524 research outputs found
High resolution X-ray scattering studies of structural phase transitions in underdoped LaBaCuO
We have studied structural phase transitions in high quality underdoped
LaBaCuO single crystals using high resolution x-ray scattering
techniques. Critical properties associated with the continuous High Temperature
Tetragonal (HTT, ) to Middle Temperature Orthorhombic (MTO, )
phase transition were investigated in single crystal samples with x=0.125,
0.095, and 0.08 and we find that all behavior is consistent with three
dimensional XY criticality, as expected from theory. Power law behavior in the
orthorhombic strain, 2(a-b)/(a+b), is observed over a remarkably wide
temperature range, spanning most of the MTO regime in the phase diagram. Low
temperature measurements investigating the Low Temperature Tetragonal (LTT,
) phase, below the strongly discontinuous MTOLTT phase
transition, in x=0.125 and x=0.095 samples show that the LTT phase is
characterized by relatively broad Bragg scattering, compared with that observed
at related wavevectors in the HTT phase. This shows that the LTT phase is
either an admixture of tetragonal and orthorhombic phases, or that it is
orthorhombic with very small orthorhombic strain, consistent with the ``less
orthorhombic" low temperature structure previously reported in mixed
LaSrBaCuO single crystals. We compare the complex
temperature-composition phase diagram for the location of structural and
superconducting phase transitions in underdoped LaBaCuO and
find good agreement with results obtained on polycrystalline samples.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Kondo Insulator: p-wave Bose Condensate of Excitons
In the Anderson lattice model for a mixed-valent system, the
hybridization can possess a -wave symmetry. The strongly-correlated
insulating phase in the mean-field approximation is shown to be a -wave Bose
condensate of excitons with a spontaneous lattice deformation. We study the
equilibrium and linear response properties across the insulator-metal
transition. Our theory supports the empirical correlation between the lattice
deformation and the magnetic susceptibility and predicts measurable ultrasonic
and high-frequency phonon behavior in mixed-valent semiconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 3 encapsulated PostScript figure
Stripes and spin-incommensurabilities are favored by lattice anisotropies
Structural distortions in cuprate materials give a natural origin for
anisotropies in electron properties. We study a modified one-band t-J model in
which we allow for different hoppings and antiferromagnetic couplings in the
two spatial directions ( and ). Incommensurate peaks
in the spin structure factor show up only in the presence of a lattice
anisotropy, whereas charge correlations, indicating enhanced fluctuations at
incommensurate wave vectors, are almost unaffected with respect to the
isotropic case.Comment: accepted for publication on Physical Review Letters, one color figur
Soft phonons and structural phase transitions in LaBaCuO
Soft phonon behavior associated with a structural phase transition from the
low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) phase ( symmetry) to the
low-temperature-tetragonal (LTT) phase ( symmetry) was investigated
in LaBaCuO using neutron scattering. As temperature
decreases, the TO-mode at -point softens and approaches to zero energy
around K, where the LTO -- LTT transition occurs. Below , the phonon hardens quite rapidly and it's energy almost saturates below
50 K. At , the energy dispersion of the soft phonon along in-plane
direction significantly changes while the dispersion along out-of-plane
direction is almost temperature independent. Coexistence between the LTO phase
and the LTT phase, seen in both the soft phonon spectra and the peak profiles
of Bragg reflection, is discussed in context of the order of structural phase
transitions.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
Gigantic anisotropic uniaxial pressure effect on superconductivity within the CuO2 plane of La1.64Eu0.2Sr0.16CuO4 - strain control of stripe criticality
The effect of uniaxial pressure on superconductivity was examined for a
high-Tc cuprate La1.64Eu0.2Sr0.16CuO4, which is located at the boundary between
the superconducting and stripe phases. We found remarkably large anisotropy of
the uniaxial pressure effect not only between the in-plane and out-of-plane
pressures but also within the CuO2-plane. When the pressure is applied along
the tetragonal [110] direction, we found the largest pressure effect ever
observed in cuprates, dTc/dP - 2.5 K/kbar, while the change of Tc was not
appreciable when applied along [100]. This substantial in-plane anisotropy is
attributed to an intimate link between the symmetry of the one-dimensional
