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Compton scattering provides invaluable information on the underlying Fermi surface (FS) and is a powerful tool complementary to angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and quantum oscillation measurements. Here we perform high-resolution Compton scattering measurements for La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} with x=0.08 (Tc=20K) at 300K and 150K, and image the momentum distribution function in the two-dimensional Brillouin zone. We find that the observed images cannot be reconciled with the conventional hole-like FS believed so far. Instead, our data imply that the FS is strongly deformed by the underlying nematicity in each CuO_2 plane, but the bulk FSs recover the fourfold symmetry. We also find an unusually strong temperature dependence of the momentum distribution function, which may originate from the pseudogap formation in the presence of the reconstructed FSs due to the underlying nematicity. Additional measurements for x=0.15 and 0.30 at 300K suggest similar FS deformation with weaker nematicity, which nearly vanishes at x=0.30., Comment: 36 pages, 19 figures

We report a Cu K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of momentum-dependent charge excitations in Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ ($x$ = 0.075 and 0.18). The peak position and width of the excitations coincide excellently with those observed in Cu L$_3$-edge RIXS. It demonstrates that the same charge excitations are observed at the two edges., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures

To investigate the origin of the enhanced $T_c$ ($\approx$ 110 K) of the trilayer cuprate superconductor Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{10+\delta}$ (Bi-2223), we have performed systematic magnetoresistance (MR) measurements on this superconductor, as well as on the bilayer superconductor, Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi-2212). The in-plane coherence length, $\xi_{ab}$, and the specific-heat jump, ${\Delta}C$, have been estimated using the theory of renormalized superconductive fluctuations, and the doping dependence of these parameters has been qualitatively explained using the Fermi arc approach. A detailed comparison of the superconducting parameters with $T_c$ for these compounds suggests that an additional superconducting condensation energy exists, due to an increase in the number of stacking CuO$_{2}$ planes in a unit cell., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, to appear in JPSJ

To investigate the relationship between the pseudogap and superconductivity, we measured both the in-plane ($\rho_{ab}$) and out-of-plane ($\rho_c$) resistivity for oxygen-controlled Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$ single crystals subject to magnetic fields (parallel to the $c$ axis) of up to 17.5 T. The onset temperature for the superconductive fluctuation, $T_{scf}$, is determined by the large positive in-plane magnetoresistance (MR) and negative out-of-plane MR observed near $T_c$, whereas the pseudogap opening temperature $T^*$ is determined by the semiconductive upturn of the zero-field $\rho_c$. $T_{scf}$ was found to scale roughly as $T_c$, with a decreasing temperature interval between them upon doping. On the other hand, $T^*$ starts out much higher than $T_{scf}$ but decreases monotonically upon doping; finally, at a heavily overdoped state, it is not observed above $T_{scf}$. These results imply that the pseudogap is not a simple precursor of superconductivity, but that further study is needed to determine whether or not $T^*$ exists below $T_{scf}$ in the heavily overdoped state., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, to appear in JPSJ

Neutron scattering experiments continue to improve our knowledge of spin fluctuations in layered cuprates, excitations that are symptomatic of the electronic correlations underlying high-temperature superconductivity. Time-of-flight spectrometers, together with new and varied single crystal samples, have provided a more complete characterization of the magnetic energy spectrum and its variation with carrier concentration. While the spin excitations appear anomalous in comparison with simple model systems, there is clear consistency among a variety of cuprate families. Focusing initially on hole-doped systems, we review the nature of the magnetic spectrum, and variations in magnetic spectral weight with doping. We consider connections with the phenomena of charge and spin stripe order, and the potential generality of such correlations as suggested by studies of magnetic-field and impurity induced order. We contrast the behavior of the hole-doped systems with the trends found in the electron-doped superconductors. Returning to hole-doped cuprates, studies of translation-symmetry-preserving magnetic order are discussed, along with efforts to explore new systems. We conclude with a discussion of future challenges., Comment: revised version, to be published in JPSJ, 20 pages, 21 figures

We report single-crystal neutron diffraction studies on a spinel antiferromagnet GeCo$_2$O$_4$, which exhibits magnetic order with a trigonal propagation vector and tetragonal lattice expansion ($c/a\simeq1.001$) below $T_{\rm N}=21$ K. For this inconsistency between spin and lattice in symmetry, magnetic Bragg reflections with a tetragonal propagation vector were discovered below $T_{\rm N}$. We discuss spin and orbital states of Co$^{2+}$ ion underlying the new magnetic component., Comment: 3 pages 2 figures, submitted to ICFCM proceeding (Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2011)

