51. Neutron-diffraction study of the magnetic ordering in the insulating regime of the perovskites RNiO3 ( R = Pr and Nd)
- Author
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García-Muñoz, J., Rodriguez-Carvajal, J., Lacorre, P., Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), ILL, Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB - UMR 12), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay, IBM Almaden Research Center [San Jose], IBM, and Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
[PHYS]Physics [physics] ,Condensed Matter::Materials Science ,[PHYS.COND.CM-MS]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] ,Condensed Matter::Strongly Correlated Electrons ,[CHIM.MATE]Chemical Sciences/Material chemistry - Abstract
International audience; Neutron-diffraction experiments and polarization analysis techniques reveal that the metal-insulator transition in the orthorhombic perovskites PrNiO3 and NdNiO3 is accompanied by a sudden three-dimensional magnetic ordering of the Ni sites (mu(Ni) almost-equal-to 0.9mu(B)). The electronic localization is followed by a magnetic ground state consisting of an unusual antiferromagnetic structure, with k = (1/2 , 0, 1/2) relative to the orthorhombic crystal cell. This propagation vector implies the symmetrical coexistence of ferro- and antiferromagnetic couplings along the three pseudocubic axes. This suggests the existence of a nonuniform orbital distribution of the single eg electron. The orbital superlattice may result from the breakdown of the degeneracy of the Ni(III)(t2g6eg1) state due to electronic correlation. This type of spin arrangement has not been observed in other perovskite oxides. These findings are confirmed by the magnetic behavior of the single crystallographic Nd site: half of these ions become ordered and the other half remain disordered as in a simple paramagnet. This can be explained by the combination of polarization effects due to the exchange field from nickel moments and the breaking down of point symmetry at Ni site.
- Published
- 1994