Enhanced charge stripe order of superconducting La2-xBaxCuO4 in a magnetic field

The effect of a magnetic field on the charge stripe order in La2-xBaxCuO4 has been studied by means of high-energy (100 keV) x-ray diffraction for charge carrier concentrations ranging from strongly underdoped to optimally doped. We find that charge stripe order can be significantly enhanced by a magnetic field applied along the c axis, but only at temperatures and dopings where it coexists with bulk superconductivity at zero field. The field also increases stripe correlations between the planes, which can result in an enhanced frustration of the interlayer Josephson coupling. Close to the famous x = 1/8 compound, where zero field stripe order is pronounced and bulk superconductivity is suppressed, charge stripe order is independent of a magnetic field. The results for La2-xBaxCuO4 resemble recent observations in YBa2Cu3O6 broken vertical bar delta d and, independent of potential differences in the microscopic origin of charge order in these two compounds, imply a very similar competition with three-dimensionally coherent superconductivity. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.87.014501