Dual Orbital Degeneracy Lifting in a Strongly Correlated Electron System

ORAL

Abstract

The local structure of NaTiSi2O6 is examined across its Ti-dimerization orbital-assisted Peierls transition at 210 K. An atomic pair distribution function approach evidences local symmetry breaking preexisting far above the transition. The analysis unravels that on warming the dimers evolve into a short range orbital degeneracy lifted (ODL) state of dual orbital character, persisting up to at least 490 K. The ODL state is correlated over the length scale spanning ~6 sites of the Ti zigzag chains. Results imply that the ODL phenomenology extends to strongly correlated electron systems.

*Work at Brookhaven National Laboratory was supported by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (DOE-BES) under contract No. DE-SC0012704.
R.S. and H.Z. thank the support from the U.S. Department of Energy under award DE-SC-0020254. Neutron total scattering data were collected at the NOMAD beamline (BL-1B) at the SNS, a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
X-ray PDF measurements were conducted on beamline 28-ID-1 of the NSLS-II, a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704.

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Presenters

  • Robert Koch

    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory

Authors

  • Robert Koch

    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Ryan P Sinclair

    • University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee

  • Marshall McDonnell

    • Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Runze Yu

    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Milinda Abeykoon

    • Photon Sciences Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Matt Tucker

    • Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Alexei Tsvelik

    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Lab
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Simon L Billinge

    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University

  • Haidong Zhou

    • Dep. Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    • University of Tenessee
    • University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    • Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
    • University of Tennessee
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee

  • Weiguo Yin

    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Emil Bozin

    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory