Experimental Evidence for a Glass forming "Stripe Liquid" in the Magnetic Ground State of La1.65Eu0.2Sr0.15CuO4

Abstract

We report measurements of the longitudinal ($^{139}T_1^{-1}$) and transverse ($^{139}T_2^{-1}$) decay rates of the magnetization of $^{139}$La nuclei performed in a high quality single crystal of La$_{1.65}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4}$. We observe a dramatic slowing of the Cu 3d spins manifested as a sharp increase of both $^{139}T_1^{-1}$ and $^{139}T_2^{-1}$ below 30 K. We find that in this temperature range the fluctuations involve a unique time scale $\tau $ which diverges as $(T-T_{\rm A})^{-1.9}$ with $T_{\rm A}\thickapprox 5$ K. This behavior is distinct from the continuous freezing observed in underdoped La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ which involves a distribution of energy barriers. By contrast, in La$_{1.65}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4}$, the freezing below 30K is intrinsic to its magnetic ground state and the observed power law supports the existence of a glass forming "charge stripe liquid".