Superconducting Gap vs. Wave Vector: Evidence for Hot Regions on the Fermi Surface

We have used angular resolved photoemission to measure the angular dependence of the superconducting gap in highly overdoped Bi2212 (Tc=65K). While the node at 45 degrees is conserved, we find substantial deviation from a first order d-wave dependence away from the node. The pairing susceptibility is peaked at special regions on the Fermi surface. Comparing these results with a detailed mapping of the Fermi surface we performed, we could measure the extension and location of these hot regions. We find the hot regions to be evenly spread about the nominal locations of hot spots. The decrease of the gap amplitude away from these hot regions follows very closely theoretical calculations within the spin fluctuation approach. These results strongly suggest that the pairing susceptibility is peaked at Q=(Pi,Pi).