arXiv · cond-mat/0506595
Magnon Heat Conductivity and Mean Free Paths in Two-Leg Spin Ladders: A Model-Independent Determination
Abstract
The magnon thermal conductivity $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$ of the spin ladders in $\rm Sr_{14}Cu_{24-x}Zn_xO_{41}$ has been investigated at low doping levels $x=0$, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75. The Zn-impurities generate nonmagnetic defects which define an upper limit for $l_{\mathrm{mag}}$ and therefore allow a clear-cut relation between $l_{\mathrm{mag}}$ and $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$ to be established independently of any model. Over a large temperature range we observe a progressive suppression of $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$ with increasing Zn-content and find in particular that with respect to pure $\rm Sr_{14}Cu_{24}O_{41}$ $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$ is strongly suppressed even in the case of tiny impurity densities where $l_{\mathrm{mag}}\lesssim 374$~Å. This shows unambiguously that large $l_{\mathrm{mag}}\approx 3000$~Å which have been reported for $\rm Sr_{14}Cu_{24}O_{41}$ and $\rm La_{5}Ca_9Cu_{24}O_{41}$ on basis of a kinetic model are in the correct order of magnitude.
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C. Hess, P. Ribeiro, B. Büchner, H. ElHaes, G. Roth, U. Ammerahl, A. Revcolevschi. 2006-03-17. Magnon Heat Conductivity and Mean Free Paths in Two-Leg Spin Ladders: A Model-Independent Determination. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.73.104407
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