arXiv subjects

N. B. Christensen

Publications and source records attributed to N. B. Christensen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The nature of the charge density waves in under-doped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.54}$ revealed by X-ray measurements of the ionic displacements

All underdoped high-temperature cuprate superconductors appear to exhibit charge density wave (CDW) order, but both the underlying symmetry breaking and the origin of the CDW remain unclear. We use X-ray diffraction to determine the microscopic structure of the CDW in an archetypical cuprate YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.54}$ at its superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 60 K. We find that the CDWs present in this material break the mirror symmetry of the CuO2 bilayers. The ionic displacements in a CDW have two components: one perpendicular to the CuO$_2$ planes, and another parallel to these planes, which is out of phase with the first. The largest displacements are those of the planar oxygen atoms and are perpendicular to the CuO$_2$ planes. Our results allow many electronic properties of the underdoped cuprates to be understood. For instance, the CDW will lead to local variations in the doping (or electronic structure) giving an explicit explanation of the appearance of density-wave states with broken symmetry in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and soft X-ray measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Fractional excitations in the square-lattice quantum antiferromagnet

The square-lattice quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet displays a pronounced anomaly of unknown origin in its magnetic excitation spectrum. The anomaly manifests itself only for short wavelength excitations propagating along the direction connecting nearest neighbors. Using polarized neutron spectroscopy, we have fully characterized the magnetic fluctuations in the model metal-organic compound CFTD, revealing an isotropic continuum at the anomaly indicative of fractional excitations. A theoretical framework based on the Gutzwiller projection method is developed to explain the origin of the continuum at the anomaly. This indicates that the anomaly arises from deconfined fractional spin-1/2 quasiparticle pairs, the 2D analog of 1D spinons. Away from the anomaly the conventional spin-wave spectrum is recovered as pairs of fractional quasiparticles bind to form spin-1 magnons. Our results therefore establish the existence of fractional quasiparticles in the simplest model two dimensional antiferromagnet even in the absence of frustration.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Field-induced inter-planar correlations in the high-temperature superconductor La1.88Sr0.12CuO4

We present neutron scattering studies of the inter-planar correlations in the high-temperature superconductor La1.88Sr0.12CuO4 (T_c=27 K). The correlations are studied both in a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the CuO2 planes, and in zero field under different cooling conditions. We find that the effect of the magnetic field is to increase the magnetic scattering signal at all values of the out-of-plane wave vector L, indicating an overall increase of the magnetic moments. In addition, weak correlations between the copper oxide planes develop in the presence of a magnetic field. This effect is not taken into account in previous reports on the field effect of magnetic scattering, since usually only L~0 is probed. Interestingly, the results of quench-cooling the sample are similar to those obtained by applying a magnetic field. Finally, a small variation of the incommensurate peak position as a function of L provides evidence that the incommensurate signal is twinned with the dominating and sub-dominant twin displaying peaks at even or odd L, respectively.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

CAMEA ESS - The Continuous Angle Multi-Energy Analysis Indirect Geometry Spectrometer for the European Spallation Source

The CAMEA ESS neutron spectrometer is designed to achieve a high detection efficiency in the horizontal scattering plane, and to maximize the use of the long pulse European Spallation Source. It is an indirect geometry time-of-flight spectrometer that uses crystal analysers to determine the final energy of neutrons scattered from the sample. Unlike other indirect gemeotry spectrometers CAMEA will use ten concentric arcs of analysers to analyse scattered neutrons at ten different final energies, which can be increased to 30 final energies by use of prismatic analysis. In this report we will outline the CAMEA instrument concept, the large performance gain, and the potential scientific advancements that can be made with this instrument.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Competing charge, spin, and superconducting orders in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy

