It is believed that covalent glasses can be divided into two classes: those with high average coordination (amorphous solids) and those with low average coordination (polymeric glasses). We present the first conclusive evidence that this division is correct by calculating the elastic properties of random networks with different average coordination (r). The results show that the elastic constants depend predominantly on (r) and go to zero when (r) = 2.4 with an exponent /= 1.5 ±0.2.

An inelastic neutron scattering study of overdoped Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) ( T(c) = 83 K) has revealed a resonant spin excitation in the superconducting state. The mode energy is E(res) = 38.0 meV, significantly lower than in optimally doped Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) ( T(c) = 91 K, E(res) = 42.4 meV). This observation, which indicates a constant ratio E(res)/k(B)T(c) approximately 5.4, helps resolve a long-standing controversy about the origin of the resonant spin excitation in high temperature superconductors.

Neutron scattering was used to determine the spin structure and the magnon spectrum of the Mott-Hubbard insulator YTiO3. The magnetic structure is complex, comprising substantial G-type and A-type antiferromagnetic components in addition to the predominant ferromagnetic component. The magnon spectrum, on the other hand, is gapless and nearly isotropic. We show that these findings are inconsistent with the orbitally ordered states thus far proposed for YTiO3 and discuss general implications for a theoretical description of exchange interactions in orbitally degenerate systems.

An unusual spin excitation mode observed by neutron scattering has inspired numerous theoretical studies of the interplay between charged quasiparticles and collective spin excitations in the copper oxide high-temperature superconductors. The mode has, thus far, only been observed in materials with crystal structures consisting of copper oxide bilayers, and it is absent in the single-layer compound La 2− x Sr x CuO 4+δ . Neutron-scattering data now show that the mode is present in Tl 2 Ba 2 CuO 6+δ , a single-layer compound with a superconducting transition temperature of ∼90 kelvin, demonstrating that it is a generic feature of the copper oxide superconductors, independent of the layer sequence. This restricts the theoretical models for the origin of the resonant mode and its role in the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.

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