Jahn-Teller distortion driven magnetic polarons in magnetite

Huang, H. Y.; Chen, Z. Y.; Wang, R.-P.; de Groot, F. M. F.; Wu, W. B.; Okamoto, J.; Chainani, A.; Singh, A.; Li, Z.-Y.; Zhou, J.-S.; Jeng, H.-T.; Guo, G. Y.; Park, Je-Geun; Tjeng, L. H.; Chen, C. T.; Huang, D. J.

doi:10.1038/ncomms15929

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Jahn-Teller distortion driven magnetic polarons in magnetite

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Tjeng, L. H.
Liu Hao Tjeng, Physics of Correlated Matter, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Huang, H. Y., Chen, Z. Y., Wang, R.-P., de Groot, F. M. F., Wu, W. B., Okamoto, J., et al. (2017). Jahn-Teller distortion driven magnetic polarons in magnetite. Nature Communications, 8: 15929, pp. 1-6. doi:10.1038/ncomms15929.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-002D-AEAF-6

Abstract

The first known magnetic mineral, magnetite, has unusual properties, which have fascinated mankind for centuries; it undergoes the Verwey transition around 120 K with an abrupt change in structure and electrical conductivity. The mechanism of the Verwey transition, however, remains contentious. Here we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering over a wide temperature range across the Verwey transition to identify and separate out the magnetic excitations derived from nominal Fe2+ and Fe3+ states. Comparison of the experimental results with crystal-field multiplet calculations shows that the spin-orbital dd excitons of the Fe2+ sites arise from a tetragonal Jahn-Teller active polaronic distortion of the Fe2+O6 octahedra. These low-energy excitations, which get weakened for temperatures above 350 K but persist at least up to 550 K, are distinct from optical excitations and are best explained as magnetic polarons.