To explore the doping dependence of the recently discovered charge density wave (CDW) order in YBa2Cu3Oy, we present a bulk-sensitive high-energy x-ray study for several oxygen concentrations, including strongly underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.44. Combined with previous data around the so-called 1/8 doping, we show that bulk CDW order exists at least for hole concentrations (p) in the CuO2 planes of 0.078 <~ p <~ 0.132. This implies that CDW order exists in close vicinity to the quantum critical point for spin density wave (SDW) order. In contrast to the pseudogap temperature T*, the onset temperature of CDW order decreases with underdoping to T_CDW ~ 90K in YBa2Cu3O6.44. Together with a weakened order parameter this suggests a competition between CDW and SDW orders. In addition, the CDW order in YBa2Cu3O6.44 shows the same type of competition with superconductivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field as samples closer to p = 1/8. At low p the CDW incommensurability continues the previously reported linear increasing trend with underdoping. In the entire doping range the in-plane correlation length of the CDW order in b-axis direction depends only very weakly on the hole concentration, and appears independent of the type and correlation length of the oxygen-chain order. The onset temperature of the CDW order is remarkably close to a temperature T^\dagger that marks the maximum of 1/(T_1T) in planar 63^Cu NQR/NMR experiments, potentially indicating a response of the spin dynamics to the formation of the CDW. Our discussion of these findings includes a detailed comparison to the charge stripe order in La2-xBaxCuO4.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Rotated stripe order and its competition with superconductivity in La$_{1.88}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$

We report the observation of a bulk charge modulation in La$_{1.88}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$ (LSCO) with a characteristic in-plane wave-vector of (0.236, $\pm δ$), with $δ$=0.011 r.l.u. The transverse shift of the ordering wave-vector indicates the presence of rotated charge-stripe ordering, demonstrating that the charge ordering is not pinned to the Cu-O bond direction. On cooling through the superconducting transition, we find an abrupt change in the growth of the charge correlations and a suppression of the charge order parameter indicating competition between the two orderings. Orthorhombic LSCO thus helps bridge the apparent disparities between the behavior previously observed in the tetragonal "214" cuprates and the orthorhombic yttrium and bismuth-based cuprates and thus lends strong support to the idea that there is a common motif to charge order in all cuprate families.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Bulk charge stripe order competing with superconductivity in La2-xSrxCuO4 (x=0.12)

We present a volume-sensitive high-energy x-ray diffraction study of the underdoped cuprate high temperature superconductor La2-xSrxCuO4 (x = 0.12, Tc=27 K) in applied magnetic field. Bulk short-range charge stripe order with propagation vector q_ch = (0.231, 0, 0.5) is demonstrated to exist below T_ch = 85(10) K and shown to compete with superconductivity. We argue that bulk charge ordering arises from fluctuating stripes that become pinned near boundaries between orthorhombic twin domains.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Quantum and thermal ionic motion, oxygen isotope effect, and superexchange distribution in La$_2$CuO$_4$

We study the zero-point and thermal ionic motion in La$_2$CuO$_4$ by means of high-resolution neutron diffraction experiments. Our results demonstrate anisotropic motion of O and to a lesser extent of Cu ions, both consistent with the structure of coupled CuO$_6$ octahedra, and quantify the relative effects of zero-point and thermal contributions to ionic motion. By substitution of $^{18}$O, we find that the oxygen isotope effect on the lattice dimensions is small and negative ($-0.01\%$), while the isotope effect on the ionic displacement parameters is significant ($-6$ to $50\%$). We use our results as input for theoretical estimates of the distribution of magnetic interaction parameters, $J$, in an effective one-band model for the cuprate plane. We find that ionic motion causes only small ($1\%$) effects on the average value $\langle J\rangle$, which vary with temperature and O isotope, but results in dramatic ($10$-$20\%$) fluctuations in $J$ values that are subject to significant ($8$-$12\%$) isotope effects. We demonstrate that this motional broadening of $J$ can have substantial effects on certain electronic and magnetic properties in cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Direct proof of unique magnetic and superconducting phases in superoxygenated high-Tc cuprates

We present a combined magnetic neutron scattering and muon spin rotation study of the nature of the magnetic and superconducting phases in electronically phase separated La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y), x = 0.04, 065, 0.09. For all samples, we find long-range modulated magnetic order below T_N ~ T_c = 39 K. In sharp contrast wit oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4), we find that the magnetic propagation vector as well as the ordered magnetic moment is independent of Sr content and consistent with that of the 'striped' cuprates. Our study provides direct proof that superoxygenation in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y) allows the spin stripe ordered phase to emerge and phase separate from superconducting regions with the hallmarks of optimally doped oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Phase diagram with enhanced spin-glass region of mixed Ising / XY magnets LiHo$_{x}$Er$_{1-x}$F$_{4}$

