arXiv subjects

B. Büchner

Publications and source records attributed to B. Büchner.

268 records · Page 15Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Thermal conductivity of doped $\rm\bf La_2CuO_4$ as an example for heat transport by optical phonons in complex materials

We investigate the phonon thermal conductivity $κ_{\mathrm{ph}}$ of doped $\rm La_2CuO_4$ based on out-of-plane thermal conductivity measurements. When room temperature is approached the temperature dependence of $κ_{\mathrm{ph}}$ strongly deviates from the $T^{-1}$-decrease which is usually expected for heat transport by acoustic phonons. Instead, $κ_{\mathrm{ph}}$ decreases much weaker or even increases with rising temperature. Simple arguments suggest that such unusual temperature dependencies of $κ_{\mathrm{ph}}$ are caused by heat transport via dispersive optical phonons.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Existence of orbital polarons in ferromagnetic insulating La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_{3}$ (0.11$<x<$0.14) evidenced by giant phonon softening

We present an inelastic light scattering study of single crystalline (La$_{1-y}$Pr$_y$)$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$MnO$_3$ ($0\leq x\leq0.14$,$y=0$ and $x=1/8$,$0\leq y\leq0.5$). A giant softening up to 20 - 30 cm$^{-1}$ of the Mn-O breathing mode has been observed only for the ferromagnetic insulating (FMI) samples ($0.11\leq x \leq 0.14$) upon cooling below the Curie temperature. With increasing Pr-doping the giant softening is gradually suppressed. This is attributed to a coupling of the breathing mode to orbital polarons which are present in the FMI phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Phonon thermal conductivity in doped $\rm\bf La_2CuO_4$: Relevant scattering mechanisms

Results of in-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivity measurements on $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ ($0\leq x\leq0.2$) single crystals are presented. The most characteristic features of the temperature dependence are a pronounced phonon peak at low temperatures and a steplike anomaly at $T_{LT}$, i.e., at the transition to the low temperature tetragonal phase (LTT-phase), which gradually decrease with increasing Sr-content. Comparison of these findings with the thermal conductivity of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ and $\rm La_2NiO_4$ clearly reveals that in $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ the most effective mechanism for phonon scattering is impurity-scattering (dopants), as well as scattering by soft phonons that are associated with the lattice instability in the low temperature orthorhombic phase (LTO-phase). There is no evidence that stripe correlations play a major role in suppressing the phonon peak in the thermal conductivity of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Evidence for Jahn-Teller distortions at the antiferromagnetic transition in LaTiO$_3$

LaTiO$_3$ is known as Mott-insulator which orders antiferromagnetically at $T_{\rm N}=146$ K. We report on results of thermal expansion and temperature dependent x-ray diffraction together with measurements of the heat capacity, electrical transport measurements, and optical spectroscopy in untwinned single crystals. At $T_{\rm N}$ significant structural changes appear, which are volume conserving. Concomitant anomalies are also observed in the dc-resistivity, in bulk modulus, and optical reflectivity spectra. We interpret these experimental observations as evidence of orbital order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Magnon Heat Transport in doped $\rm La_2CuO_4$

We present results of the thermal conductivity of $\rm La_2CuO_4$ and $\rm La_{1.8}Eu_{0.2}CuO_4$ single-crystals which represent model systems for the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice. We find large anisotropies of the thermal conductivity, which are explained in terms of two-dimensional heat conduction by magnons within the CuO$_2$ planes. Non-magnetic Zn substituted for Cu gradually suppresses this magnon thermal conductivity $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$. A semiclassical analysis of $κ_{\mathrm{mag}}$ is shown to yield a magnon mean free path which scales linearly with the reciprocal concentration of Zn-ions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Magnon Heat Transport in (Sr,La)_14Cu_24O_41

We have measured the thermal heat conductivity kappa of the compounds Sr_14Cu_24O_41 and Ca_9La_5Cu_24O_41 containing doped and undoped spin ladders, respectively. We find a huge anisotropy of both, the size and the temperature dependence of kappa which we interpret in terms of a very large heat conductivity due to the magnetic excitations of the one-dimensional spin ladders. This magnon heat conductivity decreases with increasing hole doping of the ladders. The magnon heat transport is analyzed theoretically using a simple kinetic model. From this analysis we determine the spin gap and the temperature dependent mean free path of the magnons which ranges by several thousand angstroms at low temperature. The relevance of several scattering channels for the magnon transport is discussed.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2001

Strong anisotropy of superexchange in the copper-oxygen chains of La_{14-x}Ca_{x}Cu_{24}O_{41}

Electron spin resonance data of Cu^{2+} ions in La_{14-x}Ca_{x}Cu_{24}O_{41} crystals (x=9,11,12) reveal a very large width of the resonance line in the paramagnetic state. This signals an unusually strong anisotropy of ~10% of the isotropic Heisenberg superexchange in the Cu-O chains of this compound. The strong anisotropy can be explained by the specific geometry of two symmetrical 90 degree Cu-O-Cu bonds, which boosts the importance of orbital degrees of freedom. Our data show the apparent limitations of the applicability of an isotropic Heisenberg model to the low dimensional cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Thermodynamics of the low-temperature structural transition in rare-earth-doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4

The Sr concentration dependence of the structural transition from the orthorhombic into the tetragonal low-temperature phase in rare-earth-doped (R = Nd, Eu) La_{2-x-y}Sr_xR_yCuO_4 has been studied in detail. Independently of the rare earth concentration the transition temperature is strongly reduced at x ~ 0.05. We give a qualitative argument that the effect can be attributed to the Coulomb repulsion between doped carriers. We find the enthalpy jump at the low-temperature transition to scale transition temperature between the high-temperature tetragonal and the orthorhombic phase. This effect can be understood in terms of a Landau expansion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Inhomogeneous Low Frequency Spin Dynamics in La_{1.65}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4

