Anisotropic electron damping and energy gap in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+𝛿
The many-body electron-electron interaction in cuprates causes broadening of the electronic bands in 𝒌 space, leading to a deviation from the standard Fermi liquid. While a 𝒌-dependent anisotropic electronic scattering (𝒌-DAES) has been assessed by photoemission, its fingerprint in 𝑸 space has been scarcely considered. Here, we explore the 𝑸-dependent electron dynamics in optimally doped Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+𝛿 through the evolution of low-energy charge excitations as measured by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). In the normal state, the RIXS spectra display a continuum of excitations down to 0 meV, while the superconducting state features a spectral weight suppression below 80 meV without any enhancement at higher energies. To interpret the energy and 𝑸 evolution of our data, we introduce a phenomenological expression of the charge susceptibility by including the 𝒌-DAES. We show that only the charge susceptibility with 𝒌-DAES captures the RIXS data, highlighting the importance of 𝒌-DAES when describing the 𝑸 dependence of charge excitations from 0 to a few eV scale. Furthermore, we also find that the inclusion of 𝒌-DAES is essential when quantitative parameters such as the electronic energy gap are extracted from RIXS data.