Publication details
Fingerprints of Mott and Slater gaps in the core-level photoemission spectra of antiferromagnetic iridates
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Physical Review B |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.195114 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.195114 |
| Keywords | Electronic structure; Antiferromagnets; Mott insulators; DFT+DMFT; X-ray photoemission electron microscopy |
| Description | We present Ir 4 f core-level hard-x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES) experiments conducted across the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering transition in Ruddlesden-Popper iridates Sr2IrO4 and Sr3Ir2O7. The Ir 4 f spectra exhibit distinct changes between the AFM and paramagnetic (PM) phases, with the spectral difference IPM - IAFM showing a contrasting behavior in the two compounds. By employing computational simulations using the local density approximation combined with the dynamical mean-field theory method, we elucidate that IPM - IAFM primarily reflects the Slater or Mott-Hubbard character of the AFM insulating state rather than material-specific details, such as crystal and/or band structures. This sensitivity to fine low-energy electronic structure arises from the dependence of charge-transfer responses to the sudden creation of a localized core hole on both metal-insulator transitions and long-range AFM ordering. Our result broadens the applications of core-level HAXPES as a tool for characterization of electronic structure in 5d transition-metal compounds. |