Journal article · Preprint article
Locking of iridium magnetic moments to the correlated rotation of oxygen octahedra in Sr2IrO4 revealed by x-ray resonant scattering
Sr2IrO4 is a prototype of the class of Mott insulators in the strong spin–orbit interaction (SOI) limit described by a Jeff = 1/2 ground state. In Sr2IrO4, the strong SOI is predicted to manifest itself in the locking of the canting of the magnetic moments to the correlated rotation by 11.8(1)° of the oxygen octahedra that characterizes its distorted layered perovskite structure.
Using x-ray resonant scattering at the Ir L3 edge we have measured accurately the intensities of Bragg peaks arising from different components of the magnetic structure. From a careful comparison of integrated intensities of peaks due to basal-plane antiferromagnetism, with those due to b-axis ferromagnetism, we deduce a canting of the magnetic moments of 12.2(8)°.
We thus confirm that in Sr2IrO4 the magnetic moments rigidly follow the rotation of the oxygen octahedra, indicating that, even in the presence of significant non-cubic structural distortions, it is a close realization of the Jeff = 1/2 state.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | IOP Publishing |
Year: | 2013 |
Pages: | 422202 |
ISSN: | 1361648x and 09538984 |
Types: | Journal article and Preprint article |
DOI: | 10.1088/0953-8984/25/42/422202 |