We present the experimental phase diagram of LiHo$_x$Er$_{1-x}$F$_4$, a dilution series of dipolar-coupled model magnets.The phase diagram was determined using a combination of AC susceptibility and neutron scattering. Three unique phases in addition to the Ising ferromagnet LiHoF$_4$ and the XY anti-ferromagnet LiErF$_4$ have been identified. Below $x=0.86$ an embedded spin-glass phase is observed, where a spin-glass exists within the ferromagnetic structure. Below $x=0.57$ an Ising spin-glass is observed consisting of frozen needle-like clusters. For $x \sim 0.3 - 0.1$ an antiferromagnetically coupled spin-glass occurs. A reduction of $T_C(x)$ for the ferromagnet is observed which disobeys the mean-field predictions that worked for LiHo$_x$Y$_{1-x}$F$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Glassy low-energy spin fluctuations and anisotropy gap in La1.88Sr0.12CuO4

We present high-resolution triple-axis neutron scattering studies of the high-temperature superconductor La1.88Sr0.12CuO4 (Tc=27 K). The temperature dependence of the low-energy incommensurate magnetic fluctuations reveals distinctly glassy features. The glassiness is confirmed by the difference between the ordering temperature TN ~ Tc inferred from elastic neutron scattering and the freezing temperature Tf ~ 11 K obtained from muon spin rotation studies. The magnetic field independence of the observed excitation spectrum as well as the observation of a partial suppression of magnetic spectral weight below 0.75 meV for temperatures smaller than Tf, indicate that the stripe frozen state is capable of supporting a spin anisotropy gap, of a magnitude similar to that observed in the spin and charge stripe ordered ground state of La1.875Ba0.125CuO4. The difference between TN and Tf implies that the significant enhancement in a magnetic field of nominally elastic incommensurate scattering is caused by strictly in-elastic scattering -- at least in the temperature range between Tf and Tc -- which is not resolved in the present experiment. Combining the results obtained from our study of La1.88Sr0.12CuO4 with a critical reappraisal of published neutron scattering work on samples with chemical composition close to p=0.12, where local probes indicate a sharp maximum in Tf(p), we arrive at the view that the low-energy fluctuations are strongly dependent on composition in this regime, with anisotropy gaps dominating only sufficiently close to p=0.12 and superconducting spin gaps dominating elsewhere.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

X-ray diffraction observation of charge density wave order at zero magnetic field in ortho-II YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.54}$

X-ray diffraction measurements show that the high-temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.54}$, with ortho-II oxygen order, has charge density wave order (CDW) in the absence of an applied magnetic field. The dominant wavevector of the CDW is $\mathbf{q}_{\mathrm{CDW}} = (0, 0.328(2), 0.5)$, with the in-plane component parallel to the $\mathbf{b}$-axis (chain direction). It has a similar incommensurability to that observed in ortho-VIII and ortho-III samples, which have different dopings and oxygen orderings. Our results for ortho-II contrast with recent high-field NMR measurements, which suggest a commensurate wavevector along the $\mathbf{a}$-axis. We discuss the relationship between spin and charge correlations in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{y}$, and recent high-field quantum oscillation, NMR and ultrasound experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Direct observation of competition between superconductivity and charge density wave order in YBa2Cu3Oy

Superconductivity often emerges in the proximity of, or in competition with, symmetry breaking ground states such as antiferromagnetism or charge density waves (CDW)1-5. A number of materials in the cuprate family, which includes the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors, show spin and charge density wave order5-7. Thus a fundamental question is to what extent these ordered states exist for compositions close to optimal for superconductivity. Here we use high-energy x-ray diffraction to show that a CDW develops at zero field in the normal state of superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.67 (Tc = 67 K). Below Tc, the application of a magnetic field suppresses superconductivity and enhances the CDW. Hence, the CDW and superconductivity are competing orders in this typical high-Tc superconductor, and high-Tc superconductivity can form from a pre-existing CDW state. Our results explain observations of small Fermi surface pockets8, negative Hall and Seebeck effect9,10 and the "Tc plateau"11 in this material when underdoped.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Field-induced Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase of a two-leg spin-1/2 ladder with strong leg interactions

