Magnetic heat transport in R2CuO4 (R=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd)

Berggold K.

Lorenz T.

Baier J.

Kriener M.

Senff D.

Roth H.

Severing A.

Hartmann H.

Freimuth A.

Barilo S.

Nakamura Fumihiko

Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

We have studied the thermal conductivity κ on single crystalline samples of the antiferromagnetic monolayer cuprates R2CuO4 with R=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Gd. For a heat current within the CuO2 planes, i.e., for κab we find high-temperature anomalies around 250K in all samples. In contrast, the thermal conductivity κc perpendicular to the CuO2 planes, which we measured for R=La, Pr, and Gd, shows a conventional temperature dependence as expected for a purely phononic thermal conductivity. This qualitative anisotropy of κi and the anomalous temperature dependence of κab give evidence for a significant magnetic contribution κmag to the heat transport within the CuO2 planes. Our results suggest, that a large magnetic contribution to the heat current is a common feature of single-layer cuprates. We find that κmag is hardly affected by structural instabilities, whereas already weak charge carrier doping causes a strong suppression of κmag .

eng

American Physical Society

Copyright (c) 2006 American Physical Society.

[ISSN] 1098-0121

[DOI] 10.1103/PhysRevB.73.104430

[NCID] AA11187113

[DOI] http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.62.11527