A broken translational symmetry state in an infinite-layer nickelate

DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01660-6

Authors: Matteo Rossi (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) , Motoki Osada (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Jaewon Choi (Diamond Light Source) , Stefano Agrestini (Diamond Light Source) , Daniel Jost (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) , Yonghun Lee (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Haiyu Lu (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University; Stanford University) , Bai Yang Wang (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Kyuho Lee (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Abhishek Nag (Diamond Light Source) , Yi-De Chuang (Advanced Light Source) , Cheng-Tai Kuo (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) , Sang-Jun Lee (tanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) , Brian Moritz (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) , Thomas P. Devereaux (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Zhi-Xun Shen (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Jun-Sik Lee (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource) , Ke-Jin Zhou (Diamond Light Source) , Harold Y. Hwang (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University) , Wei-Sheng Lee (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nature Physics , VOL 309

State: Published (Approved)
Published: July 2022
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 25598 , 27558

Abstract: A defining signature of strongly correlated electronic systems is a rich phase diagram, which consists of multiple broken symmetries, such as magnetism, superconductivity and charge order1,2. In the recently discovered nickelate superconductors3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, a large antiferromagnetic exchange energy has been reported, which implies the existence of strong electronic correlations11. However, signatures of a broken-symmetry state other than superconductivity have not yet been observed. Here we observe charge ordering in infinite-layer nickelates La1−xSrxNiO2 using resonant X-ray scattering. The parent compound orders along the Ni–O bond direction with an incommensurate wavevector, distinct from the stripe order observed in other nickelates12,13,14 that propagates along a direction 45° to the Ni–O bond. The resonance profile we measure indicates that ordering originates from the nickelate layers and induces a parasitic charge modulation of lanthanum electrons. Upon doping, the charge order diminishes and its wavevector shifts towards commensurate, hinting that strong electronic correlations are likely to be responsible for the ordered state. Our results suggest that the existence of charge order and its potential interplay with antiferromagnetic fluctuations and superconductivity are important themes in nickel-based superconductors.

Subject Areas: Materials, Physics


Instruments: I21-Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS)

Other Facilities: 8.0.1 at Advanced Light Source; 13-3 at SSRL

Added On: 27/07/2022 08:44

Discipline Tags:

Superconductors Quantum Materials Physics Hard condensed matter - structures Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Scattering Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS)