36 research outputs found
Concerning Order and Disorder in the Ensemble of Cu-O Chain Fragments in Oxygen Deficient Planes of Y-Ba-Cu-O
In connection with numerous X-ray and neutron investigations of some high
temperature superconductors (YBaCuO and related compounds) a
non-trivial part of the structure factor, coming from partly disordered
Cu-O--O-Cu chain fragments, situated within basal planes, CuO, can
be a subject of theoretical interest. Closely connected to such a diffusive
part of the structure factor are the correlation lengths, which are also
available in neutron and X-ray diffraction studies and depend on a degree of
oxygen disorder in a basal plane. The quantitative measure of such a disorder
can be associated with temperature of a sample anneal, , at which oxygen
in a basal plane remains frozen-in high temperature equilibrium after a fast
quench of a sample to room or lower temperature. The structure factor evolution
with is vizualized in figures after the numerical calculations. The
theoretical approach employed in the paper has been developed for the
orthorhombic state of YBCO.Comment: Revtex, 27 pages, 14 PostScript figures upon request, ITP/GU/94/0
Spin Susceptibility in Underdoped
We report a comprehensive polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering study
of the evolution of the dynamical spin susceptibility with temperature and
doping in three underdoped single crystals of the \YBCO{6+x} high temperature
superconductor: \YBCO{6.5} (Tc = 52 K), \YBCO{6.7} (Tc = 67 K), and \YBCO{6.85}
(T_c = 87 K). Theoretical implications of these data are discussed, and a
critique of recent attempts to relate the spin excitations to the
thermodynamics of high temperature superconductors is given.Comment: minor revisions, to appear in PR
Enhancement of long-range magnetic order by magnetic field in superconducting La2CuO(4+y)
We report a detailed study, using neutron scattering, transport and
magnetization measurements, of the interplay between superconducting (SC) and
spin density wave (SDW) order in La2CuO(4+y). Both kinds of order set in below
the same critical temperature. However, the SDW order grows with applied
magnetic field, whereas SC order is suppressed. Most importantly, the field
dependence of the SDW Bragg peak intensity has a cusp at zero field, as
predicted by a recent theory of competing SDW and SC order. This leads us to
conclude that there is a repulsive coupling between the two order parameters.
The question of whether the two kinds of order coexist or microscopically phase
separate is discussed.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B. Improved discussion
in connection with the muSR result
Spectral Properties of Quasiparticle Excitations Induced by Magnetic Moments in Superconductors
The consequences of localized, classical magnetic moments in superconductors
are explored and their effect on the spectral properties of the intragap bound
states is studied. Above a critical moment, a localized quasiparticle
excitation in an s-wave superconductor is spontaneously created near a magnetic
impurity, inducing a zero-temperature quantum transition. In this transition,
the spin quantum number of the ground state changes from zero to 1/2, while the
total charge remains the same. In contrast, the spin-unpolarized ground state
of a d-wave superconductor is found to be stable for any value of the magnetic
moment when the normal-state energy spectrum possesses particle-hole symmetry.
The effect of impurity scattering on the quasiparticle states is interpreted in
the spirit of relevant symmetries of the clean superconductor. The results
obtained by the non-self-consistent (T matrix) and the self-consistent
mean-field approximations are compared and qualitative agreement between the
two schemes is found in the regime where the coherence length is longer than
the Fermi length.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. B55, May 1st (1997
Translational Symmetry Breaking in the Superconducting State of the Cuprates: Analysis of the Quasiparticle Density of States
Motivated by the recent STM experiments of J.E. Hoffman et.al. and C. Howald
et.al., we study the effects of weak translational symmetry breaking on the
quasiparticle spectrum of a d-wave superconductor. We develop a general
formalism to discuss periodic charge order, as well as quasiparticle scattering
off localized defects. We argue that the STM experiments in
cannot be explained using a simple charge density
wave order parameter, but are consistent with the presence of a periodic
modulation in the electron hopping or pairing amplitude. We review the effects
of randomness and pinning of the charge order and compare it to the impurity
scattering of quasiparticles. We also discuss implications of weak
translational symmetry breaking for ARPES experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figs; (v2) minor corrections to formalism, discussions of
dispersion, structure factors and sum rules added; (v3) discussion of
space-dependent normalization added. To be published in PR
Hidden Order in the Cuprates
We propose that the enigmatic pseudogap phase of cuprate superconductors is
characterized by a hidden broken symmetry of d(x^2-y^2)-type. The transition to
this state is rounded by disorder, but in the limit that the disorder is made
sufficiently small, the pseudogap crossover should reveal itself to be such a
transition. The ordered state breaks time-reversal, translational, and
rotational symmetries, but it is invariant under the combination of any two. We
discuss these ideas in the context of ten specific experimental properties of
the cuprates, and make several predictions, including the existence of an
as-yet undetected metal-metal transition under the superconducting dome.Comment: 12 pages of RevTeX, 9 eps figure
Magnetotransport in the Normal State of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 Films
We have studied the magnetotransport properties in the normal state for a
series of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 films with values of y, between 0 and
0.12. A variable degree of compressive or tensile strain results from the
lattice mismatch between the substrate and the film, and affects the transport
properties differently from the influence of the zinc impurities. In
particular, the orbital magnetoresistance (OMR) varies with y but is
strain-independent. The relations for the resistivity and the Hall angle and
the proportionality between the OMR and tan^2 theta are followed about 70 K. We
have been able to separate the strain and impurity effects by rewriting the
above relations, where each term is strain-independent and depends on y only.