We report Cu and La nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements in the title compound that reveal an inhomogeneous glassy behavior of the spin dynamics. A low temperature peak in the La spin lattice relaxation rate and the ``wipeout'' of Cu intensity both arise from these slow electronic spin fluctuations that reveal a distribution of activation energies. Inhomogeneous slowing of spin fluctuations appears to be a general feature of doped lanthanum cuprate.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2000

Spin Dynamics in the LTT Phase of ~1/8 Doped Single Crystal La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4

We present La and Cu NMR relaxation measurements in single crystal La_{1.67}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.13}CuO_4. A strong peak in the La spin-lattice relaxation rate observed in the spin ordered state is well-described by the BPP mechanism[1] and arises from continuous slowing of electronic spin fluctuations with decreasing temperature; these spin fluctuations exhibit XY-like anisotropy in the ordered state. The spin pseudogap is enhanced by the static charge-stripe order in the LTT phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1999

Separation of Quasiparticle and Phononic Heat Currents in YBCO

Measurements of the transverse (k_{xy}) and longitudinal (k_{xx}) thermal conductivity in high magnetic fields are used to separate the quasiparticle thermal conductivity (k_{xx}^{el}) of the CuO_2-planes from the phononic thermal conductivity in YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}. k_{xx}^{el} is found to display a pronounced maximum below T_c. Our data analysis reveals distinct transport (τ) and Hall (τ_H) relaxation times below T_c: Whereas τis strongly enhanced, τ_H follows the same temperature dependence as above T_c.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Lattice Dimerization in the Spin-Peierls Compound CuGeO$_3$

The uniaxial pressure dependences of the exchange coupling and the structural distortion in the dimerized phase of CuGeO$_3$ are analyzed. A minimum magnetic dimerization of 3 % is obtained, incompatible with an adiabatic approach to the spin-Peierls transition. Exploring the properties of an Heisenberg spin chain with dynamical spin-phonon coupling, the dimerization dependence of the spin excitation gap is found to be in qualitative agreement with experiment.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1997

Revival of the spin-Peierls transition in Cu_xZn_(1-x)GeO_3 under pressure

Pressure and temperature dependent susceptibility and Raman scattering experiments on single crystalline Cu_xZn_(1-x)GeO_3 have shown an unusually strong increase of the spin-Peierls phase transition temperature upon applying hydrostatic pressure. The large positive pressure coefficient (7.5 K/GPa) - almost twice as large as for the pure compound (4.5 K/GPa) - is interpreted as arising due to an increasing magnetic frustration which decreases the spin-spin correlation length, and thereby weakens the influence of the non-magnetic Zn-substitution.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Stripe Correlations of Spins and Holes and Phonon Heat Transport in Doped La_2CuO_4

We present experimental evidence for a dramatic suppression of the phononic thermal conductivity of rare earth and Sr doped La_2CuO_4. Remarkably, this suppression correlates with the occurrence of superconductivity. Conventional models for the phonon heat transport fail to explain these results. In contrast, a straightforward explanation is possible in terms of static and dynamic stripe correlations of holes and spins.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1997

Reexamination of the microscopic couplings of the quasi one-dimensional antiferromagnet CuGeO_3

Experimental data for the magnetic susceptibility and magnetostriction of CuGeO_3 are analyzed within a one-dimensional antiferromagnetic model with nearest ({J_1}) and next-nearest neighbour interactions ({J_2}). We show that the ratio of the exchange constants in the antiferromagnetic chains of CuGeO_3 amounts to ${J_2}/{J_1}$ = 0.354(0.01), i.e. it is significantly larger than the critical value for the formation of a spontaneous gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum without lattice dimerization. The susceptibility data are reproduced by our numerical results over the temperature range from 20K to 950K to a high degree of accuracy for ${J_1} = 80.2 (3.0)$ and ${J_2} = 28.4 (1.8)$. The pressure dependence of the exchange constants is estimated from magnetostriction data. Furthermore, the specific heat data are checked on consistency against the calculated entropy of the above model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1996

Temperature and magnetic field dependence of the lattice constant in spin-Peierls cuprate CuGeO_3 studied by capacitance dilatometry in fields up to 16 Tesla

We present high resolution measurements of the thermal expansion coefficient and the magnetostriction along the a-axis of CuGeO_3 in magnetic fields up to 16 Tesla. From the pronounced anomalies of the lattice constant a occurring for both temperature and field induced phase transitions clear structural differences between the uniform, dimerized, and incommensurate phases are established. A precise field temperature phase diagram is derived and compared in detail with existing theories. Although there is a fair agreement with the calculations within the Cross Fisher theory, some significant and systematic deviations are present. In addition, our data yield a high resolution measurement of the field and temperature dependence of the spontaneous strain scaling with the spin-Peierls order parameter. Both the zero temperature values as well as the critical behavior of the order parameter are nearly field independent in the dimerized phase. A spontaneous strain is also found in the incommensurate high field phase, which is significantly smaller and shows a different critical behavior than that in the low field phase. The analysis of the temperature dependence of the spontaneous strain yields a pronounced field dependence within the dimerized phase, whereas the temperature dependence of the incommensurate lattice modulation compares well with that of the dimerization in zero magnetic field.

cond-mat↗