Two-dimensional orbital-like magnetic order in the high-temperature La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 superconductor.

In high-temperature copper oxide superconductors, a novel magnetic order associated with the pseudogap phase has been identified in two different cuprate families over a wide region of temperature and doping. We report here the observation below 120 K of a similar magnetic ordering in the archetypal cuprate La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 (LSCO) system for x=0.085. In contrast with the previous reports, the magnetic ordering in LSCO is only short range with an in-plane correlation length of ∼10  A and is bidimensional (2D). Such a less pronounced order suggests an interaction with other electronic instabilities. In particular, LSCO also exhibits a strong tendency towards stripes ordering at the expense of the superconducting state.