Vibrations of copper atoms in Pr2CuO4

The method of isotopic contrast in combination with inelastic neutron scatt ering has been used to investigate the vibrational spectrum of the copper a toms in Pr2CuO4. It is shown that the energy positions of the features of t he vibrational spectrum of copper in Pr2CuO4 and CuO (which also has a plan ar oxygen coordination of copper) coincide. We conclude that the dynamical behavior of the copper atoms is formed mainly by their interaction with the nearest-neighbor oxygen atoms. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1 063-7834(99)00507-9].