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Title: Crystal structure and high-field magnetism of La{sub 2}CuO{sub 4}

Journal Article · · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.73.1· OSTI ID:20788063
 [1]; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]; ;  [5];  [6]
  1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Heisenbergstr. 1, D-70569 Stuttgart (Germany)
  2. Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Glienicker Str. 100, D-14109 Berlin (Germany)
  3. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (United States)
  4. Bell Laboratories Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974 (United States)
  5. Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-11-1 Iwato-kita, Komae, Tokyo 201-8511 (Japan)
  6. SNBL at ESRF, Boite Postale 220, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

Neutron diffraction was used to determine the crystal structure and magnetic ordering pattern of a La{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} single crystal, with and without applied magnetic field. A previously unreported, subtle monoclinic distortion of the crystal structure away from the orthorhombic space group Bmab was detected. The distortion is also present in lightly Sr-doped crystals. A refinement of the crystal structure shows that the deviation from orthorhombic symmetry is predominantly determined to drive a continuous reorientation of the copper spins from the orthorhombic b axis to the c axis, directly confirming predictions based on prior magnetoresistance and Raman scattering experiments. A spin-flop transition induced by a c-axis oriented field previously reported for nonstoichiometric La{sub 2}CuO{sub 4} is also observed, but the transition field (11.5 T) is significantly larger than that in the previous work.

OSTI ID:
20788063
Journal Information:
Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 73, Issue 14; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.73.144513; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1098-0121
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English