Affiliations: [a] Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France. E-mails: tutueanu@ill.fr, boehm@ill.fr, steffens@ill.fr, henriettewase@gmail.com | [b] Nanoscience Center, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. E-mail: lefmann@nbi.ku.dk | [c] Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. E-mail: molac@dtu.dk | [d] Glass and Time, IMFUFA, Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark. E-mail: kirale@ruc.dk | [e] Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland. E-mail: christof.niedermayer@psi.ch
Abstract: Neutron diffraction has been a very prominent tool to investigate high-temperature superconductors, in particular through the discovery of an incommensurate magnetic signal known as stripes. We here report the findings of a neutron diffraction experiment on the superconductor (La,Sr)2CuO4, where a spurious signal appeared to be magnetic stripes. The signal strength was found to be strongly dependent on the neutron energy, peaking at E=4.6 meV. We therefore attribute the origin of this signal to be a combination of multiple scattering and crystal twinning. A forward calculation of the scattering intensity including these two effects almost completely recovers our experimental observations. We emphasize the need for employing such analysis when searching for ways to avoid spurious scattering signals.
