Magnetism and local symmetry breaking in a Mott insulator with strong spin orbit interactions

Study of the combined effects of strong electronic correlations with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) represents a central issue in quantum materials research. Predicting emergent properties represents a huge theoretical problem since the presence of SOC implies that the spin is not a good quantum number....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nature communications 2017-02, Vol.8 (1), p.14407-14407, Article 14407
Main Authors:	Lu, L, Song, M, Liu, W, Reyes, A P, Kuhns, P, Lee, H O, Fisher, I R, Mitrović, V F
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	electronic properties and materials Electrons magnetic properties and materials Magnetism MATERIALS SCIENCE Physics PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS Symmetry Temperature
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Summary:	Study of the combined effects of strong electronic correlations with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) represents a central issue in quantum materials research. Predicting emergent properties represents a huge theoretical problem since the presence of SOC implies that the spin is not a good quantum number. Existing theories propose the emergence of a multitude of exotic quantum phases, distinguishable by either local point symmetry breaking or local spin expectation values, even in materials with simple cubic crystal structure such as Ba NaOsO . Experimental tests of these theories by local probes are highly sought for. Our local measurements designed to concurrently probe spin and orbital/lattice degrees of freedom of Ba NaOsO provide such tests. Here we show that a canted ferromagnetic phase which is preceded by local point symmetry breaking is stabilized at low temperatures, as predicted by quantum theories involving multipolar spin interactions.
ISSN:	2041-1723 2041-1723