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    Orbital reconstruction in nonpolar tetravalent transition-metal oxide layers
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2015) Bogdanov, Nikolay A.; Katukuri, Vamshi M.; Romhányi, Judit; Yushankhai, Viktor; Kataev, Vladislav; Büchner, Bernd; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hozoi, Liviu
    A promising route to tailoring the electronic properties of quantum materials and devices rests on the idea of orbital engineering in multilayered oxide heterostructures. Here we show that the interplay of interlayer charge imbalance and ligand distortions provides a knob for tuning the sequence of electronic levels even in intrinsically stacked oxides. We resolve in this regard the d-level structure of layered Sr2IrO4 by electron spin resonance. While canonical ligand-field theory predicts g
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    Covalency and vibronic couplings make a nonmagnetic j=3/2 ion magnetic
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Xu, Lei; Bogdanov, Nikolay A.; Princep, Andrew; Fulde, Peter; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hozoi, Liviu
    For 4d1 and 5d1 spin–orbit-coupled electron configurations, the notion of nonmagnetic j=3/2 quartet ground state discussed in classical textbooks is at odds with the observed variety of magnetic properties. Here we throw fresh light on the electronic structure of 4d1 and 5d1 ions in molybdenum- and osmium-based double-perovskite systems and reveal different kinds of on-site many-body physics in the two families of compounds: although the sizable magnetic moments and g-factors measured experimentally are due to both metal d–ligand p hybridisation and dynamic Jahn–Teller interactions for 4d electrons, it is essentially d−p covalency for the 5d1 configuration. These results highlight the subtle interplay of spin–orbit interactions, covalency and electron–lattice couplings as the major factor in deciding the nature of the magnetic ground states of 4d and 5d quantum materials. Cation charge imbalance in the double-perovskite structure is further shown to allow a fine tuning of the gap between the t2g and eg levels, an effect of much potential in the context of orbital engineering in oxide electronics.
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    Kitaev exchange and field-induced quantum spin-liquid states in honeycomb α-RuCl3
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Yadav, Ravi; Bogdanov, Nikolay A.; Katukuri, Vamshi M.; Nishimoto, Satoshi; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hozoi, Liviu
    Large anisotropic exchange in 5d and 4d oxides and halides open the door to new types of magnetic ground states and excitations, inconceivable a decade ago. A prominent case is the Kitaev spin liquid, host of remarkable properties such as protection of quantum information and the emergence of Majorana fermions. Here we discuss the promise for spin-liquid behavior in the 4d5 honeycomb halide α-RuCl3. From advanced electronic-structure calculations, we find that the Kitaev interaction is ferromagnetic, as in 5d5 iridium honeycomb oxides, and indeed defines the largest superexchange energy scale. A ferromagnetic Kitaev coupling is also supported by a detailed analysis of the field-dependent magnetization. Using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group techniques for extended Kitaev-Heisenberg spin Hamiltonians, we find indications for a transition from zigzag order to a gapped spin liquid when applying magnetic field. Our results offer a unified picture on recent magnetic and spectroscopic measurements on this material and open new perspectives on the prospect of realizing quantum spin liquids in d5 halides and oxides in general.