1. Gapped commensurate antiferromagnetic response in a strongly underdoped model cuprate superconductor
- Author
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Anderson, Zachary W., Tang, Yang, Nagarajan, Vikram, Chan, Mun K., Dorow, Chelsey J., Yu, Guichuan, Abernathy, Douglas L., Christianson, Andrew D., Mangin-Thro, Lucile, Steffens, Paul, Sterling, Tyler, Reznik, Dmitry, Bounoua, Dalila, Sidis, Yvan, Bourges, Philippe, and Greven, Martin
- Subjects
Condensed Matter - Superconductivity ,Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons - Abstract
It is a distinct possibility that spin fluctuations are the pairing interactions in a wide range of unconventional superconductors. In the case of the high-transition-temperature (high-$T_c$) cuprates, in which superconductivity emerges upon doping an antiferromagnetic Mott-insulating state, spin correlations might furthermore drive unusual pseudogap phenomena. Here we use polarized and unpolarized magnetic neutron scattering to study the simple tetragonal cuprate $\mathrm{HgBa}_{2}\mathrm{CuO}_{4+\delta}$ at very low doping ($T_c \approx 55$ K, hole concentration $p \approx 0.064$). In stark contrast to prior results for other underdoped cuprates, we find no evidence of incommensurate spin-density-wave, charge-spin stripe, or $q = 0$ magnetic order. Instead, the antiferromagnetic response in both the superconducting and pseudogap states is gapped below $\Delta_\mathrm{AF} \approx 6$ meV, commensurate over a wide energy range, and disperses above about 55 meV. Given the documented model nature of $\mathrm{HgBa}_{2}\mathrm{CuO}_{4+\delta}$, which exhibits high structural symmetry and minimal point disorder effects, we conclude that the observed behavior signifies the unmasked response of the quintessential $\mathrm{CuO}_{2}$ planes near the Mott-insulating state. These results for $\mathrm{HgBa}_{2}\mathrm{CuO}_{4+\delta}$ can therefore be expected to serve as a benchmark for a refined theoretical understanding of the cuprates., Comment: Main text: 18 pages, 6 figures. Supplement: 17 pages, 10 figures
- Published
- 2024