Magnetic moment suppression in Ba3CoRu2O9: hybridization effect

An unusual orbital state was recently proposed to explain the magnetic and transport properties of Ba$_3$CoRu$_2$O$_9$ [Phys. Rev. B. {\bf 85}, 041201 (2012)]. We show that this state contradicts to the first Hund's rule and does not realize in the system under consideration because of a too small crystal-field splitting in the $t_{2g}$ shell. A strong suppression of the local magnetic moment in Ba$_3$CoRu$_2$O$_9$ is attributed to a strong hybridization between the Ru 4$d$ and O 2$p$ states.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Ab initio investigation of the exchange interactions in Bi2_2Fe4_4O9_9: The Cairo pentagonal lattice compound

We present the \emph{ab initio} calculation of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of Bi$_2$Fe$_4$O$_9$. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal structure with the Fe$^{3+}$ ions forming the Cairo pentagonal lattice implying strong geometric frustration. The neutron diffraction measurements reveal nearly orthogonal magnetic configuration, which at first sight is rather unexpected since it does not minimize the total energy of the pair of magnetic ions coupled by the Heisenberg exchange interaction. Here we calculate the electronic structure and exchange integrals of Bi2Fe4O9 within the LSDA+U method. We obtain three different in-plane (J3=36 K, J4=73 K, J5=23 K) and two interplane (J1=10 K, J2=12 K) exchange parameters. The derived set of exchange integrals shows that the realistic description of Bi2Fe4O9 needs a more complicated model than the ideal Cairo pentagonal lattice with only two exchange parameters in the plane. However, if one takes into account only two largest exchange integrals, then according to the ratio x\equiv J3/J4=0.49<\sqrt{2} (a critical parameter for the ideal Cairo pentagonal lattice, see. Ref.~1) the ground state should be the orthogonal magnetic configuration in agreement with experiment. The microscopic origin of different exchange interactions is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Jahn-Teller distortions and charge, orbital and magnetic orders in NaMn7O12

With the use of the band structure calculations we demonstrate that previously reported [Nat. Materials {\bf 3}, 48 (2004)] experimental crystal and magnetic structures for NaMn$_7$O$_{12}$ are inconsistent with each other. The optimization of the crystal lattice allows us to predict a new crystal structure for the low temperature phase, which is qualitatively different from the one presented before. The AFM-CE type of the magnetic order stabilizes the structure with the elongated, not compressed Mn$^{3+}_B$O$_6$ octahedra, striking NaMn$_7$O$_{12}$ out of the list of the anomalous Jahn-Teller systems. The orbital correlations were shown to exist even in the cubic phase, while the charge order appears only in the low temperature distorted phase.Comment: 5 page

Electronic Raman scattering in metals: effects of electron-phonon coupling

We report the first systematic measurements of the Raman scattering by electrons in elemental metals of Al, Mo, Nb, Os, Pb, Re, Ta, Ti, V, W and metallic compound La$B_6$. Experimental spectra are modelled on the base of the band structures, calculated within the density functional theory, taking properly into account the effects of electron-phonon scattering. The agreement between our measured and calculated spectra is excellent for the variety of metals, thus providing estimates for the electron-phonon coupling constants and temperature-dependent relaxation rates. The method can be applied for other metallic materials to evaluate an electron-phonon coupling as an alternative to the transport and optical measurements

Covalent bonds against magnetism in transition metal compounds

Magnetism in transition metal compounds is usually considered starting from a description of isolated ions, as exact as possible, and treating their (exchange) interaction at a later stage. We show that this standard approach may break down in many cases, especially in $4d$ and $5d$ compounds. We argue that there is an important intersite effect -- an orbital-selective formation of covalent metal-metal bonds, which leads to an "exclusion" of corresponding electrons from the magnetic subsystem, and thus strongly affects magnetic properties of the system. This effect is especially prominent for noninteger electron number, when it results in suppression of the famous double exchange, the main mechanism of ferromagnetism in transition metal compounds. We study this novel mechanism analytically and numerically and show that it explains magnetic properties of not only several $4d-5d$ materials, including Nb$_2$O$_2$F$_3$ and Ba$_5$AlIr$_2$O$_{11}$, but can also be operative in $3d$ transition metal oxides, e.g. in CrO$_2$ under pressure. We also discuss the role of spin-orbit coupling on the competition between covalency and magnetism. Our results demonstrate that strong intersite coupling may invalidate the standard single-site starting point for considering magnetism, and can lead to a qualitatively new behaviour

