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Title: Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr 2 IrO 4

Abstract

Analogs of the high-Tc cuprates have been long sought after in transition metal oxides. Because of the strong spin-orbit coupling, the 5d perovskite iridates Sr2IrO4 exhibit a low-energy electronic structure remarkably similar to the cuprates. Whether a superconducting state exists as in the cuprates requires understanding the correlated spin-orbit entangled electronic states. Recent experiments discovered hidden order in the parent and electron-doped iridates, some with striking analogies to the cuprates, including Fermi surface pockets, Fermi arcs, and pseudogap. Here, we study the correlation and disorder effects in a five-orbital model derived from the band theory. We find that the experimental observations are consistent with a d-wave spin-orbit density wave order that breaks the symmetry of a joint twofold spin-orbital rotation followed by a lattice translation. There is a Berry phase and a plaquette spin flux due to spin procession as electrons hop between Ir atoms, akin to the intersite spin-orbit coupling in quantum spin Hall insulators. The associated staggered circulating Jeff = 1/2 spin current can be probed by advanced techniques of spin-current detection in spintronics. Here, this electronic order can emerge spontaneously from the intersite Coulomb interactions between the spatially extended iridium 5d orbitals, turning the metallic state intomore » an electron-doped quasi-2D Dirac semimetal with important implications on the possible superconducting state suggested by recent experiments.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1402539
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1499088
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-99ER45747
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review. X
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 7 Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
Publisher:
American Physical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Zhou, Sen, Jiang, Kun, Chen, Hua, and Wang, Ziqiang. Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr 2 IrO 4. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041018.
Zhou, Sen, Jiang, Kun, Chen, Hua, & Wang, Ziqiang. Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr 2 IrO 4. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041018
Zhou, Sen, Jiang, Kun, Chen, Hua, and Wang, Ziqiang. Tue . "Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr 2 IrO 4". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041018.
@article{osti_1402539,
title = {Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr 2 IrO 4},
author = {Zhou, Sen and Jiang, Kun and Chen, Hua and Wang, Ziqiang},
abstractNote = {Analogs of the high-Tc cuprates have been long sought after in transition metal oxides. Because of the strong spin-orbit coupling, the 5d perovskite iridates Sr2IrO4 exhibit a low-energy electronic structure remarkably similar to the cuprates. Whether a superconducting state exists as in the cuprates requires understanding the correlated spin-orbit entangled electronic states. Recent experiments discovered hidden order in the parent and electron-doped iridates, some with striking analogies to the cuprates, including Fermi surface pockets, Fermi arcs, and pseudogap. Here, we study the correlation and disorder effects in a five-orbital model derived from the band theory. We find that the experimental observations are consistent with a d-wave spin-orbit density wave order that breaks the symmetry of a joint twofold spin-orbital rotation followed by a lattice translation. There is a Berry phase and a plaquette spin flux due to spin procession as electrons hop between Ir atoms, akin to the intersite spin-orbit coupling in quantum spin Hall insulators. The associated staggered circulating Jeff = 1/2 spin current can be probed by advanced techniques of spin-current detection in spintronics. Here, this electronic order can emerge spontaneously from the intersite Coulomb interactions between the spatially extended iridium 5d orbitals, turning the metallic state into an electron-doped quasi-2D Dirac semimetal with important implications on the possible superconducting state suggested by recent experiments.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041018},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 4,
volume = 7,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Tue Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041018

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 33 works
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Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1. FIG. 1. : Comparison of the band structures obtained using (a) LDA and (b) the five-orbital TBþ SOC model with lattice distortion caused by staggered octahedra rotation. The doubling of bands and the small band splitting in (a) is due to the doubling of unit cell along the c axis.more » The inset in (b) shows the one-Ir Brillouin zone (solid black lines), the reduced zone (dotted black lines), and the high-symmetry points labeled by $Γ$ = (0, 0), $X$ = (π, 0), $Y$ = (0, π), $M$ = (π, π), and N = (π/2, π/2).« less

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Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.