very strongly overdoped systems that show Fermi liquid behavior and obey the Korringa law. Below T_c, the relaxation rates are similar, as well, if plotted against the reduced temperature T/T_c. Thus, planar Cu nuclear relaxation is governed by a simple, dominant mechanism that couples the nuclei with varying anisotropy to a rather ubiquitous bath of electronic excitations that appear Fermi liquid-like irrespective of doping and family. In particular, there is no significant enhancement of the relaxation due to electronic spin fluctuations, different from earlier conclusions. Only the La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ family appears to be an outlier as additional relaxation is present; however, the anisotropy remains temperature independent. Also systems with very low doping levels, for which there is a lack of data, may behave differently.