We also find that changes in the lattice constants give rise to closely the
same fractional changes in other terms of the equation.The OMR is more strongly
supressed by the addition of impurities than tan^2 theta. We conclude that the
relaxation ratethat governs Hall effect is not the same as for the
magnetoresistance. We also suggest a correspondence between the transport
properties and the opening of the pseudogap at a temperature which changes when
the La-sr ratio changes, but does not change with the addition of the zinc
impurities
Competing orders in a magnetic field: spin and charge order in the cuprate superconductors
We describe two-dimensional quantum spin fluctuations in a superconducting
Abrikosov flux lattice induced by a magnetic field applied to a doped Mott
insulator. Complete numerical solutions of a self-consistent large N theory
provide detailed information on the phase diagram and on the spatial structure
of the dynamic spin spectrum. Our results apply to phases with and without
long-range spin density wave order and to the magnetic quantum critical point
separating these phases. We discuss the relationship of our results to a number
of recent neutron scattering measurements on the cuprate superconductors in the
presence of an applied field. We compute the pinning of static charge order by
the vortex cores in the `spin gap' phase where the spin order remains
dynamically fluctuating, and argue that these results apply to recent scanning
tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements. We show that with a single typical
set of values for the coupling constants, our model describes the field
dependence of the elastic neutron scattering intensities, the absence of
satellite Bragg peaks associated with the vortex lattice in existing neutron
scattering observations, and the spatial extent of charge order in STM
observations. We mention implications of our theory for NMR experiments. We
also present a theoretical discussion of more exotic states that can be built
out of the spin and charge order parameters, including spin nematics and phases
with `exciton fractionalization'.Comment: 36 pages, 33 figures; for a popular introduction, see
http://onsager.physics.yale.edu/superflow.html; (v2) Added reference to new
work of Chen and Ting; (v3) reorganized presentation for improved clarity,
and added new appendix on microscopic origin; (v4) final published version
with minor change
Colossal dielectric constants in transition-metal oxides
Many transition-metal oxides show very large ("colossal") magnitudes of the
dielectric constant and thus have immense potential for applications in modern
microelectronics and for the development of new capacitance-based
energy-storage devices. In the present work, we thoroughly discuss the
mechanisms that can lead to colossal values of the dielectric constant,
especially emphasising effects generated by external and internal interfaces,
including electronic phase separation. In addition, we provide a detailed
overview and discussion of the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 and related
systems, which is today's most investigated material with colossal dielectric
constant. Also a variety of further transition-metal oxides with large
dielectric constants are treated in detail, among them the system La2-xSrxNiO4
where electronic phase separation may play a role in the generation of a
colossal dielectric constant.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. for publication in
the Special Topics volume "Cooperative Phenomena in Solids: Metal-Insulator
Transitions and Ordering of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom
Lucy Mission to the Trojan Asteroids: Science Goals
The Lucy Mission is a NASA Discovery-class mission to send a highly capable and robust spacecraft to investigate seven primitive bodies near both the L4 and L5 Lagrange points with Jupiter: the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These planetesimals from the outer planetary system have been preserved since early in solar system history. The Lucy mission will fly by and extensively study a diverse selection of Trojan asteroids, including all the recognized taxonomic classes, a collisional family member, and a near equal-mass binary. It will visit objects with diameters ranging from roughly 1 km to 100 km. The payload suite consists of a color camera and infrared imaging spectrometer, a high-resolution panchromatic imager, and a thermal infrared spectrometer. Additionally, two spacecraft subsystems will also contribute to the science investigations: the terminal tracking cameras will supplement imaging during closest approach and the telecommunication subsystem will be used to measure the mass of the Trojans. The science goals are derived from the 2013 Planetary Decadal Survey and include determining the surface composition, assessing the geology, determining the bulk properties, and searching for satellites and rings