Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    Pressure-induced dimerization and valence bond crystal formation in the Kitaev-Heisenberg magnet α-RuCl3
    (College Park, MD : American Physical Society, 2018) Bastien, G.; Garbarino, G.; Yadav, R.; Martinez-Casado, F.J.; Beltrán, Rodríguez, R.; Stahl, Q.; Kusch, M.; Limandri, S.P.; Ray, R.; Lampen-Kelley, P.; Mandrus, D.G.; Nagler, S.E.; Roslova, M.; Isaeva, A.; Doert, T.; Hozoi, L.; Wolter, A.U.B.; Büchner, B.; Geck, J.; Van Den Brink, J.
    Magnetization and high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements of the Kitaev-Heisenberg material α-RuCl3 reveal a pressure-induced crystallographic and magnetic phase transition at a hydrostatic pressure of p∼0.2 GPa. This structural transition into a triclinic phase is characterized by a very strong dimerization of the Ru-Ru bonds, accompanied by a collapse of the magnetic susceptibility. Ab initio quantum-chemistry calculations disclose a pressure-induced enhancement of the direct 4d-4d bonding on particular Ru-Ru links, causing a sharp increase of the antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. These combined experimental and computational data show that the Kitaev spin-liquid phase in α-RuCl3 strongly competes with the crystallization of spin singlets into a valence bond solid.
  • Item
    Electronic depth profiles with atomic layer resolution from resonant soft x-ray reflectivity
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2015) Zwiebler, M.; Hamann-Borrero, J.E.; Vafaee, M.; Komissinskiy, P.; Macke, S.; Sutarto, R.; He, F.; Büchner, B.; Sawatzky, G.A.; Alff, L.; Geck, J.
    The analysis of x-ray reflectivity data from artificial heterostructures usually relies on the homogeneity of optical properties of the constituent materials. However, when the x-ray energy is tuned to the absorption edge of a particular resonant site, this assumption may no longer be appropriate. For samples realizing lattice planes with and without resonant sites, the corresponding regions containing the sites at resonance will have optical properties very different from regions without those sites. In this situation, models assuming homogeneous optical properties throughout the material can fail to describe the reflectivity adequately. As we show here, resonant soft x-ray reflectivity is sensitive to these variations, even though the wavelength is typically large as compared to the atomic distances over which the optical properties vary. We have therefore developed a scheme for analyzing resonant soft x-ray reflectivity data, which takes the atomic structure of a material into account by 'slicing' it into atomic planes with characteristic optical properties. Using LaSrMnO4 as an example, we discuss both the theoretical and experimental implications of this approach. Our analysis not only allows to determine important structural information such as interface terminations and stacking of atomic layers, but also enables to extract depth-resolved spectroscopic information with atomic resolution, thus enhancing the capability of the technique to study emergent phenomena at surfaces and interfaces.
  • Item
    Surface and bulk electronic structure of the unconventional superconductor Sr2RuO4: Unusual splitting of the β band
    (Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2012) Zabolotnyy, V.B.; Carleschi, E.; Kim, T.K.; Kordyuk, A.A.; Trinckauf, J.; Geck, J.; Evtushinsky, D.; Doyle, B.P.; Fittipaldi, R.; Cuoco, M.; Vecchione, A.; Büchner, B.; Borisenko, S.V.
    We present an angle-resolved photoemission study of the surface and bulk electronic structure of the single layer ruthenate Sr2RuO4. As the early studies by photoemission and scanning tunneling microscopy were confronted with a problem of surface reconstruction, surface ageing was previously proposed as a possible remedy to access the bulk states. Here, we suggest an alternative way by demonstrating that, in the case of Sr2RuO4, circularly polarized light can be used to disentangle the signals from the bulk and surface layers, thus opening the possibility to investigate many-body interactions both in bulk and surface bands. The proposed procedure results in improved momentum resolution, which enabled us to detect an unexpected splitting of the surface β band. We discuss the origin of the splitting of the β band and the possible connection with the Rashba effect at the surface.