We present neutron scattering spectra taken from a single crystal of Na0.75CoO2, the precursor to a novel cobalt-oxide superconductor. The data contain a prominent inelastic signal at low energies (~10 meV), which is localized in wavevector about the origin of two-dimensional reciprocal space. The signal is highly dispersive, and decreases in intensity with increasing temperature. We interpret these observations as direct evidence for the existence of ferromagnetic spin fluctuations within the cobalt-oxygen layers.
We report neutron inelastic scattering measurements on the stoichiometric iron-based superconductor LiFeAs. We find evidence for (i) magnetic scattering consistent with strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations, and (ii) an increase in intensity in the superconducting state at low energies, similar to the resonant magnetic excitation observed in other iron-based superconductors. The results do not support a recent theoretical prediction of spin-triplet p-wave superconductivity in LiFeAs, and instead suggest that the mechanism of superconductivity is similar to that in the other iron-based superconductors.
We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the magnetic excitations in SrFe2As2, the parent of a family of iron-based superconductors. The data extend throughout the Brillouin zone and up to energies of ~260meV. An analysis with the local-moment J_1-J2 model implies very different in-plane nearest-neighbor exchange parameters along the $a$ and $b$ directions, both in the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases. However, the spectrum calculated from the J1-J2 model deviates significantly from our data. We show that the qualitative features that cannot be described by the J1-J2 model are readily explained by calculations from a 5-band itinerant mean-field model.
Neutron scattering can provide detailed information about the energy and momentum dependence of the magnetic dynamics of materials provided sufficiently large single crystals are available. This requirement has limited the number of rare earth high temperature superconducting materials that have been studied in any detail. However, improvements in crystal growth in recent years has resulted in considerable progress in our understanding of the behaviour of the magnetism of the CuO planes in both the superconducting and normal state. This review will focus primarily on the spin fluctuations in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} and YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} since these are the two systems for which the most detailed results are available. Although gaps in our understanding remain, there is now a consistent picture of on the spin fluctuation spectra in both systems as well as the changes induced by the superconducting transition. For both La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} and underdoped YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} the normal state response is characterised by incommensurate magnetic fluctuations. The low energy excitations are suppressed by the superconducting transition with a corresponding enhancement in the response at higher energies. For YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} the superconducting state is accompanied by the rapid development of a commensurate resonant response whose energy varies with T_{c}. In underdoped samples this resonance persists above T_{c}.
Neutron scattering measurements were performed to investigate magnetic excitations in a single-crystal sample of the ternary iron arsenide BaFe2As2, a parent compound of a recently discovered family of Fe-based superconductors. In the ordered state, we observe low energy spin-wave excitations with a gap energy of 9.8(4) meV. The in-plane spin-wave velocity v_ab and out-of-plane spin-wave velocity v_c measured at 12 meV are 280(150) and 57(7) meV A, respectively. At high energy, we observe anisotropic scattering centered at the antiferromagnetic wave vectors. This scattering indicates two-dimensional spin dynamics, which possibly exist inside the Stoner continuum. At T_N=136(1) K, the gap closes, and quasi-elastic scattering is observed above T_N, indicative of short-range spin fluctuations. In the paramagnetic state, the scattering intensity along the L direction becomes rodlike, characteristic of uncorrelated out-of-plane spins, attesting to the two-dimensionality of the system.
How coherent quasiparticles emerge by doping quantum antiferromagnets is a key question in correlated electron systems, whose resolution is needed to elucidate the phase diagram of copper oxides. Recent resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments in hole-doped cuprates have purported to measure high-energy collective spin excitations that persist well into the overdoped regime and bear a striking resemblance to those found in the parent compound, challenging the perception that spin excitations should weaken with doping and have a diminishing effect on superconductivity. Here we show that RIXS at the Cu L3-edge indeed provides access to the spin dynamical structure factor once one considers the full influence of light polarization. Further we demonstrate that high-energy spin excitations do not correlate with the doping dependence of Tc, while low-energy excitations depend sensitively on doping and show ferromagnetic correlations. This suggests that high-energy spin excitations are marginal to pairing in cuprate superconductors.