Elastic constants and the structural phase transition in La sub 2-x Sr sub x CuO sub 4

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy is used to measure the temperature dependence of all six elastic moduli of La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4}. A giant softening (> 50% reduction) in the in-plane shear modulus, c{sub 66}, is observed and is attributed to the tetragonal-orthorhombic structural phase transition in this material. This phase transition and the corresponding softening is examined with a simple anharmonic mechanical model and a macroscopic Ginsburg-Landau formalism exploiting the full symmetry of the crystal. 16 refs., 5 figs