Correlated phases and excitations in the iridates

COFFEE_KLATCH  · Invited

Abstract

The iridium oxides form an intriguing set of materials controlled by a delicate balance of kinetic, spin-orbit, and Coulomb interaction energies. Many possible exotic phases and phenomena have been suggested for them in the literature. I will review the theoretical context for these compounds, emphasizing effects arising from the combination of strong spin-orbit coupling and electron-electron correlations. Finally, I will discuss our group's on-going efforts to understand the excitations and magnetic phases in these materials.

*I acknowledge support from the DOE BES grant DE-FG02-08ER46524, and the NSF MRSEC program, grant DMR1121053

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Authors

  • Leon Balents

    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
    • Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, UCSB
    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA-93106-9530