Hour-glass spectra due to oxygen doping in cobaltates

The magnetic excitation spectrum of most high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) cuprates is hour-glass shaped. The observation of hour-glass spectra in the isostructural Sr-doped cobaltates La2−xSrxCoO4 gives rise to a deeper understanding of these spectra. So far, hour-glass spectra have been only observed in those systems that evolve from incommensurate magnetic peaks. Here, we report on the appearance of hour-glass spectra in oxygen-doped cobaltates La2CoO4+δ. The high-energy part of the hour-glass spectrum of oxygen doped cobaltates is extremely anisotropic with a very prominent stripe-like appearance not seen that clearly in purely Sr-doped compounds. A charge stripe scenario is evidenced by (polarized) neutron diffraction measurements and also corroborated by spin wave simulations. Our results indicate that charge stripes are the origin of the anisotropic stripe- or diamond-shaped high-energy part of the hour-glass spectrum. A link between hour-glass spectra and charge stripes could be of relevance for the physics in HTSC cuprates. The hour-glass magnetic excitation spectrum is a universal feature of most cuprate high-temperature superconductors, yet the exact origins are still debated. Here, using inelastic neutron scattering techniques, the authors report hour-glass magnetic spectra in an oxygen-doped cobaltate La2CoO4+δ and discuss the potential link with charge stripes and the “diamond-shaped” high energy part of the hour-glass spectrum of this system.