Inelastic neutron scattering study of spin excitations in the superconducting state of high temperature superconductors

Inelastic neutron scattering is a powerful technique that can measure magnetic correlations in a large momentum and energy range. In strongly correlated electronic systems, where spin, orbital, lattice and charge degrees of freedom are entangled, it is currently used to study the magnetic properties and shed light on their role in the appearance of the exotic electronic properties, such as unconventional superconductivity. In this article, we focus on the observation by inelastic neutron scattering technique of unconventional spin triplet collective modes in the superconducting state of high temperature superconducting cuprates and its interplay with anomalies in the charge excitation spectrum. The triplet spin mode is interpreted as a spin exciton, within a spin band model. Alternative scenarii based on localized or dual (itinerant localized) models are also mentioned. To cite this article: Y. Sidis et al., C. R. Physique 8 (2007).