This thesis describes the neutron scattering measurements of magnetic excitations in \nspin-chains and ladders. The first part discusses an experimental investigation of the copper oxide family Srâ â Cuâ â Oâ â composed of edge-sharing chains and spin-ladders. \nThe study of Laâ Srâ â Cuâ â Oâ â comprises a slightly hole-doped chain and an undoped ladder structure where the chain can be modeled by a ferromagnetic nearest and an \nantiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbor coupling. The hole effects are apparent in gaps in the dispersion relation and can be described by a charge-density wave agreeing with the commensuration of the dispersion. Investigating the undoped ladder establishes \nthe exchange constants including a cyclic exchange manifested by the two-magnon \ncontinuum and the suppression of the S = 1 bound mode. An orbital consideration \nprovides an explanation for the exchanges including the different sizes of rung and \nleg coupling. The excitation spectrum of the doped ladder in Caâ .â Srâ â .â Cuâ â Oâ â can be \ndescribed by a direct comparison with the undoped ladder and the differences consisting \nof a higher energy mode and subgap scattering can be successfully modeled by the charge spectrum of the ladder calculated from the free electron model. The second part of the thesis investigates the alternating chain material Cu(NOâ )â · 2.5D2O and establishes the gapped one-magnon dispersion, the two-magnon continuum and for the first time the S =1 bound mode. Applying magnetic field drives the system through two critical field transitions, condensation of magnons into the ground state and saturation. The modes beyond saturation can be modeled by spin wave theory and the excitations at the first critical field follow Luttinger Liquid behavior. Additionally investigated are the temperature effects with the excitations being of a different nature but containing the signature of a strong correlated system. For an outlook the measurements including temperature and field are provided with further theoretical descriptions necessary.
We study magnetic-field-induced critical singularities in the superconducting phase of the hole-doped Hubbard model of repulsively interacting electrons, defined on a two-leg ladder. We argue that, provided the low-energy spin excitations in doped ladders carry electric charge, the low-temperature thermodynamic quantities, such as the specific-heat coefficient and magnetic susceptibility, will show logarithmic singularities in the quantum critical regime. This behavior is in drastic contrast to the magnetic-field-induced criticality in undoped Mott insulator ladders, which is governed by the zero-scale-factor universality with its hallmark square-root singularities.
Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) has become an important tool for studying elementary excitations in correlated materials. Here, we present a systematic theoretical investigation of the Cu
L-edge RIXS spectra of undoped and doped cuprate two-leg spin-ladders in both the non-spin-conserving (NSC) and spin-conserving (SC) channels. The spectra are rich and host many exotic excitations. In the NSC channel of the undoped case, we identify one-triplon and bound triplet two-triplon excitations in the strong rung coupling limit, as well as confined spinons in the weak rung coupling limit. In the doped case, we observe a quasiparticle excitation formed from a bound charge and spin-
1/2 in the strong rung coupling limit. In the SC channel, we also identify several new features, including bound singlet two-triplon excitations and confined spinons in the undoped ladders in the strong and weak rung coupling limits, respectively. Conversely, in the doped case, the SC channel primarily probes both gapless and gapped charge excitations. Finally, we revisit the available data for the ladder compound
Sr14Cu24O41 in the context of our results.