Large response of charge stripes to uniaxial stress in \(\textrm{La}_{1.475}\textrm{Nd}_{0.4}\textrm{Sr}_{0.125}\textrm{Cu}\textrm{O}_{4}\)

• Published in: arXiv.org 2020-12
• Main Authors: Boyle, T J, Walker, M, Ruiz, A, Schierle, E, Zhao, Z, Boschini, F, Sutarto, R, Boyko, T D, Moore, W, Tamura, N, F He, Weschke, E, Gozar, A, Peng, W, Komarek, A C, Damascelli, A, Schüßler-Langeheine, C, Frano, A, E H da Silva Neto, Blanco-Canosa, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Broken symmetry; Cuprates; Low temperature; Phase diagrams; Phase transitions; Reduction; Superconductivity; X-ray scattering
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2012.09665

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.