1D Quantum transport in the even-chain spin-ladder compound Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41 and YBa2Cu4O8

TL;DR

This study investigates the temperature-dependent resistivity of a novel 1D spin-ladder compound under pressure and reveals a scaling behavior with underdoped cuprates, suggesting a common spin-gap origin in these materials.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the resistivity behavior of a 1D spin-ladder compound under pressure scales with that of underdoped cuprates, indicating a shared spin-gap mechanism.

Findings

Resistivity of Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41 explained by magnetic correlation length.

Pressure dependence of the spin-gap extracted from resistivity data.

Scaling observed between the resistivity of the ladder compound and underdoped cuprates.

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the resistivity r(T) of the novel Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41 ladder compound under hydrostatic pressure of up to 8 GPa has been explained by assuming that the relevant length scale for electrical transport is given by the magnetic correlation length related to the opening of a spin-gap in a 1D even-chain spin-ladder (1D-SL). The pressure dependence of the gap was extracted by applying this model to r(T) data obtained at different pressures. The r(T) dependence of the underdoped cuprate YBa2Cu4O8 demonstrates a remarkable scaling with the r(T) of the 1D-SL compound Sr2.5Ca11.5Cu24O41. This scaling implies that underdoped cuprates at Tc < T < T* are in the 1D regime and their pseudo-gap below T* is the spin-gap in the even-chain 1D-SL formed at T < T* in these materials.