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  1. Abstract The microscopic origins of emergent behaviours in condensed matter systems are encoded in their excitations. In ordinary magnetic materials, single spin-flips give rise to collective dipolar magnetic excitations called magnons. Likewise, multiple spin-flips can give rise to multipolar magnetic excitations in magnetic materials with spin S ≥ 1. Unfortunately, since most experimental probes are governed by dipolar selection rules, collective multipolar excitations have generally remained elusive. For instance, only dipolar magnetic excitations have been observed in isotropic S = 1 Haldane spin systems. Here, we unveil a hidden quadrupolar constituent of the spin dynamics in antiferromagnetic S = 1 Haldane chain material Y 2 BaNiO 5 using Ni L 3 -edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Our results demonstrate that pure quadrupolar magnetic excitations can be probed without direct interactions with dipolar excitations or anisotropic perturbations. Originating from on-site double spin-flip processes, the quadrupolar magnetic excitations in Y 2 BaNiO 5 show a remarkable dual nature of collective dispersion. While one component propagates as non-interacting entities, the other behaves as a bound quadrupolar magnetic wave. This result highlights the rich and largely unexplored physics of higher-order magnetic excitations. 
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  2. Abstract We studied the magnetic excitations in the quasi-one-dimensional (q-1D) ladder subsystem of Sr 14−x Ca x Cu 24 O 41 (SCCO) using Cu L 3 -edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). By comparing momentum-resolved RIXS spectra with high ( x  = 12.2) and without ( x  = 0) Ca content, we track the evolution of the magnetic excitations from collective two-triplon (2 T) excitations ( x  = 0) to weakly-dispersive gapped modes at an energy of 280 meV ( x  = 12.2). Density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations of the RIXS response in the doped ladders suggest that the flat magnetic dispersion and damped excitation profile observed at x  = 12.2 originates from enhanced hole localization. This interpretation is supported by polarization-dependent RIXS measurements, where we disentangle the spin-conserving Δ S  = 0 scattering from the predominant Δ S  = 1 spin-flip signal in the RIXS spectra. The results show that the low-energy weight in the Δ S  = 0 channel is depleted when Sr is replaced by Ca, consistent with a reduced carrier mobility. Our results demonstrate that off-ladder impurities can affect both the low-energy magnetic excitations and superconducting correlations in the CuO 4 plaquettes. Finally, our study characterizes the magnetic and charge fluctuations in the phase from which superconductivity emerges in SCCO at elevated pressures. 
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  3. Data files for the manuscript "Quadrupolar magnetic excitations in an isotropic spin-1 antiferromagnet".

    Reference: A. Nag, A. Nocera, S. Agrestini, M. Garcia-Fernandez, A. C. Walters, Sang-Wook Cheong, S. Johnston, and Ke-Jin Zhou, "Quadrupolar magnetic excitations in an isotropic spin-1 antiferromagnet". arXiv:2111.03625 (2021).

    Preprint: arXiv:2111.03625 (2021), URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.03625

     
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  4. Abstract

    Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (RIXS) experiments on the iron-based ladder BaFe2Se3unveiled an unexpected two-peak structure associated with local orbital (dd) excitations in a block-type antiferromagnetic phase. A mixed character between correlated band-like and localized excitations was also reported. Here, we use the density matrix renormalization group method to calculate the momentum-resolved charge- and orbital-dynamical response functions of a multi-orbital Hubbard chain. Remarkably, our results qualitatively resemble the BaFe2Se3RIXS data, while also capturing the presence of long-range magnetic order as found in neutron scattering, only when the model is in an exotic orbital-selective Mott phase (OSMP). In the calculations, the experimentally observed zero-momentum transfer RIXS peaks correspond to excitations between itinerant and Mott insulating orbitals. We provide experimentally testable predictions for the momentum-resolved charge and orbital dynamical structures, which can provide further insight into the OSMP regime of BaFe2Se3.

     
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