Orbital effects in manganites

In this paper I give a short review of some properties of the colossal magnetoresistance manganites, connected with the orbital degrees of freedom. Ions Mn{3+}, present in most of these compounds, have double orbital degeneracy and are strong Jahn-Teller ions, causing structural distortions and orbital ordering. Mechanisms leading to such ordering are shortly discussed, and the role of orbital degrees of freedom in different parts of the phase diagram of manganites is described. Special attention is paid to the properties of low-doped systems (doping 0.1 - 0.25), to overdoped systems (x > 0.5), and to the possibility of a novel type of orbital ordering in optimally doped ferromagnetic metallic manganites.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, to be published in J. Mod. Phys.

Role of Orbitals in the Physics of Correlated Electron Systems

Rich properties of systems with strongly correlated electrons, such as transition metal oxides, is largely connected with an interplay of different degrees of freedom in them: charge, spin, orbital ones, as well as crystal lattice. Specific and often very important role is played by orbital degrees of freedom. In this comment I will shortly summarize the main concepts and discuss some of the well-known manifestations of orbital degrees of freedom, but will mostly concentrate on a recent development in this field.Comment: To be published in "Comments on Solid State Physics", part of "Physica Scripta

Orbital order in classical models of transition-metal compounds

We study the classical 120-degree and related orbital models. These are the classical limits of quantum models which describe the interactions among orbitals of transition-metal compounds. We demonstrate that at low temperatures these models exhibit a long-range order which arises via an "order by disorder" mechanism. This strongly indicates that there is orbital ordering in the quantum version of these models, notwithstanding recent rigorous results on the absence of spin order in these systems.Comment: 7 pages, 1 eps fi

Orbital ordering in manganites in the band approach

We consider the orbital ordering in LaMnO3 and similar systems, proceeding from the band picture. We show that for the realistic magnetic structure of A-type there exists a complete nesting betweeen two e_g-bands. As a result there occurs an instability towards an excitonic insulator-like state -- an electron-hole pairing with the wave vector Q=(\pi,\pi), which opens a gap in the spectrum and makes the system insulating. In the resulting state there appeasr an orbital ordering -- orbital density wave (ODW), the type of which coincides with those existing in LaMnO3.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Local structural changes in paramagnetic and charge ordered phases of Sm0.2Pr0.3Sr0.5MnO3: An EXAFS Study

Sm{0.5-x}Pr{x}Sr{0.5}MnO{3} exhibits variety of ground states as x is varied from 0 to 0.5. At an intermediate doping of x = 0.3 a charge-ordered CE type antiferromagnetic insulating (AFI) ground state is seen. The transition to this ground state is from a paramagnetic insulating (PMI) phase through a ferromagnetic metallic phase (FMM). Local structures in PMI and AFI phases of x = 0.3 sample have been investigated using Pr K-edge and Sm K-edge Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS). It can be seen that the tilting and rotation of the MnO6 octahedra about the b-axis are responsible for the charge ordered CE-type antiferromagnetic ground state at low temperatures. In addition a shift in the position of the rare earth ion along the c-axis has to be considered to account for observed distribution of bond distances around the rare earth ion

Dielectric anomaly at the orbital order-disorder transition in LaMnO_(3+delta)

We report a novel dielectric anomaly around the Jahn-Teller orbital order-disorder transition temperature T_JT in LaMnO_(3+delta). The transition has been characterized by resistivity (rho)versus temperature (T), calorimetry, and temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction studies. Measurements of complex dielectric permittivity epsilon* (= epsilon'-i.epsilon'') over a low-frequency range (1 Hz - 10 MHz)across T_JT reveal a distinct anomaly. This observation, and the reported relatively high static dielectric constant at T = 0 (epsilon0 \~18-20), possibly indicate that the orbital order gives rise to intrinsic polarization that undergoes transition at T_JT. The frequency dispersion of the dielectric response at any given temperature, however, reveals that the dielectric response consists of Maxwell-Wagner component, due to interfaces, within such a low frequency range. The T_JT and the nature of the anomaly in epsilon'(omega,T), epsilon''(omega,T) at T_JT, of course, vary - from a sharp upward feature to a smeared plateau and then a downward trend - depending on the Mn^4+ concentration of the sample. The observation of an intrinsic dielectric response due to long-range orbital order in LaMnO_3 - where no ferroelectric order is possible due to the absence of off-centre distortion in MnO_6 octahedra - may throw a new light onto these classes of materials vis-a-vis multiferroic materials.Comment: 22 pages including 7 figures; pdf only; accepted for publication in J.Phys.:Condens. Matte

