Universal spin texture in high-temperature cuprate superconductors

Spin-orbit coupling emerging out of a material's global inversion symmetry breaking has been long known to act as a pair breaking mechanism to the superconducting order parameter. However, when spin-orbit coupling emerges from local inversion symmetry breaking, an unexpected coexistence with superconductivity might occur. Little is known about the connection between spin-orbit coupling and local lattice asymmetry, and how the combination of the two can impact electronic properties and the microscopic classification of the order parameter. By using high-resolution spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we performed a full doping dependent study of the spin-orbit coupling previously found in cuprates to examine this interplay. The implication of this connection in steering the ground state properties of cuprates superconductors is discussed.