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ABSTRACT Although it is generally accepted that superconductivity is unconventional in the high-transition-temperature copper oxides, the relative importance of phenomena such as spin and

charge (stripe) order, superconductivity fluctuations, proximity to a Mott insulator, a pseudogap phase and quantum criticality are still a matter of debate1. In electron-doped copper

oxides, the absence of an anomalous pseudogap phase in the underdoped region of the phase diagram2 and weaker electron correlations3,4 suggest that Mott physics and other unidentified

competing orders are less relevant and that antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are the dominant feature. Here we report a study of magnetotransport in thin films of the electron-doped

copper oxide La2 − _x_Ce _x_ CuO4. We show that a scattering rate that is linearly dependent on temperature—a key feature of the anomalous normal state properties of the copper oxides—is

correlated with the electron pairing. We also show that an envelope of such scattering surrounds the superconducting phase, surviving to zero temperature when superconductivity is suppressed

by magnetic fields. Comparison with similar behaviour found in organic superconductors5 strongly suggests that the linear dependence on temperature of the resistivity in the electron-doped

copper oxides is caused by spin-fluctuation scattering. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS

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institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS SCALING OF THE STRANGE-METAL SCATTERING IN UNCONVENTIONAL SUPERCONDUCTORS

Article 16 February 2022 INTERPLAY BETWEEN HOLE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND QUANTUM CRITICAL ANTIFERROMAGNETIC FLUCTUATIONS IN ELECTRON-DOPED CUPRATES Article Open access 20 March 2025

SINGLE-DOMAIN STRIPE ORDER IN A HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR Article Open access 21 November 2022 REFERENCES * Norman, M. R. The challenge of unconventional superconductivity. _Science_

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Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank L. Taillefer for extensive discussions and N. Doiron-Leyraud for some preliminary analysis of our zero-field data. We also appreciate

discussions with A. Chubukov, A. Millis and C. Varma. Some experimental help was provided by X. Zhang, P. Bach and G. Droulers. This research was supported by the NSF under DMR-0952716 (J.P.

and K.K.) and DMR-0653535 (R.L.G.) and the Maryland Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials (K.J. and N.P.B.). AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Center for Nanophysics

& Advanced Materials, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA , K. Jin, N. P. Butch, K. Kirshenbaum, J. Paglione & R. L. Greene * Department of Physics, University

of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA, K. Jin, N. P. Butch, K. Kirshenbaum, J. Paglione & R. L. Greene Authors * K. Jin View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar * N. P. Butch View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * K. Kirshenbaum View author publications You can also

search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * J. Paglione View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * R. L. Greene View author publications You

can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS K.J. prepared and characterized the thin-film samples. K.J., N.P.B., K.K. and J.P. performed the transport measurements

and data analysis. N.P.B., J.P. and R.L.G. wrote the manuscript. R.L.G. conceived and directed the project. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to R. L. Greene. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING

INTERESTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION This file contains Supplementary Text and Supplementary Figures 1-6 with

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CITE THIS ARTICLE Jin, K., Butch, N., Kirshenbaum, K. _et al._ Link between spin fluctuations and electron pairing in copper oxide superconductors. _Nature_ 476, 73–75 (2011).

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10308 Download citation * Received: 04 March 2011 * Accepted: 15 June 2011 * Published: 03 August 2011 * Issue Date: 04 August 2011 * DOI:

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