Muon spin relaxation study on magnetic properties of Nd2−xCexCuO4 around a boundary between the magnetically ordered and superconducting states

Zero-field and longitudinal-field muon spin relaxation (mSR) measurements have been carried out in order to investigate magnetic properties of the electron-doped high-Tc oxides of Nd2-xCexCuO4 around a boundary between the magnetically ordered state and the superconducting one. A fast muon-spin depolarizing component by a static internal field was observed in the O-reduced superconducting single crystal with x=0.15 below about 10 K, indicating that a part of Cu and/or Nd spins shows a magnetically ordered state. The present mSR study suggests a possibility of a coexisting or a phase-separated state around x=0.15. 8 refs.