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DOE OSTI · 2283050

Universal orbital and magnetic structures in infinite-layer nickelates

Abstract

We conducted a comparative study of the rare-earth infinite-layer nickelate films, RNiO 2 (R = La, Pr, and Nd), using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). We found that the gross features of the orbital configurations are essentially the same, with minor variations in the detailed hybridization. For low-energy excitations, we unambiguously confirm the presence of damped magnetic excitations in all three compounds. By fitting to a linear spin-wave theory, comparable spin exchange coupling strengths and damping coefficients are extracted, indicating a universal magnetic structure in the infinite-layer nickelates. Interestingly, while signatures of a charge order are observed in LaNiO 2 in the quasielastic region of the RIXS spectrum, it is absent in NdNiO 2 and PrNiO 2 . Furthermore, this prompts further investigation into the universality and the origins of charge order within the infinite-layer nickelates.

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BibTeXRIS

Rossi, M., Lu, H., Lee, K., Goodge, B. H., Choi, J., Osada, M., Lee, Y., Li, D., Wang, B. Y., Jost, D., Agrestini, S., Garcia-Fernandez, M., Shen, Z. X., Zhou, Ke-Jin, Been, E., Moritz, B., Kourkoutis, L. F., Devereaux, T. P., Hwang, H. Y., Lee, W. S.. 2024-01-19. Universal orbital and magnetic structures in infinite-layer nickelates. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.109.024512

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