stripes and that of the strain produced within the CuO2 plane.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure
Coexistence of Band Jahn Teller Distortion and superconductivity in correlated systems
The co-existence of band Jahn-Teller (BJT) effect with superconductivity (SC)
is studied for correlated systems, with orbitally degenerate bands using a
simple model. The Hubbard model for a doubly degenerate orbital with the
on-site intraorbital Coulomb repulsion treated in the slave boson formalism and
the interorbital Coulomb repulsion treated in the Hartree-Fock mean field
approximation, describes the correlated system. The model further incorporates
the BJT interaction and a pairing term to account for the lattice distortion
and superconductivity respectively. It is found that structural distortion
tends to suppress superconductivity and when SC sets in at low temperatures,
the growth of the lattice distortion is arrested. The phase diagram comprising
of the SC and structural transition temperatures and versus the
dopant concentration reveals that the highest obtainable for an
optimum doping is limited by structural transition. The dependence of the
occupation probabilities of the different bands as well as the density of
states (DOS) in the distorted-superconducting phase, on electron correlation
has been discussed.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 4 figuers (postscript files attached) Journal
Reference : Phys. Rev. B (accepted for publication
Neutron scattering study of soft phonons and diffuse scattering in insulating LaSrCuO
Soft phonons and diffuse scattering in insulating LaSrCuO
() have been studied by the neutron scattering technique. The X-point
phonon softens from high temperature towards the structural transition
temperature K, and the Z-point phonon softens again below 200 K.
The Z-point phonon softening persists to low temperature, in contrast to the
behavior observed in the superconducting compound, in which the
Z-point phonon hardens below . The diffuse scattering associated with the
structural phase transition at 410 K appears at commensurate positions. These
results highlight interesting differences between superconducting and
insulating samples.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Path integral Monte Carlo simulations of silicates
We investigate the thermal expansion of crystalline SiO in the --
cristobalite and the -quartz structure with path integral Monte Carlo
(PIMC) techniques. This simulation method allows to treat low-temperature
quantum effects properly. At temperatures below the Debye temperature, thermal
properties obtained with PIMC agree better with experimental results than those
obtained with classical Monte Carlo methods.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, Phys. Rev. B (in press
A theoretical study of the structural phases of Group 5B - 6B metals and their transport properties
In order to predict the stable and metastable phases of the bcc metals in the
block of the Periodic Table defined by groups 5B to 6B and periods 4 to 6, as
well as the structure dependence of their transport properties, we have
performed full potential computations of the total energies per unit cell as a
function of the c/a ratio at constant experimental volume. In all cases, a
metastable body centered tetragonal (bct) phase was predicted from the
calculations. The total energy differences between the calculated stable and
metastable phases ranged from 0.09 eV/cell (vanadium) to 0.39 eV/cell
(tungsten). The trends in resistivity as a function of structure and atomic
number are discussed in terms of a model of electron transport in metals.
Theoretical calculations of the electrical resistivity and other transport
properties show that bct phases derived from group 5B elements are more
conductive than the corresponding bcc phases, while bct phases formed from
group 6B elements are less conductive than the corresponding bcc phases.
Special attention is paid to the phases of tantalum where we show that the
frequently observed beta phase is not a simple tetragonal distortion of bcc
tantalum
Nature of Electron Order in LaSrMnO
Synchrotron x-ray scattering measurements of the low-temperature structure of
the single-layer manganese oxide LaSrMnO, over the doping
range , indicate the existence of three distinct regions:
a disordered phase (), a charge-ordered phase (), and a
mixed phase (, the modulation vector associated
with the charge order is incommensurate with the lattice and depends linearly
on the concentration of electrons. The primary superlattice reflections
are strongly suppressed along the modulation direction and the higher harmonics
are weak, implying the existence of a largely transverse and nearly sinusoidal
structural distortion, consistent with a charge density wave of the
electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
- …