Exposing the spin glass ground state of the non-superconducting La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$Cu$_{1-y}$Zn$_{y}$O$_4$ high-$T_c$ oxide

Abstract

We have studied the spin glass behaviour of non-superconducting La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$Cu$_{0.95}$Zn$_{0.05}$O$_4$ ($x=0.10-0.22$). As in the superconducting analogues of these samples the spin glass transition temperature $T_g$ decreases with increasing $x$, and vanishes at $x=0.19$. A local enhancement in $T_g$ at $x=0.12$ is also observed and attributed to stripe ordering. The disappearance of $T_g$ for $x\geq0.19$ is discussed in terms of a quantum phase transition.