Electronic structure of Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$ revealed by RIXS

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetite (Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$) is a prototypical example of a mixed valence compound. At 125 K, Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$ undergoes the Verwey transition associated with charge ordering. The valence electrons order themselves over the octahedral sites (B sites) to form a Fe$^{2+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$ superstructure in the insulating phase below the transition temperature. Here we report measurements of resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS) to unravel the electronic structures of Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$. By the advantage of high energy-resolution ($\Delta$E $\approx$ 80 meV) of the RIXS spectra, we found two distinctive features of magnetic excitations, coming from octahedral Fe$^{2+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$ separately. These magnetic excitations are described well by a local ionic model. The $dd$ excitations of the different Fe sites are also revealed in the RIXS spectra.

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Authors

  • Hsiao-Yu Huang

    • Doctor Program of Science and Technology of Synchrotron Light Source, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan

  • Ru-Pan Wang

    • Department of Chemistry, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

  • Wen-Bin Wu

    • National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan

  • Chia-Hung Lai

    • National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan

  • Hok-Sum Fung

    • National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan

  • Chien-Te Chen

    • National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan

  • Jianshi Zhou

    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Material Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

  • Frank de Groot

    • Department of Chemistry, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

  • Di-Jing Huang

    • National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan