DOE OSTI · 2571911
Orbital inversion and emergent lattice dynamics in infinite layer CaCoO 2
Abstract
The layered cobaltate CaCoO 2 exhibits a unique herringbone-like structure. Serving as a potential prototype for a new class of complex lattice patterns, we study the properties of CaCoO 2 using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). Our results reveal a significant inter-plane hybridization between the Ca 4s- and Co 3d- orbitals, leading to an inversion of the textbook orbital occupation of a square planar geometry. Further, our RIXS data reveal a strong low energy mode, with anomalous intensity modulations as a function of momentum transfer close to a quasi-static response. These findings indicate that the newly discovered herringbone structure exhibited in CaCoO 2 may serve as a promising laboratory for the design of materials having strong electronic, orbital and lattice correlations.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Jost, Daniel [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173277789), Lomeli, Eder G. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)], Kim, Woo Jin [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)], Been, Emily M. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000222467336), Rossi, Matteo [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000242540713), Agrestini, Stefano [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:000000023625880X), Zhou, Ke-Jin [Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China); Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000192930595), Jia, Chunjing [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)], Moritz, Brian [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)], Shen, Zhi-Xun [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000214540281), Hwang, Harold Y. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000292303214), Devereaux, Thomas P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000180729237), Lee, Wei-Sheng [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000176770421). 2025-06-16. Orbital inversion and emergent lattice dynamics in infinite layer CaCoO 2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-025-00778-z
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.