Differentiation of site-specific symmetry breaking orders in cuprate
Solid matter is classified through symmetry of ordering phenomena. Experimentally, this approach is straightforward, except when distinct orderings occur with almost identical symmetry breaking.
The group of Johan Chang could show that the cuprate system Y1−xPrxBa2Cu3O6+y hosts two distinct orderings with almost identical periodicity. Differentiating these orders provides an important clue to the anomalous behavior of this material, which unlike the isostructural members of the 123-family of high-temperature cuprates, does not display superconductivity.