We study the magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transition from a gapped quantum phase that has no magnetic long-range order into a gapless phase in the spin-1/2 ladder compound bis(2,3-dimethylpyridinium) tetrabromocuprate (DIMPY). At temperatures below about 1 K, the specific heat in the gapless phase attains an asymptotic linear temperature dependence, characteristic of a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. Inelastic neutron scattering and the specific heat measurements in both phases are in good agreement with theoretical calculations, demonstrating that DIMPY is the first model material for an S=1/2 two-leg spin ladder in the strong-leg regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Neutron scattering study of the magnetic phase diagram of underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x)

We present a neutron triple-axis and resonant spin-echo spectroscopy study of the spin correlations in untwinned YBCO crystals with x= 0.3, 0.35, and 0.45 as a function of temperature and magnetic field. As the temperature T approaches 0, all samples exhibit static incommensurate magnetic order with propagation vector along the a-direction in the CuO2 planes. The incommensurability delta increases monotonically with hole concentration, as it does in LSCO. However, delta is generally smaller than in LSCO at the same doping level. The intensity of the incommensurate Bragg reflections increases with magnetic field for YBCO(6.45) (superconducting Tc = 35 K), whereas it is field-independent for YBCO(6.35) (Tc = 10 K). These results suggest that YBCO samples with x ~ 0.5 exhibit incommensurate magnetic order in the high fields used for the recent quantum oscillation experiments on this system, which likely induces a reconstruction of the Fermi surface. We present neutron spin-echo measurements (with energy resolution ~ 1 micro-eV) for T > 0 that demonstrate a continuous thermal broadening of the incommensurate magnetic Bragg reflections into a quasielastic peak centered at excitation energy E = 0, consistent with the zero-temperature transition expected for a two-dimensional spin system with full spin-rotation symmetry. Measurements on YBCO(6.45) with a triple-axis spectrometer (with energy resolution ~ 100 micro-eV) yield a crossover temperature T_SDW ~ 30 K for the onset of quasi-static magnetic order. Upon further heating, the wavevector characterizing low-energy spin excitations approaches the commensurate antiferromagnetic wave vector, and the incommensurability vanishes in an order-parameter-like fashion at an "electronic liquid-crystal" onset temperature T_ELC ~ 150 K. Both T_SDW and T_ELC increase continuously as the Mott-insulating phase is approached with decreasing doping level.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

2D orbital-like magnetic order in ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$

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 Å 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.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Evolution of magnetic states in frustrated diamond lattice antiferromagnetic Co(Al1-xCox)2O4 spinels

Using neutron powder diffraction and Monte-Carlo simulations we show that a spin-liquid regime emerges at $all compositions in the diamond-lattice antiferromagnets Co(Al1-xCox)2O4. This spin-liquid regime induced by frustration due to the second-neighbour exchange coupling J2, is gradually superseded by antiferromagnetic collinear long-range order (k=0) at low temperatures. Upon substitution of Al3+ by Co3+ in the octahedral B-site the temperature range occupied by the spin-liquid regime narrows and TN increases. To explain the experimental observations we considered magnetic anisotropy D or third-neighbour exchange coupling J3 as degeneracy-breaking perturbations. We conclude that Co(Al1-xCox)2O4 is below the theoretical critical point J2/J1=1/8, and that magnetic anisotropy assists in selecting a collinear long-range ordered ground state, which becomes more stable with increasing x due to a higher efficiency of O-Co3+-O as an interaction path compared to O-Al3+-O.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

The Temperature Evolution of the Out-of-Plane Correlation Lengths of Charge-Stripe Ordered La(1.725)Sr(0.275)NiO(4)

The temperature dependence of the magnetic order of stripe-ordered La(1.725)Sr(0.275)NiO(4) is investigated by neutron diffraction. Upon cooling, the widths if the magnetic Bragg peaks are observed to broaden. The degree of broadening is found to be very different for l = odd-integer and l = even-integer magnetic peaks. We argue that the observed behaviour is a result of competition between magnetic and charge order.

cond-mat.str-el↗