No Arabic abstract
We measured dispersive spin excitations in $mathrm{SmFeAsO}$, parent compound of $mathrm{SmFeAsO_{text{1-x}}F_{text{x}}}$ one of the highest temperature superconductors of Fe pnictides (T$_{text{C}}approx$55~K). We determine the magnetic excitations to disperse with a bandwidth energy of ca 170 meV at (0.47, 0) and (0.34, 0.34), which merges into the elastic line approaching the $Gamma$ point. Comparing our results with other parent Fe pnictides, we show the importance of structural parameters for the magnetic excitation spectrum, with small modifications of the tetrahedron angles and As height strongly affecting the magnetism.
Neutron scattering measurements of the magnetic excitations in single crystals of antiferromagnetic CaFe2As2 reveal steeply dispersive and well-defined spin waves up to an energy of 100 meV. Magnetic excitations above 100 meV and up to the maximum energy of 200 meV are however broader in energy and momentum than the experimental resolution. While the low energy modes can be fit to a Heisenberg model, the total spectrum cannot be described as arising from excitations of a local moment system. Ab-initio calculations of the dynamic magnetic susceptibility suggest that the high energy behavior is dominated by the damping of spin waves by particle-hole excitations.
The discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates brings us tantalizingly close to a new material class that mirrors the cuprate superconductors. Here, we report on magnetic excitations in these nickelates, measured using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Ni L3-edge, to shed light on the material complexity and microscopic physics. Undoped NdNiO2 possesses a branch of dispersive excitations with a bandwidth of approximately 200 meV, reminiscent of strongly-coupled, antiferromagnetically aligned spins on a square lattice, despite a lack of evidence for long range magnetic order. The significant damping of these modes indicates the importance of coupling to rare-earth itinerant electrons. Upon doping, the spectral weight and energy decrease slightly, while the modes become overdamped. Our results highlight the role of Mottness in infinite-layer nickelates.
We discuss the magnetic excitations of well-ordered stripe and checkerboard phases, including the high energy magnetic excitations of recent interest and possible connections to the resonance peak in cuprate superconductors. Using a suitably parametrized Heisenberg model and spin wave theory, we study a variety of magnetically ordered configurations, including vertical and diagonal site- and bond-centered stripes and simple checkerboards. We calculate the expected neutron scattering intensities as a function of energy and momentum. At zero frequency, the satellite peaks of even square-wave stripes are suppressed by as much as a factor of 34 below the intensity of the main incommensurate peaks. We further find that at low energy, spin wave cones may not always be resolvable experimentally. Rather, the intensity as a function of position around the cone depends strongly on the coupling across the stripe domain walls. At intermediate energy, we find a saddlepoint at $(pi,pi)$ for a range of couplings, and discuss its possible connection to the resonance peak observed in neutron scattering experiments on cuprate superconductors. At high energy, various structures are possible as a function of coupling strength and configuration, including a high energy square-shaped continuum originally attributed to the quantum excitations of spin ladders. On the other hand, we find that simple checkerboard patterns are inconsistent with experimental results from neutron scattering.
The observation of an unusual spin resonant excitation in the superconducting state of various High-Tc ~copper oxides by inelastic neutron scattering measurements is reviewed. This magnetic mode % (that does not exist in conventional superconductors) is discussed in light of a few theoretical models and likely corresponds to a spin-1 collective mode.
We use inelastic neutron scattering to measure the magnetic excitations in the underdoped superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4 (x=0.085, Tc=22 K) over energy and temperatures ranges 5 < E < 200 meV and 5 < T < 300 K respectively. At high temperature (T = 300 K), we observe strongly damped excitations with a characteristic energy scale of approximately 50 meV. As the temperature is lowered to T = 30 K, and we move into the pseudogap state, the magnetic excitations become highly structured in energy and momentum below about 60 meV. This change appears to be associated with the development of the pseudogap in the electronic excitations.