Interplay between the orbital and magnetic order in monolayer La(1-x)Sr(1+x)MnO(4) manganites

Peculiar magnetism in Eu substituted BiFeO3 and its correlation with local structure

We have systematically investigated the effects of Eu substitution on chemical pressure, bond lengths, microstrain, bond angles, octahedral tilting, vibrational modes and phase transformation, in BiFeO₃. Correlation between concentration, phase, local structure and magnetism has been explained. Substitution of Eu ions with contrasting magnetic moment and dissimilar size, affects the local structure by changing bond angles and hence modifies spin structure through weakening of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interaction which lead to destruction of spiral spin configuration. Intriguing as well as anomalous magnetic response such as weak ferromagnetism with high coercivity, stair step like loops with significant drop in coercivity and systematic decrease in the magnetic coercivity at low temperatures has been observed as a function of Eu concentration (x). These results are explained on the basis of weakening of DM interaction, field induced melting of antiferromagnetic clusters and modification in effective magnetic anisotropy including contribution of magnetoelectric coupling, for various values of x. These results were used to generate the magnetic phase diagram.

Fingerprints of spin-orbital entanglement in transition metal oxides

The concept of spin-orbital entanglement on superexchange bonds in transition metal oxides is introduced and explained on several examples. It is shown that spin-orbital entanglement in superexchange models destabilizes the long-range (spin and orbital) order and may lead either to a disordered spin-liquid state or to novel phases at low temperature which arise from strongly frustrated interactions. Such novel ground states cannot be described within the conventionally used mean field theory which separates spin and orbital degrees of freedom. Even in cases where the ground states are disentangled, spin-orbital entanglement occurs in excited states and may become crucial for a correct description of physical properties at finite temperature. As an important example of this behaviour we present spin-orbital entanglement in the RV O(3) perovskites, with R = La,Pr,…,Y b,Lu, where the finite temperature properties of these compounds can be understood only using entangled states: (i) the thermal evolution of the optical spectral weights, (ii) the dependence of the transition temperatures for the onset of orbital and magnetic order on the ionic radius in the phase diagram of the RV O(3) perovskites, and (iii) the dimerization observed in the magnon spectra for the C-type antiferromagnetic phase of Y V O(3). Finally, it is shown that joint spin-orbital excitations in an ordered phase with coexisting antiferromagnetic and alternating orbital order introduce topological constraints for the hole propagation and will thus radically modify the transport properties in doped Mott insulators where hole motion implies simultaneous spin and orbital excitations.

Jahn-Teller mechanism of stripe formation in doped layered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO4 nickelates

We introduce an effective model for e(g) electrons to describe quasi-two-dimensional layered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4) nickelates and study it using correlated wavefunctions on 8 × 8 and 6 × 6 clusters. The effective Hamiltonian includes the kinetic energy, on-site Coulomb interactions for e(g) electrons (intraorbital U and Hund's exchange J(H)) and the coupling between e(g) electrons and Jahn-Teller distortions (static modes). The experimental ground state phases with inhomogeneous charge, spin and orbital order at the dopings x = 1/3 and 1/2 are reproduced very well by the model. Although the Jahn-Teller distortions are weak, we show that they play a crucial role and stabilize the observed cooperative charge, magnetic and orbital order in the form of a diagonal stripe phase at x = 1/3 doping and a chequerboard phase at x = 1/2 doping.

Jahn-Teller distortions and the magnetic order in the perovskite manganites

We introduce an effective model for e(g) electrons to describe three-dimensional perovskite (La(1 - x)Sr(x)MnO(3) and La(1 - x)Ca(x)MnO(3)) manganites and study the magnetic and orbital order on a 4 × 4 × 4 cluster using correlated wavefunctions. The model includes the kinetic energy, and on-site Coulomb interactions for e(g) electrons, antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction between S = 3/2 core spins, and the coupling between e(g) electrons and Jahn-Teller modes. The model reproduces the experimentally observed magnetic order: (i) an A-type antiferromagnetic phase in the undoped insulator LaMnO(3), with alternating e(g) orbitals and with small Jahn-Teller distortions, changing to a conducting phase at 32 GPa pressure, and (ii) ferromagnetic order in one-eighth-doped La(7/8)Sr(1/8)MnO(3) and in quarter-doped La(3/4)Sr(1/4)MnO(3) compounds. For half-doped La(1/2)Ca(1/2)MnO(3) one finds a competition between a ferromagnetic conductor and the CE insulating phase; the latter is stabilized by the Jahn-Teller coupling being two times larger than for the strontium-doped compound. Altogether, there is a subtle balance between all Hamiltonian parameters and the phase diagram is quite sensitive to the precise values they take.