Large response of charge stripes to uniaxial stress in La1.475Nd0.4Sr0.125CuO4

T J Boyle,S Blanco-Canosa,A Gozar,C Schüßler-Langeheine,A C Komarek,A Damascelli,E Schierle,E Weschke,M Walker,Feizhou He ,F Boschini ,Eduardo H Da Silva Neto ,Peng Wu ,Teak D Boyko ,Nobumichi Tamura ,Alex Frañó ,Alejandro Ruiz ,Warren H Moore ,Z.x Zhao ,Ronny Sutarto

doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.3.l022004

Abstract

The La-based '214' cuprates host several symmetry breaking phases including superconductivity, charge and spin order in the form of stripes, and a structural othorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition. Therefore, these materials are an ideal system to study the effects of uniaxial stress onto the various correlations that pervade the cuprate phase diagram. We report resonant x-ray scattering experiments on $\textrm{La}_{1.475}\textrm{Nd}_{0.4}\textrm{Sr}_{0.125}\textrm{Cu}\textrm{O}_{4}$ (LNSCO-125) that reveal a significant response of charge stripes to uniaxial tensile-stress of $\sim$ 0.1 GPa. These effects include a reduction of the onset temperature of stripes by $\sim$ 50 K, a 29 K reduction of the low-temperature orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition, competition between charge order and superconductivity, and a preference for stripes to form along the direction of applied stress. Altogether, we observe a dramatic response of the electronic properties of LNSCO-125 to a modest amount of uniaxial stress.

Highlights

The La-based “214” cuprates host several symmetry-breaking phases, including superconductivity, charge and spin order in the form of stripes, and a structural orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition
These effects include a reduction of the onset temperature of stripes by ∼50 K, a 29-K reduction of the low-temperature orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition, competition between charge order and superconductivity, and a preference for stripes to form along the direction of applied stress
Tation alternating by 90◦ between adjacent CuO2 planes [4]. (iii) The stripes are strongly pinned to the low-temperature tetragonal (LTT) crystal structure, which stabilizes the alternating pattern [5,6]. (iv) the stabilization of stripes occurs in concert with the suppression of three-dimensional (3D) superconductivity, which results from a frustration of the Josephson coupling between adjacent CuO2 layers [7,8]

Summary

Introduction

The La-based “214” cuprates host several symmetry-breaking phases, including superconductivity, charge and spin order in the form of stripes, and a structural orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition. We report resonant x-ray scattering experiments on La1.475Nd0.4Sr0.125CuO4 (LNSCO125) that reveal a significant response of charge stripes to uniaxial tensile stress of ∼0.1 GPa. These effects include a reduction of the onset temperature of stripes by ∼50 K, a 29-K reduction of the low-temperature orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition, competition between charge order and superconductivity, and a preference for stripes to form along the direction of applied stress.

Results

Conclusion