University of California, Santa Barbara

Title: The Wave-Vector Power Spectrum of the Local Tunneling Density of States: ripples in a d-wave sea

Abstract: A weak scattering potential imposed on a CuO₂ layer of a cuprate superconductor modulates the local density of states N(x,w). In recently reported experimental studies scanning-tunneling maps of N(x,w) have been Fourier transformed to obtain a wave-vector power spectrum. Here, for the case of a weak scattering potential, we discuss the structure of this power spectrum and its relationship to the quasi-particle spectrum and the structure factor of the scattering potential. Examples of quasi-particle interferences in normal metals and s- and d-wave superconductors are discussed.