No Arabic abstract
Muon spin rotation measurements supported by magnetization experiments have been carried out in a stoichiometric high-$T_c$ parent compound La$_2$CuO$_4$ in %the a temperature range from 2~K to 340~K and in transverse magnetic fields up to 5~T. Along with the antiferromagnetic local field, muon spin rotation spectra indicate presence of an additional source of magnetic field on the muon. The characteristic splitting of about 45~G coming from this additional magnetic field is consistent with spontaneous circulating currents model of Varma.
The transition temperature $T_textrm{c}$ of unconventional superconductivity is often tunable. For a monolayer of FeSe, for example, the sweet spot is uniquely bound to titanium-oxide substrates. By contrast for La$_{2-mathrm{x}}$Sr$_mathrm{x}$CuO$_4$ thin films, such substrates are sub-optimal and the highest $T_textrm{c}$ is instead obtained using LaSrAlO$_4$. An outstanding challenge is thus to understand the optimal conditions for superconductivity in thin films: which microscopic parameters drive the change in $T_mathrm{c}$ and how can we tune them? Here we demonstrate, by a combination of x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectroscopy, how the Coulomb and magnetic-exchange interaction of La$_2$CuO$_4$ thin films can be enhanced by compressive strain. Our experiments and theoretical calculations establish that the substrate producing the largest $T_textrm{c}$ under doping also generates the largest nearest neighbour hopping integral, Coulomb and magnetic-exchange interaction. We hence suggest optimising the parent Mott state as a strategy for enhancing the superconducting transition temperature in cuprates.
The dynamics of S=1/2 quantum spins on a 2D square lattice lie at the heart of the mystery of the cuprates cite{Hayden2004,Vignolle2007,Li2010,LeTacon2011,Coldea2001,Headings2010,Braicovich2010}. In bulk cuprates such as LCO{}, the presence of a weak interlayer coupling stabilizes 3D N{e}el order up to high temperatures. In a truly 2D system however, thermal spin fluctuations melt long range order at any finite temperature cite{Mermin1966}. Further, quantum spin fluctuations transfer magnetic spectral weight out of a well-defined magnon excitation into a magnetic continuum, the nature of which remains controversial cite{Sandvik2001,Ho2001,Christensen2007,Headings2010}. Here, we measure the spin response of emph{isolated one-unit-cell thick layers} of LCO{}. We show that coherent magnons persist even in a single layer of LCO{} despite the loss of magnetic order, with no evidence for resonating valence bond (RVB)-like spin correlations cite{Anderson1987,Hsu1990,Christensen2007}. Thus these excitations are well described by linear spin wave theory (LSWT). We also observe a high-energy magnetic continuum in the isotropic magnetic response. This high-energy continuum is not well described by 2 magnon LSWT, or indeed any existing theories.
We have studied the thermal conductivity $kappa$ on single crystalline samples of the antiferromagnetic monolayer cuprates R$_2$CuO$_4$ with R = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd. For a heat current within the CuO$_2$ planes, i.e. for $kappa_{ab}$ we find high-temperature anomalies around 250 K in all samples. In contrast, the thermal conductivity $kappa_c$ perpendicular to the CuO$_2$ planes, which we measured for R = La, Pr, and Gd, shows a conventional temperature dependence as expected for a purely phononic thermal conductivity. This qualitative anisotropy of $kappa_i$ and the anomalous temperature dependence of $kappa_{ab}$ give evidence for a significant magnetic contribution $kappa_{mag}$ to the heat transport within the CuO$_2$ planes. Our results suggest, that a large magnetic contribution to the heat current is a common feature of single-layer cuprates. We find that $kappa_{mag}$ is hardly affected by structural instabilities, whereas already weak charge carrier doping causes a strong suppression of $kappa_{mag}$.
Understanding the nature of the mysterious pseudogap phenomenon is one of the most important issues associated with cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductors. Here, we report $^{17}$O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies on two planar oxygen sites in stoichiometric cuprate YBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ to investigate the symmetry breaking inside the pseudogap phase. We observe that the Knight shifts of the two oxygen sites are identical at high temperatures but different below $T_{rm nem} sim$ 185 K, which is close to the pseudogap temperature $T^{ast}$. Our result provides a microscopic evidence for intra-unit-cell electronic nematicity. The difference in quadrupole resonance frequency between the two oxygen sites is unchanged below $T_{rm nem}$, which suggests that the observed nematicity does not directly stem from the local charge density modulation. Furthermore, a short-range charge density wave (CDW) order is observed below $T simeq$ 150 K. The additional broadening in the $^{17}$O-NMR spectra because of this CDW order is determined to be inequivalent for the two oxygen sites, which is similar to that observed in case of nematicity. These results suggest a possible connection between nematicity, CDW order, and pseudogap.
Using polarized neutron scattering we establish that the magnetic order in La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$ is either (i) one dimensionally modulated and collinear, consistent with the stripe model or (ii) two dimensionally modulated with a novel noncollinear structure. The measurements rule out a number of alternative models characterized by 2D electronic order or 1D helical spin order. The low-energy spin excitations are found to be primarily transversely polarized relative to the stripe ordered state, consistent with conventional spin waves.