The complex nature of the magnetic ground state in La$_{1-x}$A$_{x}$CoO$_{3}$ (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) has been investigated via neutron scattering. It was previously observed that ferromagnetic (FM) as well as antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations can coexist prior to the insulator-metal transition (IMT). We focused on a unique region in the Ba phase diagram, from x = 0.17 - 0.22, in which a commensurate AFM phase appears first with a propagation vector, k = (0, -0.5, 0.5), and the Co moment in the (001)$_{R}$ plane of the rhombohedral lattice. With increasing x, the AFM component weakens while an FM order appears with the FM Co moment directed along the (001)$_{R}$ (=(111)$_{C}$) axis. By x = 0.22, a spin flip to new FM component appears as the crystal fully transforms to an orthorhombic (Pnma) structure, with the Co moments pointing along a new direction, (001)$_{O}$ (=(110)$_{C}$). It is the emergence of the magnetic Pnma phase that leads to IMT., Comment: 5 pages

The characteristic pseudogap temperature T* in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 system has been systematically evaluated as a function of doping, especially focusing on its overdoped region, by measuring the out-of-plane resistivity under the magnetic fields. Overdoped samples have been prepared by annealing TSFZ-grown Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals under the high oxygen pressures (990 kgf/cm2). At a zero field, the out-of-plane resistivity showed a metallic behavior down to Tc (= 62 K), while under the magnetic fields of over 3 T,it showed typical upturn behavior from around 65 K upon decreasing temperature. This result suggests that the pseudogap and superconductivity are different phenomena., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. Final version accepted for the Proceedings of the M2S-IX Conference (Tokyo, September 2009)

The lattice dynamics of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (x = 0.00, 0.27) have been studied by inelastic X-ray scattering measurement at room temperature. K doping induces the softening and broadening of phonon modes in the energy range E = 10-15 meV. Analysis with a Born-von Karman force-constant model indicates that the softening results from reduced interatomic force constants around (Ba,K) sites following the displacement of divalent Ba by monovalent K. The phonon broadening may be explained by the local distortions induced by the K substitution. Extra phonon modes are observed around the wave vector q = (0.5,0,0) at E = 16.5 meV for the x = 0.27 sample. These modes may arise either from the local disorder induced by K doping or from electron-phonon coupling., Comment: J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. (in press)

We report on the first local atomic structure study via the pair density function (PDF) analysis of neutron diffraction data and show a direct correlation of local coordinates to TC in the newly discovered superconducting FeSe1-xTex. The isovalent substitution of Te for Se such as in FeSe0.5Te0.5 increases Tc by twofold in comparison to a-FeSe without changing the carrier concentration but, on average, decreases the chalcogen-Fe bond angle. However, we find that the local symmetry is lower than the average P4/nmm crystal symmetry, because the Se and Te ions do not share the same site, leading to two distinct z-coordinates that exhibit two types of bond angles with Fe. The angle indeed increases from ~ 104.02o in FeSe to ~105.20o in FeSe0.5Te0.5 between Fe and Se. Simultaneously, ab-initio calculations based on spin density function theory yielded an optimized structure with distinct z-coordinates for Se and Te, in agreement with the experiment. The valence charge distribution in the Fe-Se bonds was found to be different from that in the Fe-Te bonds. Thus, superconductivity in this chalcogenide is closely related to the local structural environment, with direct implications on the multiband magnetism where modulations of the ionic lattice can change the distribution of valence electrons., Comment: 17 page PDF file with 3 figures and 2 tables

A central issue on high-Tc superconductivity is the nature of the normal-state gap (pseudogap) in the underdoped regime and its relationship with superconductivity. Despite persistent efforts, theoretical ideas for the pseudogap evolve around fluctuating superconductivity, competing order and spectral weight suppression due to many-body effects. Recently, while some experiments in the superconducting state indicate a distinction between the superconducting gap and pseudogap, others in the normal state, either by extrapolation from high-temperature data or directly from La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 (LBCO-1/8) at low temperature, suggest the ground-state pseudogap is a single gap of d-wave form. Here we report angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data from LBCO-1/8, collected with improved experimental conditions, that reveal the ground-state pseudogap has a pronounced deviation from the simple d-wave form. It contains two distinct components: a d-wave component within an extended region around the node and the other abruptly enhanced close to the antinode, pointing to a dual nature of the pseudogap in this failed high-Tc superconductor which involves a possible precursor pairing energy scale around the node and another of different but unknown origin near the antinode., Comment: Nature Physics advance online publication, Dec. 21st 2008; Author's original version of the main text; for a better resolution of figures & Supplementary Information, visit Nature Physics' website

