Theory of Spin Fluctuations in Striped Phases of Doped Antiferromagnetic Cuprates

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical model for spin fluctuations in striped phases of doped cuprate antiferromagnets, matching experimental data and supporting the striped phase hypothesis.

Contribution

It introduces an effective anisotropic non-linear sigma model to describe spin fluctuations, providing quantitative agreement with experiments on La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4.

Findings

Magnetic correlation length matches experimental data

Staggered magnetization behavior at zero temperature

Néel temperature dependence on doping

Abstract

We study the properties of generalized striped phases of doped cuprate planar quantum antiferromagnets. We invoke an effective, spatially anisotropic, non-linear sigma model in two space dimensions. Our theoretical predictions are in quantitative agreement with recent experiments in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 with $0 \leq x \leq 0.018$. We focus on (i) the magnetic correlation length, (ii) the staggered magnetization at $T=0$ and (iii) the N\'eel temperature, as functions of doping, using parameters determined previously and independently for this system. These results support the proposal that the low doping (antiferromagnetic) phase of the cuprates has a striped configuration.