The La-based 214 cuprates host several symmetry breaking phases including superconductivity, charge and spin order in the form of stripes, and a structural othorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition. Therefore, these materials are an ideal system to study the effects of uniaxial stress onto the various correlations that pervade the cuprate phase diagram. We report resonant x-ray scattering experiments on $textrm{La}_{1.475}textrm{Nd}_{0.4}textrm{Sr}_{0.125}textrm{Cu}textrm{O}_{4}$ (LNSCO-125) that reveal a significant response of charge stripes to uniaxial tensile-stress of $sim$ 0.1 GPa. These effects include a reduction of the onset temperature of stripes by $sim$ 50 K, a 29 K reduction of the low-temperature orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition, competition between charge order and superconductivity, and a preference for stripes to form along the direction of applied stress. Altogether, we observe a dramatic response of the electronic properties of LNSCO-125 to a modest amount of uniaxial stress.
Download