Kasinathan D, Koepernik K, Rosner H. Quasi-one-dimensional magnetism driven by unusual orbital ordering in CuSb2O6.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2008;
100:237202. [PMID:
18643539 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.100.237202]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Essentially all undoped cuprates exhibit a quasiplanar, fourfold Cu-O coordination responsible for the magnetically active antibonding 3d(x(2)-y(2)) like state. Here, we present an electronic structure study for CuSb(2)O(6) that reveals, in contrast, a half-filled 3d(3z(2)-r(2)) orbital. This hitherto unobserved ground state originates from a competition of in- and out-of-plaquette orbitals where the strong Coulomb repulsion drives the surprising and unique orbital ordering. This, in turn, gives rise to an unexpected quasi-one-dimensional magnetic behavior. Our results provide a consistent explanation of recent thermodynamical and neutron diffraction measurements.
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