(Received 8 December 2003; published 1 April 2004)
Recent electron-spin-resonance (ESR) data show rotation of the antiferromagnetic (AF) easy axis in lightly doped layered cuprates upon lowering the temperature. We account for the ESR data and show that it has significant implications on spin and charge ordering according to the following scenario: In the high-temperature phase AF domain walls coincide with (110) twin boundaries of an orthorhombic phase. A magnetic field leads to annihilation of neighboring domain walls resulting in antiphase boundaries. The latter are spin carriers, form ferromagnetic lines and may become charged in the doped system. However, hole ordering at low temperatures favors the (100) orientation, inducing a
/4 rotation in the AF easy axis. The latter phase
has twin boundaries and AF domain walls in (100) planes.
©2004 The American Physical Society