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We reveal in this study the fundamental low-energy landscape in the ferrimagnetic Sr2CrReO6 double perovskite and describe the underlying mechanisms responsible for the three low-energy excitations below 1.4 eV. Based on resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and magnetic dynamics calculations, and experiments collected from both Sr2CrReO6 powders and epitaxially strained thin films, we reveal a strong competition between spin-orbit coupling, Hund's coupling, and the strain-induced tetragonal crystal field. We also demonstrate that a spin-flip process is at the origin of the lowest excitation at 200 meV, and we bring insights into the predicted presence of orbital ordering in this material. We study the nature of the magnons through a combination of ab initio and spin-wave theory calculations, and show that two nondegenerate magnon bands exist and are dominated either by rhenium or chromium spins. The rhenium band is found to be flat at about 200 meV ($\pm$25 meV) through X-L-W-U high-symmetry points and is dispersive toward $\Gamma$, Comment: 6 figures

Electronic, lattice, and spin interactions at the interfaces between crystalline complex transition metal oxides can give rise to a wide range of functional electronic and magnetic phenomena not found in bulk. At hetero-interfaces, these interactions may be enhanced by combining oxides where the polarity changes at the interface. The physical structure between non-polar SrTiO$_3$ and polar La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$(x=0.2) is investigated using high resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction to directly determine the role of structure in compensating the polar discontinuity. At both the oxide-oxide interface and vacuum-oxide interfaces, the lattice is found to expand and rumple along the growth direction. The SrTiO$_3$/La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$ interface also exhibits intermixing of La and Sr over a few unit cells. The results, hence, demonstrate that polar distortions and ionic intermixing coexist and both pathways play a significant role at interfaces with polar discontinuities.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering is used to investigate the electronic origin of orbital polarization in nickelate heterostructures taking $\mathrm{LaTiO_3-LaNiO_3-3x(LaAlO_3)}$, a system with exceptionally large polarization, as a model system. We find that heterostructuring generates only minor changes in the Ni $3d$ orbital energy levels, contradicting the often-invoked picture in which changes in orbital energy levels generate orbital polarization. Instead, O $K$-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy demonstrates that orbital polarization is caused by an anisotropic reconstruction of the oxygen ligand hole states. This provides an explanation for the limited success of theoretical predictions based on tuning orbital energy levels and implies that future theories should focus on anisotropic hybridization as the most effective means to drive large changes in electronic structure and realize novel emergent phenomena., Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters. 6 pages, 4 figures

We present electrical transport measurements of heterostructures comprised of BaTiO$_3$ and Ba$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$TiO$_3$ epitaxially grown on Ge. The Sr-alloying imparts compressive strain to the BaTiO$_3$, which enables the thermal expansion mismatch between BaTiO$_3$ and Ge to be overcome to achieve $c$-axis oriented growth. The conduction bands of BaTiO$_3$ and Ba$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$TiO$_3$ are nearly aligned with the conduction band of Ge, which facilitates electron transport. Electrical transport measurements through the dielectric stack exhibit rectifying behavior and hysteresis, where the latter is consistent with ferroelectric switching.

Scanning SQUID susceptometry images the local magnetization and susceptibility of a sample. By accurately modeling the SQUID signal we can determine the physical properties such as the penetration depth and permeability of superconducting samples. We calculate the scanning SQUID susceptometry signal for a superconducting slab of arbitrary thickness with isotropic London penetration depth, on a non-superconducting substrate, where both slab and substrate can have a paramagnetic response that is linear in the applied field. We derive analytical approximations to our general expression in a number of limits. Using our results, we fit experimental susceptibility data as a function of the sample-sensor spacing for three samples: 1) delta-doped SrTiO3, which has a predominantly diamagnetic response, 2) a thin film of LaNiO3, which has a predominantly paramagnetic response, and 3) a two-dimensional electron layer (2-DEL) at a SrTiO3/AlAlO3 interface, which exhibits both types of response. These formulas will allow the determination of the concentrations of paramagnetic spins and superconducting carriers from fits to scanning SQUID susceptibility measurements., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures

The transport and magnetic properties of correlated La{0.53}Sr{0.47}MnO{3} ultrathin films, grown epitaxially on SrTiO{3}, show a sharp cusp at the structural transition temperature of the substrate. Using a combination of experiment and theory we show that the cusp is a result of resonant coupling between the charge carriers in the film and a soft phonon mode in the SrTiO{3}, mediated through oxygen octahedra in the film. The amplitude of the mode diverges towards the transition temperature, and phonons are launched into the first few atomic layers of the film affecting its electronic state.

The electronic valence state of Mn in Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3/La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 multiferroic heterostructures is probed by near edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a function of the ferroelectric polarization. We observe a temperature independent shift in the absorption edge of Mn associated with a change in valency induced by charge carrier modulation in the La0.8Sr0.2MnO3, demonstrating the electronic origin of the magnetoelectric effect. Spectroscopic, magnetic, and electric characterization shows that the large magnetoelectric response originates from a modified interfacial spin configuration, opening a new pathway to the electronic control of spin in complex oxide materials., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.

We present low temperature magnetoresistance measurements of Ar-irradiated SrTiO3 under an applied electrostatic field. The electric field, applied through a back gate bias, modulates both the mobility and sheet density, with a greater effect on the former. For high mobilities, 3-dimensional orbital magnetoresistance is observed. For low mobilities, negative magnetoresistance that is consistent with the suppression of 2-dimensional weak-localization is observed. The crossover from 3 to 2-dimensional transport arises from a modulation in the carrier confinement, which is enhanced by the electric field dependent dielectric constant of SrTiO3. The implications of our results on the development of oxide electronic devices will be discussed., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures