Coexistence of Two Components in Magnetic Excitations of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ ($x$ = 0.10 and 0.16)

TL;DR

This study investigates the spin excitations in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ using neutron scattering, revealing coexistence of incommensurate and commensurate components that form hourglass-shaped excitations and exhibit distinct temperature behaviors.

Contribution

It provides a two-component model of spin excitations in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, clarifying the coexistence and temperature dependence of incommensurate and commensurate excitations.

Findings

Coexistence of incommensurate and commensurate excitations in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$.

Hourglass-shaped spin excitation spectrum resulting from superposition of two components.

Different temperature behaviors of IC and C components related to itinerant and localized spins.

Abstract

To elucidate the spin dynamics of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, which couples with the charge degree of freedom, the spin excitations spanning the characteristic energy ($E_{\rm cross}$ $\sim$35-40 meV) are investigated for underdoped $x$ = 0.10 and optimally doped (OP) $x$ = 0.16 through inelastic neutron scattering measurements. Analysis based on a two-component picture of high-quality data clarified the possible coexistence of uprightly standing incommensurate (IC) excitations with gapless commensurate (C) excitations in the energy-momentum space. The IC component weakens the intensity toward $E_{\rm cross}$ with increasing energy transfer ($\hbar\omega$), whereas the C component strengthens at high-$\hbar\omega$ regions. The analysis results imply that the superposition of two components with a particular intensity balance forms an hourglass-shaped excitation in appearance. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the intensity of each component exhibits different behaviors; the IC component disappears near the pseudo-gap temperature ($T$*) upon warming, whereas the C component is robust against temperature. These results suggest the itinerant electron spin nature and the localized magnetism of the parent La$_2$CuO$_4$ in IC and C excitations, respectively, similar to the spin excitations in the OP YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+\delta}$ and HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ with higher superconducting-transition temperatures.