Doped orbitally-ordered systems: another case of phase separation

A possible mechanism of electronic phase separation in the systems with orbital ordering is analyzed. We suggest a simple model taking into account an interplay between the delocalization of charge carriers introduced by doping and the cooperative ordering of local lattice distortions. The proposed mechanism is quite similar to the double exchange usually invoked for interpretation of phase separation in doped magnetic oxides like manganites, but can be efficient even in the absence of any magnetic ordering. It is demonstrated that the delocalized charge carriers favor the formation of nanoscale inhomogeneities with the orbital structure different from that in the undoped material. The directional character of orbitals leads to inhomogeneities of different shapes and sizes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Crystal chemistry aspects of the magnetically induced ferroelectricity in TbMn2O5 and BiMn2O5

The origin of magnetic frustration was stated and the ions whose shift is accompanied by emerging magnetic ordering and ferroelectricity in TbMn2O5 and BiMn2O5 were determined on the basis of calculation of magnetic coupling parameters by using the structural data. The displacements accompanying the magnetic ordering are not polar, they just induce changes of bond valence (charge disordering) of Mn1 and Mn2, thus creating instability of the crystal structure. To approximate again the bond valence to the initial value (charge ordering) under magnetic ordering conditions is possible only due to polar displacement of Mn2 (or O1) and O4 ions along the b axis that is the cause of ferroelectric transition.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 5 table

Delta Doping of Ferromagnetism in Antiferromagnetic Manganite Superlattices

We demonstrate that delta-doping can be used to create a dimensionally confined region of metallic ferromagnetism in an antiferromagnetic (AF) manganite host, without introducing any explicit disorder due to dopants or frustration of spins. Delta-doped carriers are inserted into a manganite superlattice (SL) by a digital-synthesis technique. Theoretical consideration of these additional carriers show that they cause a local enhancement of ferromagnetic (F) double-exchange with respect to AF superexchange, resulting in local canting of the AF spins. This leads to a highly modulated magnetization, as measured by polarized neutron reflectometry. The spatial modulation of the canting is related to the spreading of charge from the doped layer, and establishes a fundamental length scale for charge transfer, transformation of orbital occupancy and magnetic order in these manganites. Furthermore, we confirm the existence of the canted, AF state as was predicted by de Gennes [P.-G. de Gennes, Phys. Rev. 118, 141 (1960)], but had remained elusive

RIXS interferometry and the role of disorder in the quantum magnet Ba3_3Ti3−x_{3-x}Irx_{x}O9_9

Motivated by several claims of spin-orbit driven spin-liquid physics in hexagonal Ba$_3$Ti$_{3-x}$Ir$_x$O$_9$ hosting Ir2O9 dimers, we report on resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Ir L3 edge for different x. We demonstrate that magnetism in Ba$_3$Ti$_{3-x}$Ir$_x$O$_9$ is governed by an unconventional realization of strong disorder, where cation disorder affects the character of the local moments. RIXS interferometry, studying the RIXS intensity over a broad range of transferred momentum q, is ideally suited to assign different excitations to different Ir sites. We find pronounced Ir-Ti site mixing. Both ions are distributed over two crystallographically inequivalent sites, giving rise to a coexistence of quasimolecular singlet states on Ir2O9 dimers and spin-orbit entangled j=1/2 moments of 5d$^5$ Ir$^{4+}$ ions. RIXS reveals different kinds of strong magnetic couplings for different bonding geometries, highlighting the role of cation disorder for the suppression of long-range magnetic order in this family of compounds.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure