Linear dependence of peak width in \chi(\bq, \omega) vs T_c for YBCO superconductors

It is shown that the momentum space width of the peak in the spin susceptibility, Im$\chi(q,\omega)$, is linearly proportional to the superconducting $T_c$: $T_c = \hbar v^*\Delta q$ with $\hbar v^* \simeq 35 meV$\AA. This relation is similar to the linear relation between incommensurate peak splitting and $T_c$ in LaSrCuO superconductors, as first proposed by Yamada et al. (Phys. Rev. B 57, 6165, (1998)). The velocity $\hbar v^*$ is smaller than Fermi velocity or the spin-wave velocity of the parent compound and remains the same for a wide doping range. This result points towards strong similarities in magnetic state of YBCO and LaSrCuO.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, latex fil

Testing of a novel web browser interface for the Chinese market

This paper compares the perspicacity, appropriateness and preference of web browser icons from leading software providers with those of a culture-specific design. This online study was conducted in Taiwan and involved 103 participants, who were given three sets of web browser icons to review, namely Microsoft Internet Explorer, Macintosh Safari, and culturally specific icons created using the Culture-Centred Design methodology. The findings of the study show that all three sets have generally high recognition rates, but that some icon functions (e.g. Go/Visit and Favourite) in all three sets have poor recognition rates and are considered inappropriate

Neutron scattering study of ferroelectric Sn2P2S6 under pressure

Ferroelectric phase transition in the semiconductor Sn2P2S6 single crystal has been studied by means of neutron scattering in the pressure-temperature range adjacent to the anticipated tricritical Lifshitz point (p=0.18GPa, T=296K). The observations reveal a direct ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in the whole investigated pressure range (0.18 - 0.6GPa). These results are in a clear disagreement with phase diagrams assumed in numerous earlier works, according to which a hypothetical intermediate incommensurate phase extends over several or even tens of degrees in the 0.5GPa pressure range. Temperature dependence of the anisotropic quasielastic diffuse scattering suggests that polarization fluctuations present above TC are strongly reduced in the ordered phase. Still, the temperature dependence of the (200) Bragg reflection intensity at p=0.18GPa can be remarkably well modeled assuming the order-parameter amplitude growth according to the power law with logarithmic corrections predicted for a uniaxial ferroelectric transition at the tricritical Lifshitz point

Bulk and surface low-energy excitations in YBa2Cu3O7-d studied by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on YBa2Cu3O7-delta (Y123; delta = 0.06; Tc = 92 K). By accurately determining the Fermi surface and energy band dispersion, we solve long-standing controversial issues as to the anomalous electronic states of Y-based high-Tc cuprates. We unambiguously identified surface-bilayer-derived bonding and antibonding bands, together with their bulk counterparts. The surface bands are highly overdoped (hole concentration x = 0.29), showing no evidence for the gap opening or the dispersion anomaly in the antinodal region, while the bulk bands show a clear dx2-y2-wave superconducting gap and the Bogoliubov quasiparticle-like behavior with a characteristic energy scale of 50-60 meV indicative of a strong electron-boson coupling in the superconducting state. All these results suggest that the metallic and superconducting states coexist at the adjacent bilayer of Y123 surface.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

2D orbital-like magnetic order in La2−xSrxCuO4{\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}

In high temperature copper oxides superconductors, a novel magnetic order associated with the pseudogap phase has been identified in two different cuprate families over a wide region of temperature and doping. We here report the observation below 120 K of a similar magnetic ordering in the archetypal cuprate ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$ (LSCO) system for x=0.085. In contrast to the previous reports, the magnetic ordering in LSCO is {\it\bf only} short range with an in-plane correlation length of $\sim$ 10 \AA\ and is bidimensional (2D). Such a less pronounced order suggests an interaction with other electronic instabilities. In particular, LSCO also exhibits a strong tendency towards stripes ordering at the expense of the superconducting state.Comment: 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Quantum Statistics of Interacting Dimer Spin Systems

The compound TlCuCl3 represents a model system of dimerized quantum spins with strong interdimer interactions. We investigate the triplet dispersion as a function of temperature by inelastic neutron scattering experiments on single crystals. By comparison with a number of theoretical approaches we demonstrate that the description of Troyer, Tsunetsugu, and Wuertz [Phys. Rev. B 50, 13515 (1994)] provides an appropriate quantum statistical model for dimer spin systems at finite temperatures, where many-body correlations become particularly important.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Charge Segregation and Antiferromagnetism in High-Tc Superconductors

Local antiferromagnetism coexists with superconductivity in the cuprates. Charge segregation provides a way to reconcile these properties. Direct evidence for modulated spin and charge densities has been found in neutron and X-ray scattering studies of Nd-doped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4). Here we discuss the nature of the modulation, and present some new results for a Zn-doped sample. Some of the open questions concerning the connections between segregation and superconductivity are described.Comment: 9 pp using elsart.sty, 3 eps figures included with psfig.sty, for Proc. of ISSP-7, to be published in J. Phys. Chem. Solid

Stripe order, depinning, and fluctuations in La1.875_{1.875}Ba0.125_{0.125}CuO4_{4} and La1.875_{1.875}Ba0.075_{0.075}Sr0.050_{0.050}CuO4_{4}

We present a neutron scattering study of stripe correlations measured on a single crystal of La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_{4}$. Within the low-temperature-tetragonal (LTT) phase, superlattice peaks indicative of spin and charge stripe order are observed below 50 K. For excitation energies $\hbar\omega\le12$ meV, we have characterized the magnetic excitations that emerge from the incommensurate magnetic superlattice peaks. In the ordered state, these excitations are similar to spin waves. Following these excitations as a function of temperature, we find that there is relatively little change in the {\bf Q}-integrated dynamical spin susceptibility for $\hbar\omega\sim10$ meV as stripe order disappears and then as the structure transforms from LTT to the low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) phase. The {\bf Q}-integrated signal at lower energies changes more dramatically through these transitions, as it must in a transformation from an ordered to a disordered state. We argue that the continuous evolution through the transitions provides direct evidence that the incommensurate spin excitations in the disordered state are an indicator of dynamical charge stripes. An interesting feature of the thermal evolution is a variation in the incommensurability of the magnetic scattering. Similar behavior is observed in measurements on a single crystal of La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.075}$Sr$_{0.050}$CuO$_{4}$; maps of the scattered intensity in a region centered on the antiferromagnetic wave vector and measured at $\hbar\omega=4$ meV are well reproduced by a model of disordered stripes with a temperature-dependent mixture of stripe spacings. We discuss the relevance of our results to understanding the magnetic excitations in cuprate superconductors.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl