Biomedical subjects

L Pintschovius

Publications and source records attributed to L Pintschovius.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Electron-phonon coupling reflecting dynamic charge inhomogeneity in copper oxide superconductors.

The attempt to understand copper oxide superconductors is complicated by the presence of multiple strong interactions in these systems. Many believe that antiferromagnetism is important for superconductivity, but there has been renewed interest in the possible role of electron-lattice coupling. The conventional superconductor MgB2 has a very strong electron-lattice coupling, involving a particular vibrational mode (phonon) that was predicted by standard theory and confirmed quantitatively by experiment. Here we present inelastic scattering measurements that show a similarly strong anomaly in the Cu-O bond-stretching phonon in the copper oxide superconductors La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 (with x = 0.07, 0.15). Conventional theory does not predict such behaviour. The anomaly is strongest in La(1.875)Ba(0.125)CuO4 and La(1.48)Nd(0.4)Sr(0.12)CuO4, compounds that exhibit spatially modulated charge and magnetic order, often called stripe order; it occurs at a wave vector corresponding to the charge order. These results suggest that this giant electron-phonon anomaly, which is absent in undoped and over-doped non-superconductors, is associated with charge inhomogeneity. It follows that electron-phonon coupling may be important to our understanding of superconductivity, although its contribution is likely to be indirect.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Dispersion of magnetic excitations in optimally doped superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.95.

Detailed neutron scattering measurements of YBa2Cu3O6.95 found that the resonance peak and incommensurate magnetic scattering induced by superconductivity represent the same physical phenomenon: two dispersive branches that converge near 41 meV and the in-plane wave vector q(AF)=(pi/a,pi/a) to form the resonance peak. One branch has a circular symmetry around q(AF) and quadratic downward dispersion from approximately 41 meV to the spin gap of 33+/-1 meV. The other, of lower intensity, disperses from approximately 41 meV to at least 55 meV. Our results exclude a quartet of vertical incommensurate rods in q-omega space expected from spin waves produced by dynamical charge stripes as an origin of the observed incommensurate scattering in optimally doped YBCO.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Partial order in the non-Fermi-liquid phase of MnSi.

Only a few metallic phases have been identified in pure crystalline materials. These include normal, ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic metals, systems with spin and charge density wave order, and superconductors. Fermi-liquid theory provides a basis for the description of all of these phases. It has been suggested that non-Fermi-liquid phases of metals may exist in some heavy-fermion compounds and oxide materials, but the discovery of a characteristic microscopic signature of such phases presents a major challenge. The transition-metal compound MnSi above a certain pressure (p(c) = 14.6 kbar) provides what may be the cleanest example of an extended non-Fermi-liquid phase in a three-dimensional metal. The bulk properties of MnSi suggest that long-range magnetic order is suppressed at p(c) (refs 7-12). Here we report neutron diffraction measurements of MnSi, revealing that sizeable quasi-static magnetic moments survive far into the non-Fermi-liquid phase. These moments are organized in an unusual pattern with partial long-range order. Our observation supports the existence of novel metallic phases with partial ordering of the conduction electrons (reminiscent of liquid crystals), as proposed for the high-temperature superconductors and heavy-fermion compounds.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Pronounced in-plane anisotropy of phonon anomalies in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6.6).

The dispersion of the Cu-O bond-stretching and bond-bending vibrations in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6.6) has been studied by high resolution inelastic neutron scattering. While the behavior of the bond-bending vibrations can be well accounted for by a simple potential model, the bond-stretching vibrations show a highly anomalous behavior. The displacement pattern of the most anomalous phonons is in principle consistent with dynamic charge stripe formation. However, charge stripes would have to extend along the a axis and not the b axis as inferred from the magnetic fluctuations by Mook et al. [Nature (London) 404, 729 (2000)].

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Bond-stretching-phonon anomalies in stripe-ordered La1.69Sr0.31NiO4.

We report a neutron scattering study of bond-stretching phonons in La1.69Sr0.31NiO4, a doped antiferromagnet in which the added holes order in diagonal stripes at 45 to the Ni-O bonds. For the highest-energy longitudinal optical mode along the bonds, a softening of 20% is observed between the Brillouin zone center and the zone boundary. At 45 to the bonds, a splitting of the same magnitude is found across much of the zone. Surprisingly, the charge-ordering wave vector plays no apparent role in the anomalous dispersions. The implications for related anomalies in the cuprates are discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996