Evolution of the Magnetic Excitations in NaOsO_{3} through its Metal-Insulator Transition

Coupled spin-orbital fluctuations in a three orbital model for 4dand 5doxides with electron fillingsn3, 4, 5-application to NaOsO3, Ca2RuO4and Sr2IrO4

A unified approach is presented for investigating coupled spin-orbital fluctuations within a realistic three-orbital model for strongly spin-orbit coupled systems with electron fillingsn= 3, 4, 5 in thet_2gsector ofd_yz,d_xz,d_xyorbitals. A generalized fluctuation propagator is constructed which is consistent with the generalized self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation where all Coulomb interaction contributions involving orbital diagonal and off-diagonal spin and charge condensates are included. Besides the low-energy magnon, intermediate-energy orbiton and spin-orbiton, and high-energy spin-orbit exciton modes, the generalized spectral function also shows other high-energy excitations such as the Hund's coupling induced gapped magnon modes. We relate the characteristic features of the coupled spin-orbital excitations to the complex magnetic behavior resulting from the interplay between electronic bands, spin-orbit coupling, Coulomb interactions, and structural distortion effects, as realized in the compounds NaOsO₃, Ca₂RuO₄, and Sr₂IrO₄.

Probing spin fluctuations in NaOsO3by muon spin rotation and NMR spectroscopy

We have used muon spin rotation and relaxation (μSR) and²³Na nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods in the NaOsO₃antiferromagnetic phase to determine the temperature evolution of the magnetic order parameter and the role of the magnetic fluctuations at the Néel temperature. Additionally, we performed muon spin relaxation measurements in the vicinity ofT_A= 30 K, where the appearance of an anomaly in the electrical resistivity was suggested to be due to a progressive reduction of the Os magnetic moment associated with spin fluctuation. Our measurements suggest the absence of prominent change in the spin fluctuations frequency atT_A, within the muon probing time scale and the absence of a reduction of the localized Os magnetic moment reflected by the stability within few permille of the local magnetic field strength sensed by the muons below 50 K.

Osmates on the Verge of a Hund's-Mott Transition: The Different Fates of NaOsO_{3} and LiOsO_{3}

We clarify the origin of the strikingly different spectroscopic properties of the chemically similar compounds NaOsO_{3} and LiOsO_{3}. Our first-principle, many-body analysis demonstrates that the highly sensitive physics of these two materials is controlled by their proximity to an adjacent Hund's-Mott insulating phase. Although 5d oxides are mildly correlated, we show that the cooperative action of intraorbital repulsion and Hund's exchange becomes the dominant physical mechanism in these materials if their t_{2g} shell is half filled. Small material specific details hence result in an extremely sharp change of the electronic mobility, explaining the surprisingly different properties of the paramagnetic high-temperature phases of the two compounds.

Study of Polycrystalline Bulk Sr3OsO6 Double-Perovskite Insulator: Comparison with 1000 K Ferromagnetic Epitaxial Films

Polycrystalline Sr₃OsO₆, which is an ordered double-perovskite insulator, is synthesized via solid-state reaction under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions of 1200 °C and 6 GPa. The synthesis enables us to conduct a comparative study of the bulk form of Sr₃OsO₆ toward revealing the driving mechanism of 1000 K ferromagnetism, which has recently been discovered for epitaxially grown Sr₃OsO₆ films. Unlike the film, the bulk is dominated by antiferromagnetism rather than ferromagnetism. Therefore, robust ferromagnetic order appears only when Sr₃OsO₆ is under the influence of interfaces. A specific heat capacity of 39.6(9) × 10^-3 J mol^-1 K^-2 is found at low temperatures (<17 K). This value is remarkably high, suggesting the presence of possible Fermionic-like excitations at the magnetic ground state. Although the bulk and film forms of Sr₃OsO₆ share the same lattice basis and electrically insulating state, the magnetism is entirely different between them.