Unique Charge-density-wave Order and Fluctuation-induced Phonon Softening in the Optimally-doped Trilayer Cuprate Bi$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{10+\delta}$

Abstract

Charge-density-wave (CDW) order is a ubiquitous feature of cuprate superconductors that competes with superconductivity. However, its behavior remains poorly understood in trilayer compounds, which contain the optimal number of CuO$_2$ layers for superconductivity. Here, we report Cu $L_3$- and O $K$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements of optimally-doped Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{10+\delta}$ (Bi2223), the trilayer cuprate with the highest superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$) among Bi-based cuprates. We observe CDW order with a single in-plane wavevector of ${\bm q}_{\text{CDW}} = (0.25, 0)$, demonstrating that a coherent CDW order is formed across the trilayers. We also resolve CDW fluctuations emanating from the static order, whose profiles differ between the Cu $L_3$ and O $K$ edges. The phonon softening occurs where these CDW fluctuations interact with the phonon branch, indicating that the RIXS phonon anomaly is driven by the coupling between CDW fluctuations and the phonon branch.