Fingerprints of Mott and Slater gaps in the core-level photoemission spectra of antiferromagnetic iridates

We present Ir $4f$ core-level hard-x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) experiments conducted across the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering transition in Ruddlesden-Popper iridates ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{IrO}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{3}{\mathrm{Ir}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$. The Ir $4f$ spectra exhibit distinct changes between the AFM and paramagnetic (PM) phases, with the spectral difference ${I}_{\text{PM}}\ensuremath{-}{I}_{\text{AFM}}$ showing a contrasting behavior in the two compounds. By employing computational simulations using the local density approximation combined with the dynamical mean-field theory method, we elucidate that ${I}_{\text{PM}}\ensuremath{-}{I}_{\text{AFM}}$ primarily reflects the Slater or Mott-Hubbard character of the AFM insulating state rather than material-specific details, such as crystal and/or band structures. This sensitivity to fine low-energy electronic structure arises from the dependence of charge-transfer responses to the sudden creation of a localized core hole on both metal-insulator transitions and long-range AFM ordering. Our result broadens the applications of core-level HAXPES as a tool for characterization of electronic structure in $5d$ transition-metal compounds.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Published
2025-05-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.111.195114
Primary Topic
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Fingerprints of Mott and Slater gaps in the core-level photoemission spectra of antiferromagnetic iridates

Y. Murakami, S. Imada, Y. Kanai-Nakata, A. Yamasaki et al.
Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
article

Fingerprints of Mott and Slater gaps in the core-level photoemission spectra of antiferromagnetic iridates

Y. Murakami, S. Imada, Y. Kanai-Nakata, A. Yamasaki, J. Kuneš, Kyo‐Hoon Ahn, Tetsuya Ishikawa, Atsushi Hariki, Satoru Hamamoto, Keizo Nakagawa, Takashi Kadono, Kenji Tamasaku, A. Sekiyama, A. Higashiya, Makina Yabashi, H. Fujiwara, T. Okauchi, Kouichi Takase
article en

Abstract

We present Ir $4f$ core-level hard-x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) experiments conducted across the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering transition in Ruddlesden-Popper iridates ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{IrO}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{3}{\mathrm{Ir}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$. The Ir $4f$ spectra exhibit distinct changes between the AFM and paramagnetic (PM) phases, with the spectral difference ${I}_{\text{PM}}\ensuremath{-}{I}_{\text{AFM}}$ showing a contrasting behavior in the two compounds. By employing computational simulations using the local density approximation combined with the dynamical mean-field theory method, we elucidate that ${I}_{\text{PM}}\ensuremath{-}{I}_{\text{AFM}}$ primarily reflects the Slater or Mott-Hubbard character of the AFM insulating state rather than material-specific details, such as crystal and/or band structures. This sensitivity to fine low-energy electronic structure arises from the dependence of charge-transfer responses to the sudden creation of a localized core hole on both metal-insulator transitions and long-range AFM ordering. Our result broadens the applications of core-level HAXPES as a tool for characterization of electronic structure in $5d$ transition-metal compounds.

Physical review. B./Physical review. BVol. 111(19)
Setsunan University (JP), Nihon University (JP), Ritsumeikan University (JP), TU Wien (AT), Osaka Prefecture University (JP), Konan University (JP), Masaryk University (CZ), SPring-8 (JP), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Osaka Metropolitan University (JP)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, RIKEN
Openalex Percentile: Top 94%
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
DOISourceOpenAlex
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