Comment on ''Phase Diagram of La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ Probed in the Infrared: Imprints of Charge Stripe Excitations''

Abstract

Recently Lucarelli {\it et al.} have reported\cite{lucarelli} temperature-dependence of the in-plane optical reflectivity of La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ over a wide doping range, focusing on the infrared peaks at 30 cm${}^{-1}$ (for $x$=0.12), 250 cm${}^{-1}$ and 510 cm${}^{-1}$. They interpreted the first peak (30 cm${}^{-1}$) as a signature of charge stripe ordering, while the latter two (250 cm${}^{-1}$ and 510 cm${}^{-1}$) are attributed to the polaronic charge excitations. However, careful readers would notice that the reported spectra are largely different from those so far measured on the same system. As we illustrate below, all these peaks are caused by an uncontrolled leakage of the c-axis reflectivity into the measured spectra.

1 page, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett 91 (2003)