Light-Induced Melting of Competing Stripe Orders without Introducing Superconductivity in La$_\mathbf{2-x}$Ba$_\mathbf{x}$CuO$_\mathbf{4}$

Abstract: The ultrafast manipulation of quantum material has led to many novel and significant discoveries. Among them, the light-induced transient superconductivity in cuprates achieved by melting competing stripe orders represents a highly appealing accomplishment. However, recent investigations have shown that the notion of photoinduced superconductivity remains a topic of controversy, and its elucidation solely through c-axis time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy remains an arduous task. Here, we measure the in-plane and out-of-plane transient terahertz responses simultaneously in the stripe-ordered non-superconducting La${2-x}$Ba${x}$CuO$_4$ after near-infrared excitations. We find that although a pump-induced reflectivity edge appears in the c-axis reflectance spectrum, the reflectivity along the CuO$_2$ planes decreases simultaneously, indicating an enhancement in the scattering rate of quasiparticles. This in-plane transient response is clearly distinct from the features associated with superconducting condensation. Therefore, we conclude the out-of-plane transient responses cannot be explained by an equivalent of Josephson tunneling. Notably, those pump-induced terahertz responses remain consistent even when we vary the near-infrared optical pump wavelengths and hole concentrations. Our results provide a critical evidence that transient three-dimensional superconductivity cannot be induced by melting the competing stripe orders with pump pulses whose photon energy is much higher than the superconducting gap of cuprates.