  In high-temperature superconductivity, the process that leads to the
formation of Cooper pairs, the fundamental charge carriers in any
superconductor, remains mysterious. We use a femtosecond laser pump pulse to
perturb superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta}, and study subsequent dynamics
using time- and angle-resolved photoemission and infrared reflectivity probes.
Gap and quasiparticle population dynamics reveal marked dependencies on both
excitation density and crystal momentum. Close to the d-wave nodes, the
superconducting gap is sensitive to the pump intensity and Cooper pairs
recombine slowly. Far from the nodes pumping affects the gap only weakly and
recombination processes are faster. These results demonstrate a new window into
the dynamical processes that govern quasiparticle recombination and gap
formation in cuprates.
