Abstract
We report on and NMR/NQR measurements in the high- superconductor with K. Spin fluctuations probed by spin-lattice relaxation continuously slow down on cooling through We argue that spin freezing and superconductivity are bulk effects in this sample. Thus both phenomena have to coexist microscopically. The distribution of values at low temperature reveals a wide spread of spin fluctuation frequencies in planes. A simple estimate shows that nuclei at sites where electronic fluctuations are the slowest are not observable (wipeout effect) because relaxation times are too short. This means that the NQR wipeout, observed in this sample, can be explained primarily by slow magnetic, rather than charge, fluctuations. The magnetic origin of the wipeout is still compatible with a connection between wipeout and charge order [as proposed by Hunt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4300 (1999)], but this connection is indirect. On the other hand, since the wipeout fraction is not an intensive quantity it cannot define a proper order parameter and cannot be used by itself as a criterion for the existence of a stripe phase.
- Received 11 October 2000
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.63.144508
©2001 American Physical Society