Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La2CuO4

A. Sapkota; T. C. Sterling; P. M. Lozano; Yangmu Li; Huibo Cao; V. O. Garlea; D. Reznik; Qiang Li; I. A. Zaliznyak; G. D. Gu; J. M. Tranquada

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.104.014304

Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La2CuO4

A. Sapkota, T. C. Sterling, P. M. Lozano, Yangmu Li, Huibo Cao, V. O. Garlea, D. Reznik, Qiang Li, I. A. Zaliznyak, G. D. Gu, J. M. Tranquada

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

New surprises continue to be revealed about La2CuO4, the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. Here we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the "chiral"phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.

Original language	English
Article number	014304
Journal	Physical Review B
Volume	104
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.014304
State	Published - Jul 1 2021

Funding

We thank Melissa Graves-Brook for assistance with the experiment at HYSPEC. The work at Brookhaven was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, under Contract No. DE-SC0012704. T.S. and D.R. were supported by the DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, under Contract No. DE-SC0006939. A portion of this research was performed using the Eagle computer operated by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. T.R. thanks Aaron Holder for help with the calculations. This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Spallation Neutron Source, DOE Office of Science User Facilities operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Funders	Funder number
Spallation Neutron Source
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science	DE-SC0006939
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Basic Energy Sciences
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering	DE-SC0012704

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10.1103/PhysRevB.104.014304

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title = "Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La2CuO4",

abstract = "New surprises continue to be revealed about La2CuO4, the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. Here we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the {"}chiral{"}phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.",

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AU - Sapkota, A.

AU - Sterling, T. C.

AU - Lozano, P. M.

AU - Li, Yangmu

AU - Cao, Huibo

AU - Garlea, V. O.

AU - Reznik, D.

AU - Li, Qiang

AU - Zaliznyak, I. A.

AU - Gu, G. D.

AU - Tranquada, J. M.

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N2 - New surprises continue to be revealed about La2CuO4, the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. Here we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the "chiral"phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.

AB - New surprises continue to be revealed about La2CuO4, the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. Here we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the "chiral"phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.

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Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La2CuO4

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