Magneto-optical Signatures of a Cascade of Transitions in La 1.875Ba 0.125CuO 4
Recent experiments on the original cuprate high temperature superconductor, La{sub 2-x}Ba{sub x}CuO{sub 4}, revealed a remarkable sequence of phase transitions. Here we investigate such crystals with polar Kerr effect which is sensitive to time-reversal-symmetry breaking. Concurrent birefringence measurements accurately locate the structural phase transitions from high-temperature tetragonal to low temperature orthorhombic, and then to lower temperature tetragonal, at which temperature a strong Kerr signal onsets. Hysteretic behavior of the Kerr signal suggests that time-reversal symmetry is already broken well above room temperature, an effect that was previously observed in high quality YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 6+x} crystals.
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 1050844
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-PUB-15238; TRN: US201218%%940
- Journal Information:
- Phys.Rev.Lett. 109:147001,2012, Vol. 109, Issue 14; ISSN 0031--9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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