44 research outputs found
Anisotropy of the upper critical fields and the paramagnetic Meissner effect in La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 single Crystals
Optimally-doped La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 single crystals have been investigated by dc
and ac magnetic measurements. These crystals have rectangular needle-like
shapes with the long needle axis parallel to the crystallographic c axis
(c-crystal) or parallel to the basal planes (a-crystal). In both crystals, the
temperature dependence of the upper critical fields (HC2) and the surface
critical field (HC3) were measured. The H-T phase diagram is presented. Close
to TC =35 K, for the c-crystal, {\gamma}c = / = 1.80(2), whereas for the
a-crystal the {\gamma}a = / =4.0(2) obtained, is much higher than the
theoretical value 1.69. At low applied dc fields, positive field-cooled
branches known as the "paramagnetic Meissner effect" (PME) are observed, their
magnitude is inversely proportional to H. The anisotropic PME is observed in
both a- and c-crystals, only when the applied field is along the basal planes.
It is speculated that the high {\gamma}a and the PME are connected to each
other.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figuer