Effective Hamiltonian of Three-orbital Hubbard Model on Pyrochlore Lattice: Application to LiV_2O_4

We investigate heavy fermion behaviors in the vanadium spinel LiV_2O_4. We start from a three-orbital Hubbard model on the pyrochlore lattice and derive its low-energy effective Hamiltonian by an approach of real-space renormalization group type. One important tetrahedron configuration in the rochlore lattice has a three-fold orbital degeneracy and spin S=1, and correspondingly, the effective Hamiltonian has spin and orbital exchange interactions of Kugel-Khomskii type as well as correlated electron hoppings. Analyzing the effective Hamiltonian, we find that ferromagnetic double exchange processes compete with antiferromagnetic superexchange processes and various spin and orbital exchange processes are competing to each other. These results suggest the absence of phase transition in spin and orbital spaces down to very low temperatures and their large fluctuations in the low-energy sector, which are key issues for understanding the heavy fermion behavior in LiV_2O_4.Comment: 26 pages, 26 figure

Exact spin-orbital separation in a solvable model in one dimension

A one-dimensional model of coupled spin-1/2 spins and pseudospin-1/2 orbitals with nearest-neighbor interaction is rigorously shown to exhibit spin-orbital separation by means of a non-local unitary transformation. On an open chain, this transformation completely decouples the spins from the orbitals in such a way that the spins become paramagnetic while the orbitals form the soluble XXZ Heisenberg model. The nature of various correlations is discussed. The more general cases, which allow spin-orbital separation by the same method, are pointed out. A generalization for the orbital pseudospin greater than 1/2 is also discussed. Some qualitative connections are drawn with the recently observed spin-orbital separation in Sr2CuO3.Comment: 5 page

Spin-orbital gap of multiorbital antiferromagnet

In order to discuss the spin-gap formation in a multiorbital system, we analyze an e_g-orbital Hubbard model on a geometrically frustrated zigzag chain by using a density-matrix renormalization group method. Due to the appearance of a ferro-orbital arrangement, the system is regarded as a one-orbital system, while the degree of spin frustration is controlled by the spatial anisotropy of the orbital. In the region of strong spin frustration, we observe a finite energy gap between ground and first-excited states, which should be called a spin-orbital gap. The physical meaning is clarified by an effective Heisenberg spin model including correctly the effect of the orbital arrangement influenced by the spin excitation.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, extended versio

The Medicare Rx: Prospective Pricing to Effect Cost Containment

This Note analyzes the impact of changing hospital reimbursement while maintaining charge-based reimbursement for physicians on hospital-physician relationships and on cost and quality of care. This Note contends that if the stated goals of redirecting incentives and containing costs are to be realized, physicians must be drawn into the revised reimbursement scheme. An indirect, aggregate approach is advocated to maintain the integrity of the physician-patient relationship and to avoid a direct financial impact upon the physician regarding patient care decisions. Part I will briefly examine the reasons for changing hospital reimbursement from retrospective cost-based reimbursement to prospective fixed rates. Part II of this Note will demonstrate that to realize the stated goals of hospital prospective payment, physicians must be drawn into the incentive structure. The necessity of incorporating physicians into this structure, however, is moderated by the desirability, indeed, necessity, of insulating the physician-patient relationship from any direct financial impact. Thus, Part III of this Note will conclude by advocating a mandatory Medicare incentive plan, administered jointly by the hospital and medical staff, that encourages physicians to share jointly in reduced cost care while forcing them to absorb any losses