We report incommensurate diffuse (ICD) scattering appearing in the high-temperature-tetragonal (HTT) phase of La$_{2-x}$(Sr,Ba)$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ with $0.07 \leq x \leq 0.20$ observed by the neutron diffraction technique. For all compositions, a sharp superlattice peak of the low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) structure is replaced by a pair of ICD peaks with the modulation vector parallel to the CuO$_6$ octahedral tilting direction, that is, the diagonal Cu-Cu direction of the CuO$_2$ plane, above the LTO-HTT transition temperature $T_s$. The temperature dependences of the incommensurability $\delta$ for all samples scale approximately as $T/T_s$, while those of the integrated intensity of the ICD peaks scale as $(T-T_s)^{-1}$. These observations together with absence of ICD peaks in the non-superconducting $x=0.05$ sample evince a universal incommensurate lattice instability of hole-doped 214 cuprates in the superconducting regime., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures

We report the in-plane resistivity and magnetic susceptibility of the layered cobalt oxide Na$_{0.35}$CoO$_{2}{\cdot}1.3$H$_{2}$O single crystal. The temperature dependence of the resistivity shows metallic behavior from room temperature to the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$ of 4.5 K. Sharp resistive transition, zero resistivity and almost perfect superconducting volume fraction below $T_{c}$ indicate the good quality and the bulk superconductivity of the single crystal. The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ and the coherence length $\xi$ are obtained from the resistive transitions in magnetic field parallel to the c-axis and the $ab$-plane. The anisotropy of $\xi$, $\xi_{ab} / \xi_{c} =$ 12 nm/1.3 nm $\simeq$ 9.2, suggests that this material is considered to be an anisotropic three dimensional superconductor. In the field parallel to the $ab$-plane, $H_{c2}$ seems to be suppressed to the value of Pauli paramagnetic limit. It may indicate the spin singlet superconductivity in the cobalt oxide., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Magnetic excitation spectra c"(q,w) of YBa2Cu3Oy, La2-xSrxCuO4, La2-y-xNdySrxCuO4 and Nd2-xCexCuO4 are compared with those of model calculations, where q and w are the wave vector and the energy of the excitations. In the model, the dynamical spin susceptibility is calculated by the expression c(q,w)= c0(q,w)/{1+J(q)c0(q,w)}, where c0(q,w) is obtained by adopting the effective energy dispersion of the quasi particles which can reproduce the shapes of the Fermi surface, and J(q) is the exchange coupling between the Cu-Cu electrons. It is important to consider the experimentally observed quasi particle broadening (G) to reproduce the observed spectra of YBa2Cu3Oy, while to reproduce the data of La2-xSrxCuO4 and La2-y-xNdySrxCuO4, very small G values have to be used, even in the phases without the static "stripe" order. This may be caused by the existence of the "stripe" correlations or "stripe" fluctuations., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. submitted

This paper has been withdrawn by the authors, because we had probably observed some spurious intensity with x=0.29 sample (Fig.3(b)). This came out after further studies of the detailed x-dependence of the highest energy LO phonon branch in LSCO., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors

We have carried out elastic neutron scattering measurements on La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.075}$Sr$_{0.05}$CuO$_4$ single crystal ($T_c\approx$10K). Incommensurate elastic magnetic peaks were observed in the low-tamperature tetragonal phase with the propergation vector parallel/perpendicular to in-plane Cu-O bond direction. The magnetic peak intensity normalized by the sample volume is approximately six times larger than that of the orthorhombic La$_{1.88}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$ at low temperature., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Proceeding paper of the ASR2000 conference in Tokai, Japan

The energy spectrum of incommensurate spin fluctuations in superconducting Sr-doped La2CuO4 has been studied by inelastic neutron scattering experiments. An energy gap in the spin excitation spectrum is observed in the superconducting state of optimally doped (x=0.15) and slightly overdoped (x=0.18) samples. At temperatures well below Tc, the incommensurate peaks diminish rapidly in intensity with decreasing energy below ~8meV and merge into the background below ~3.5meV for x=0.15 and ~4.5meV for x=0.18. For both samples, the energy spectrum of the q-integrated spin susceptibility, x"(w), exhibits an enhancement around 7meV, which is caused by a broadening in the momentum width of the incommensurate peaks. The gap-like structure in the energy spectrum and the enhancement of x"(w) survive at Tc. On the other hand, for both underdoped (x=0.10) and heavily overdoped (x=0.25) samples there is neither a clear energy gap nor an enhancement of x"(w) below Tc., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, revtex