Magnetic excitations in infinite-layer nickelates

Lu, H.; Rossi, M.; Nag, A.; Osada, M.; Li, D.F.; Lee, K.; ... ; Lee, W.S. (2021)

Article / Letter to editor

The discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates brings us tantalizingly close to a material class that mirrors the cuprate superconductors. We measured the magnetic excitations in these nickelates using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the Ni L-3-edge. Undoped NdNiO2 possesses a branch of dispersive excitations with a bandwidth of approximately 200 milli-electron volts, which is reminiscent of the spin wave of strongly coupled, antiferromagnetically aligned spins on a square lattice. The substantial damping of these modes indicates the importance of coupling to rare-earth itinerant electrons. Upon doping, the spectral weight and energy decrease slightly, whereas the modes become overdamped. Our results highlight the role of Mottness in infinite-layer nickelates.

• All authors: Lu, H.; Rossi, M.; Nag, A.; Osada, M.; Li, D.F.; Lee, K.; Wang, B.Y.; Garcia-Fernandez, M.; Agrestini, S.; Shen, Z.X.; Been, E.M.; Moritz, B.; Devereaux, T.P.; Zaanen, J.; Hwang, H.Y.; Zhou, K.J.; Lee, W.S.
• Date: 2021-07-09
• Journal: Science
• Volume: 373
• Issue: 6551
• Pages: 213 - 216
• DOI: doi:10.1126/science.abd7726