Enhanced electron-phonon coupling for charge-density-wave formation in La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$

Abstract

Charge density wave (CDW) correlations are prevalent in all copper-oxide superconductors. While CDWs in conventional metals are driven by coupling between lattice vibrations and electrons, the role of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in cuprate CDWs is strongly debated. Using Cu $L_3$ edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS), we study the CDW and Cu-O bond-stretching phonons in the stripe-ordered cuprate La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4+\delta}$. We investigate the interplay between charge order and EPC as a function of doping and temperature, and find that the EPC is enhanced in a narrow momentum region around the CDW wave vector. By detuning the incident photon energy from the absorption resonance, we extract an EPC matrix element at the CDW wave vector of $M\simeq$ 0.36 eV, which decreases to $M\simeq$ 0.30 eV at high temperature in the absence of the CDW. Our results suggest a feedback mechanism in which the CDW enhances the EPC which, in turn, further stabilizes the CDW.