Orbital-dependent singlet dimers and orbital-selective Peierls transitions in transition metal compounds

We show that in transition metal compounds containing structural metal dimers there may exist in the presence of different orbitals a special state with partial formation of singlets by electrons on one orbital, while others are effectively decoupled and may give e.g. long-range magnetic order or stay paramagnetic. Similar situation can be realized in dimers spontaneously formed at structural phase transitions, which can be called orbital-selective Peierls transition. This can occur in case of strongly nonuniform hopping integrals for different orbitals and small intra-atomic Hund's rule coupling JH. Yet another consequence of this picture is that for odd number of electrons per dimer there exist competition between double exchange mechanism of ferromagnetism, and the formation of singlet dimer by electron on one orbital, with remaining electrons giving a net spin of a dimer. The first case is realized for strong Hund's rule coupling, typical for 3d compounds, whereas the second is more plausible for 4d-5d compounds. We discuss some implications of these phenomena, and consider examples of real systems, in which orbital-selective phase seems to be realized.Comment: to be published in PRB Rapid Co

Orbital structure and magnetic ordering in stoichiometric and doped crednerite CuMnO2

The exchange interactions and magnetic structure in layered system CuMnO2 (mineral crednerite) and in nonstoichiometric system Cu1.04Mn0.96O2, with triangular layers distorted due to orbital ordering of the Mn3+ ions, are studied by ab-initio band-structure calculations, which were performed within the GGA+U approximation. The exchange interaction parameters for the Heisenberg model within the Mn-planes and between the Mn-planes were estimated. We explain the observed in-plane magnetic structure by the dominant mechanism of the direct d-d exchange between neighboring Mn ions. The superexchange via O ions, with 90 degree Mn-O-Mn bonds, plays less important role for the in-plane exchange. The interlayer coupling is largely dominated by one exchange path between the half-filled 3z^2-r^2 orbitals of Mn3+. The change of interlayer coupling from antiferromagnetic in pure CuMnO2 to ferromagnetic in doped material is also explained by our calculations

Suppression of magnetism in Ba5AlIr2O11: interplay of Hund's coupling, molecular orbitals and spin-orbit interaction

The electronic and magnetic properties of Ba$_5$AlIr$_2$O$_{11}$ containing Ir-Ir dimers are investigated using the GGA and GGA+SOC calculations. We found that strong suppression of the magnetic moment in this compound recently found in [J. Terzic {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 91}, 235147 (2015)] is not due to charge-ordering, but is related to the joint effect of the spin-orbit interaction and strong covalency, resulting in the formation of metal-metal bonds. They conspire and act against the intra-atomic Hund's rule exchange interaction to reduce total magnetic moment of the dimer. We argue that the same mechanism could be relevant for other $4d$ and $5d$ dimerized transition metal compounds

On the Asymmetry Between Upward and Downward Field-Aligned Currents Interacting With the Ionosphere

The paper presents results from the numerical study of the magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions driven by the large-scale electric field in the magnetically conjugate, high-latitude regions of northern and southern hemispheres. Simulations of the two-fluid MHD model demonstrate that these interactions can lead to a generation of a system of small-scale, intense field-aligned currents with a significant difference in size and amplitude between the upward and downward currents. In particular, in both hemispheres, the downward currents (where the electrons are flowing from the ionosphere) become more narrow and intense than the adjacent upward currents. At high latitudes, the field-aligned currents are closely related to the discrete auroral arcs. The fact that this mechanism produces very narrow and intense downward currents embedded into the broader upward current regions makes it relevant to the explanation of the “black” auroral arcs appearing as narrow, dark strips embedded in the broad luminous background