Magnetic vortices instead of stripes: another interpretation of magnetic neutron scattering in lanthanum cuprates

It is proposed, that a two-dimensional magnetic superstructure closely related to the one mentioned recently by Christensen et al. [cond-mat/0608204] constitutes a viable interpretation of the four-fold splitting of the magnetic (\pi, \pi) peak in lanthanum cuprates. (This splitting is usually interpreted as the evidence for stripes.) The superstructure in question has the topology of the square crystal of magnetic vortices with approximate periodicity (4a x 4a). This vortex crystal exhibits no magnetic antiphase lines. It is shown that such a superstructure is magnetically stable in the approximation of staggered spin polarizations, and that it should be accompanied by charge modulation characterized by charge peaks at the positions observed experimentally.