Magnetic behavior in Li-doped La2CuO4

Li-induced spin and charge excitations in a spin ladder

A lithium dopant in a cuprate spin ladder acts as a vacant (nonmagnetic) site accompanied by an extra hole bound by a Coulomb potential. We find that, although the undoped ladder spin gap is not essentially altered by Li doping, a dopant-magnon bound state appears just below the gap. Contrary to Zn-doped ladders, the spin liquid character of a Li-doped ladder should be robust against antiferromagnetism. We give a possible explanation for the similarity of Zn and Li dopants in underdoped cuprates and propose experimental tests.

Commensurate dynamic magnetic correlations in La2Cu0.9Li0.1O4

When sufficient numbers of holes are introduced into the two-dimensional CuO2 square lattice, dynamic magnetic correlations become incommensurate with underlying lattice in all previously investigated La(2-x)A(x)Cu(1-z)B(z)O(4+y) ( A = Sr or Nd, B = Zn) including high T(c) superconductors and insulators, and in bilayered superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. Magnetic correlations also become incommensurate in structurally related La2NiO4 when doped with Sr or O. We report an exception to this so-far well-established experimental "rule" in La(2)Cu(1-z)Li(z)O4 in which magnetic correlations remain commensurate.