Impurity and magnetic field effects on the stripes in cuprates

Impurity and magnetic field effects on the stripes are reviewed not only in the La-based cuprates but also in the other high-Tc cuprates. It has turned out that the so-called 1/8 anomaly takes place not only in the La-based cuprates but also in the hole-doped high-Tc cuprates universally, when adequate pinning centers are introduced. Impurity-induced magnetism tends to emerge at low temperatures in a wide range of hole concentration in LSCO, Bi2201 and YBCO where superconductivity appears. Accordingly, it is possible that the dynamically fluctuating stripes exist universally in the hole-doped high-Tc cuprates and play an important role in the appearance of the high-Tc superconductivity. For the hole-doped high-Tc cuprates, it has turned out that magnetic field effects on the stripes are small in samples where the stripes are well stabilized statically in zero field, while field-induced magnetism is observed under magnetic fields parallel to the c-axis in underdoped samples where magnetism is not well developed in zero field. The field-induced magnetism has been observed in some optimally doped samples also, but it has never been observed in overdoped samples. Field-induced CDW has been observed in slightly overdoped BSCCO. These results are understood fundamentally in terms of the theoretical phase diagram as a function of magnetic field, based on the Ginzburg–Landau theory with competing antiferromagnetic and superconducting order parameters. It is also possible to understand that the field-induced magnetism and CDW are due to pinning of the dynamically fluctuating stripes by vortex cores as in the case of the pinning by impurities. In the electron-doped high-Tc cuprates, on the other hand, impurity-induced magnetism has never been observed. The nature of the field-induced magnetism observed in the electron-doped cuprates is different from that in the hole-doped ones.

► Impurity and magnetic field effects on the stripes in high-Tc cuprates are reviewed. ► The impurity-induced magnetism is due to pinning of the stripes by impurities. ► The field-induced magnetism is discussed in relation to the stripes. ► Dynamically fluctuating stripes exist universally in the hole-doped high-Tc cuprates.