One-dimensional nature of the magnetic fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O6.6

Author

• Herbert A. Mook
• Pengcheng Dai
• Fatih Dogan, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Rodney Dale Hunt

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 YBa₂Cu₃O_6.6 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.

Recommended Citation

H. A. Mook et al., "One-dimensional nature of the magnetic fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O6.6," Nature, vol. 404, no. 6779, pp. 729 - 731, Springer, Nature Publishing Group UK, Apr 2000.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/35008005

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Publication Status

Full Access

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1476-4687, 0028-0836

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Spring Nature Limited, All rights reserved

Publication Date

2000-04-13