One-Dimensional Nature of the Magnetic Fluctuations in YBa₂Cu₃O₆.₆

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that inhomogeneous distributions of charge and spin - so-called 'striped phases' - play an important role in determining the properties of the high-temperature superconductors. For example, recent neutron-scattering measurements on the YBa2Cu3O(7-x) family of materials show both spin and charge fluctuations that are consistent with the striped- phase picture. But the fluctuations associated with a striped phase are expected to be one-dimensional, whereas the magnetic fluctuations observed to date appear to display two-dimensional symmetry. We show here that this apparent two-dimensionality results from measurements on twinned crystals, and that similar measurements on substantially detwinned crystals of YBa2Cu3O6.6 reveal the one-dimensional character of the magnetic fluctuations, thus greatly strengthening the striped-phase interpretation. Moreover, our results also suggest that superconductivity originates in charge stripes that extend along the b crystal axis, where the superfluid density is found to be substantially larger than for the a direction.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

barium derivative; copper derivative; anisotropy; conductor; crystal; high temperature; magnetic field; neutron scattering; review

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0028-0836

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2000 Nature Publishing Group, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Apr 2000

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