B. Dalla Piazza

Spin excitations in a single La2CuO4 layer

Cuprates and other high-temperature superconductors consist of two-dimensional layers that are crucial to their properties. The dynamics of the quantum spins in these layers lie at the heart of the mystery of the cuprates. In bulk cuprates such as La(2)CuO(4), the presence of a weak coupling between the two-dimensional layers stabilizes a three-dimensional magnetic order up to high temperatures. In a truly two-dimensional system however, thermal spin fluctuations melt long-range order at any finite temperature. Here, we measure the spin response of isolated layers of La(2)CuO(4) that are only one-unit-cell-thick. We show that coherent magnetic excitations, magnons, known from the bulk order, persist even in a single layer of La(2)CuO(4), with no evidence for more complex correlations such as resonating valence bond correlations. These magnons are, therefore, well described by spin-wave theory (SWT). On the other hand, we also observe a high-energy magnetic continuum in the isotropic magnetic response that is not well described by two-magnon SWT, or indeed any existing theories.

Anisotropic softening of magnetic excitations along the nodal direction in superconducting cuprates

The high-Tc cuprate superconductors are close to antiferromagnetic order. Recent measurements of magnetic excitations have reported an intriguing similarity to the spin waves--magnons--of the antiferromagnetic insulating parent compounds, suggesting that magnons may survive in damped, broadened form throughout the phase diagram. Here we show by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering on Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+δ) (Bi-2212) that the analogy with spin waves is only partial. The magnon-like features collapse along the nodal direction in momentum space and exhibit a photon energy dependence markedly different from the Mott-insulating case. These observations can be naturally described by the continuum of charge and spin excitations of correlated electrons. The persistence of damped magnons could favour scenarios for superconductivity built from quasiparticles coupled to spin fluctuations. However, excitation spectra composed of particle-hole excitations suggest that superconductivity emerges from a coherent treatment of electronic spin and charge in the form of quasiparticles with very strong magnetic correlations.

Spin-orbit-induced orbital excitations in Sr2RuO4 and Ca2RuO4: A resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study

High-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the oxygen K edge has been used to study the orbital excitations of Ca2RuO4 and Sr2RuO4. In combination with linear dichroism x-ray absorption spectroscopy, the ruthenium 4d-orbital occupation and excitations were probed through their hybridization with the oxygen p orbitals. These results are described within a minimal model, taking into account crystal field splitting and a spin-orbit coupling λso=200 meV. The effects of spin-orbit interaction on the electronic structure and implications for the Mott and superconducting ground states of (Ca,Sr)2RuO4 are discussed.

Quantum and thermal ionic motion, oxygen isotope effect, and superexchange distribution in La2CuO4

We study the zero-point and thermal ionic motion in La2CuO4 by means of high-resolution neutron-diffraction experiments. Our results demonstrate anisotropic motion of O and, to a lesser extent, Cu ions, both consistent with the structure of coupled CuO6 octahedra, and quantify the relative effects of zero-point and thermal contributions to ionic motion. By substitution of O-18, 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 , 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.

Neutron spectroscopic study of crystal-field excitations and the effect of the crystal field on dipolar magnetism in LiRF4 (R = Gd, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb)

We present a systematic study of the crystal-field interactions in the LiRF4 (R = Gd, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb) family of rare-earth magnets. Using detailed inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we have been able to quantify the transition energies and wave functions for each system. This allows us to quantitatively describe the high-temperature susceptibility measurements for the series of materials and make predictions based on a mean-field approach for the low-temperature thermal and quantum phase transitions. We show that coupling between crystal field and phonon states leads to line-shape broadening in LiTmF4 and level splitting in LiYbF4. Furthermore, using high-resolution neutron scattering from LiHoF4, we find anomalous broadening of crystal-field excitations which we attribute to magnetoelastic coupling.

Phase diagram with an enhanced spin-glass region of the mixed Ising-XYmagnet LiHoxEr1-xF4

We present the experimental phase diagram of LiHoxEr1-xF4, 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 LiHoF4 and the XY antiferromagnet LiErF4 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 needlelike clusters. For x∼0.3–0.1, an antiferromagnetically coupled spin glass occurs. A reduction of TC(x) for the ferromagnet is observed which disobeys the mean-field predictions that worked for LiHoxY1-xF4.

Phase diagram with an enhanced spin-glass region of the mixed Ising–XY magnet LiHo{x}Er{1-x}F{4}

We present the experimental phase diagram of LiHoxEr1-xF4, 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 LiHoF4 and the XY antiferromagnet LiErF4 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 needlelike clusters. For x∼0.3–0.1, an antiferromagnetically coupled spin glass occurs. A reduction of TC(x) for the ferromagnet is observed which disobeys the mean-field predictions that worked for LiHoxY1-xF4.

Phase diagram of diluted Ising ferromagnet LiHoxY1−xF4

We present a systematic study of the phase diagram of LiHoxY1−xF4 (0.25≤x≤1) Ising ferromagnets obtained from neutron scattering measurements and mean-field calculations. We show that while the thermal phase transition decreases linearly with dilution, as predicted by mean-field theory, the critical transverse field at the quantum critical point is suppressed much faster. This behavior is related to competition between off-diagonal dipolar coupling and quantum fluctuations that are tuned by doping and applied field, respectively. In this paper, we quantify the deviation of the experimental results from mean-field predictions, with the aim that this analysis can be used in future theoretical efforts towards a quantitative description.

Nonequilibrium hysteresis and spin relaxation in the mixed-anisotropy dipolar-coupled spin-glass LiHo0.5Er0.5F4

We present a study of the model spin-glass LiHo0.5Er0.5F4 using simultaneous ac susceptibility, magnetization, and magnetocaloric effect measurements along with small angle neutron scattering (SANS) at sub-Kelvin temperatures. All measured bulk quantities reveal hysteretic behavior when the field is applied along the crystallographic c axis. Furthermore, avalanchelike relaxation is observed in a static field after ramping from the zero-field-cooled state up to 200–300 Oe. SANS measurements are employed to track the microscopic spin reconfiguration throughout both the hysteresis loop and the related relaxation. Comparing the SANS data to inhomogeneous mean-field calculations performed on a box of one million unit cells provides a real-space picture of the spin configuration. We discover that the avalanche is being driven by released Zeeman energy, which heats the sample and creates positive feedback, continuing the avalanche. The combination of SANS and mean-field simulations reveal that the conventional distribution of cluster sizes is replaced by one with a depletion of intermediate cluster sizes for much of the hysteresis loop.