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Universal features of charge and spin order in a half-doped layered perovskite

We have investigated the peculiar structure of charge and spin ordering in the half-doped layered perovskite oxide La$_{1.5}$Sr$_{0.5}$CoO$_4$ by elastic neutron scattering. Two samples with different preparation histories were studied. We find that the generic features of the ordered states, such as their short-range, glassy nature and the spin incommensurability, are sample-independent. At the same time, some subtle features of the ordered phases, such as the correlation lengths, differ.