Low-energy quasiparticles in cuprate superconductors: A quantitative analysis

A residual linear term is observed in the thermal conductivity of optimally doped Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ at very low temperatures whose magnitude is in excellent agreement with the value expected from Fermi-liquid theory and the d-wave energy spectrum measured by photoemission spectroscopy with no adjustable parameters. This solid basis allows us to make a quantitative analysis of thermodynamic properties at low temperature and establish that thermally excited quasiparticles are a significant, perhaps even the dominant, mechanism in suppressing the superfluid density in cuprate superconductors Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ and YBa₂Cu₃O₇.