Jahn-Teller distortions and phase separation in doped manganites

A "minimal model" of the Kondo-lattice type is used to describe a competition between the localization and metallicity in doped manganites and related magnetic oxides with Jahn-Teller ions. It is shown that the number of itinerant charge carriers can be significantly lower than that implied by the doping level x. A strong tendency to the phase separation is demonstrated for a wide range of intermediate doping concentrations vanishing at low and high doping. The phase diagram of the model in the x-T plane is constructed. At low temperatures, the system is in a state with a long-range magnetic order: antiferromagnetic (AF), ferromagnetic (FM), or AF-FM phase separated (PS) state. At high temperatures, there can exist two types of the paramagnetic (PM) state with zero and nonzero density of the itinerant electrons. In the intermediate temperature range, the phase diagram includes different kinds of the PS states: AF-FM, FM-PM, and PM with different content of itinerant electrons. The applied magnetic field changes the phase diagram favoring the FM ordering. It is shown that the variation of temperature or magnetic field can induce the metal-insulator transition in a certain range of doping levels.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B.; v.2 contains the changes introduced according to comments of the PRB Referees; in v. 3, some misprints are correcte

One-Dimensional Confinement and Enhanced Jahn-Teller Instability in LaVO3_3

Ordering and quantum fluctuations of orbital degrees of freedom are studied theoretically for LaVO$_3$ in spin-C-type antiferromagnetic state. The effective Hamiltonian for the orbital pseudospin shows strong one-dimensional anisotropy due to the negative interference among various exchange processes. This significantly enhances the instability toward lattice distortions for the realistic estimate of the Jahn-Teller coupling by first-principle LDA+$U$ calculations, instead of favoring the orbital singlet formation. This explains well the experimental results on the anisotropic optical spectra as well as the proximity of the two transition temperatures for spin and orbital orderings.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figure

Elementary excitations of the symmetric spin-orbital model: The XY limit

The elementary excitations of the 1D, symmetric, spin-orbital model are investigated by studying two anisotropic versions of the model, the pure XY and the dimerized XXZ case, with analytical and numerical methods. While they preserve the symmetry between spin and orbital degrees of freedom, these models allow for a simple and transparent picture of the low--lying excitations: In the pure XY case, a phase separation takes place between two phases with free--fermion like, gapless excitations, while in the dimerized case, the low-energy effective Hamiltonian reduces to the 1D Ising model with gapped excitations. In both cases, all the elementary excitations involve simultaneous flips of the spin and orbital degrees of freedom, a clear indication of the breakdown of the traditional mean-field theory.Comment: Revtex, two figure

Orbital ordering in charge transfer insulators

We discuss a new mechanism of orbital ordering, which in charge transfer insulators is more important than the usual exchange interactions and which can make the very type of the ground state of a charge transfer insulator, i.e. its orbital and magnetic ordering, different from that of a Mott-Hubbard insulator. This purely electronic mechanism allows us to explain why orbitals in Jahn-Teller materials typically order at higher temperatures than spins, and to understand the type of orbital ordering in a number of materials, e.g. K_2CuF_4, without invoking the electron-lattice interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Thermodynamics of the one-dimensional SU(4) symmetric spin-orbital model

The ground state properties and the thermodynamics of the one-dimensional SU(4) symmetric spin system with orbital degeneracy are investigated using the quantum Monte Carlo loop algorithm. The spin-spin correlation functions exhibit a 4-site periodicity, and their low temperature behavior is controlled by two correlation lengths that diverge like the inverse temperature, while the entropy is linear in temperature and its slope is consistent with three gapless modes of velocity $\pi/2$. The physical implications of these results are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTe

Clear Experimental Signature of Charge-Orbital density wave in Nd1−x_{1-x}Ca1+x_{1+x}MnO4_{4}

Single Crystals of Nd$_{1-x}$Ca$_{1+x}$MnO$_{4}$ have been prepared by the travelling floating-zone method, and possible evidence of a charge -orbital density wave in this material presented earlier [PRB68,092405 (2003)] using High Resolution Electron Microscopy [HRTEM] and Electron Diffraction [ED]. In the current note we present direct evidence of charge-orbital ordering in this material using heat capacity measurements. Our heat capacity measurements indicate a clear transition consistent with prior observation. We find two main transitions, one at temperature $T_{_H}=310-314$ K, and other at $T_{_A}=143$ K. In addition, we may also conclude that there is a strong electron-phonon coupling in this material.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure