Abstract
Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments performed at the oxygen edge on the iridate perovskites and reveal a sequence of well-defined dispersive modes over the energy range up to . The momentum dependence of these modes and their variation with the experimental geometry allows us to assign each of them to specific collective magnetic and/or electronic excitation processes, including single and bimagnons, and spin-orbit and electron-hole excitons. We thus demonstrate that dispersive magnetic and electronic excitations are observable at the O edge in the presence of the strong spin-orbit coupling in the shell of iridium and strong hybridization between Ir and O orbitals, which confirm and expand theoretical expectations. More generally, our results establish the utility of O -edge RIXS for studying the collective excitations in a range of materials that are attracting increasing attention due to their novel magnetic and electronic properties. Especially, the strong RIXS response at O edge opens up the opportunity for investigating collective excitations in thin films and heterostructures fabricated from these materials.
- Received 4 August 2017
- Corrected 2 February 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.041102
©2018 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
2 February 2018
Correction: A present address footnote was inserted for the tenth author.