Critical spin dynamics of the 2D quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets: Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 and Sr_2Cu_3O_4Cl_2

Abstract

We report a neutron scattering study of the long-wavelength dynamic spin correlations in the model two-dimensional $S=1/2$ square lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnets Sr$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ and Sr$_2$Cu$_3$O$_4$Cl$_2$. The characteristic energy scale, $\omega_0 (T/J)$, is determined by measuring the quasielastic peak width in the paramagnetic phase over a wide range of temperature ($0.2 \alt T/J \alt 0.7$). The obtained values for $\omega_0 (T/J)$ agree {\it quantitatively} between the two compounds and also with values deduced from quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The combined data show scaling behavior, $\omega \sim \xi^{-z}$, over the entire temperature range with $z=1.0(1)$, in agreement with dynamic scaling theory.