Screening of point charge impurities in highly anisotropic metals: application to $\mu^+$ spin relaxation in underdoped cuprates

TL;DR

This paper models how a point charge impurity like a muon affects charge distribution in layered anisotropic metals, explaining discrepancies between neutron diffraction and muon spin relaxation measurements in underdoped cuprates.

Contribution

It provides a detailed calculation of impurity screening in anisotropic layered metals, clarifying the impact on observed magnetic fields and resolving experimental controversies.

Findings

Screening reduces loop-current fields at muon sites in underdoped cuprates.

Calculated fields are consistent with experimental measurements in YBa2Cu3O6+x and La2-xSrxCuO4.

The model explains how impurities influence charge and magnetic properties in cuprates.

Abstract

We calculate the screening charge density distribution due to a point charge, such as that of a positive muon ($\mu^+$), placed between the planes of a highly anisotropic layered metal. In underdoped hole cuprates the screening charge converts the charge density in the metallic-plane unit cells in the vicinity of the $\mu^+$ to nearly its value in the insulating state. The current-loop ordered state observed by polarized neutron diffraction then vanishes in such cells, and also in nearby cells over a distance of order the intrinsic correlation length of the loop-ordered state. This in turn strongly suppresses the loop-current field at the $\mu^+$ site. We estimate this suppressed field in underdoped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, and find consistency with the observed 0.2--0.3 G field in the former case and the observed upper bound of $\sim$0.2 G in the latter case. This resolves the controversy between the neutron diffraction and $\mu$SR experiments. The screening calculation also has relevance for the effect of other charge impurities in the cuprates, such as the dopants themselves.