Detection of Acoustic Plasmons in Hole-Doped Lanthanum and Bismuth Cuprate Superconductors Using Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

High Tc superconductors show a rich variety of phases associated with their charge degrees of freedom. Valence charges can give rise to charge ordering or acoustic plasmons in these layered cuprate superconductors. While charge ordering has been observed for both hole- and electron-doped cuprates, acoustic plasmons have only been found in electron-doped materials. Here, we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering to observe the presence of acoustic plasmons in two families of hole-doped cuprate superconductors (La1.84Sr0.16CuO₄ and Bi₂Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+δ), crucially completing the picture. Interestingly, in contrast to the quasistatic charge ordering which manifests at both Cu and O sites, the observed acoustic plasmons are predominantly associated with the O sites, revealing a unique dichotomy in the behavior of valence charges in hole-doped cuprates.