Daily Overview: Today’s highlighted work focuses on deepening the understanding of the electronic structure of mixed Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates. In [1], using high-resolution ARPES combined with dynamic mean-field theory calculations, the research team discovered an orbital-selective Mott phase in Pr₄Ni₃O₁₀ driven by the reduction of interlayer Ni-O-Ni bond angles (from 165° to 158°). In this phase, the d_z² orbital becomes highly incoherent due to geometric frustration, while the d_{x²-y²} band remains coherent, providing a specific framework of lattice-orbital-spin coupling for understanding the emergence of nickel-based superconductivity under high pressure. Furthermore, in [2], based on first-principles path integral molecular dynamics, a novel lattice quantum disorder (LQD) phase was revealed in the bilayer nickelate La₃Ni₂O₇. This phase precisely aligns with the left boundary of the superconducting dome in the pressure-temperature phase diagram, and its maximum superconducting transition temperature is consistent with experimental observations. This indicates that nuclear quantum fluctuations may provide a pairing mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity beyond the conventional phonon picture, a finding directly relevant to the core issue of lattice degrees of freedom and electronic pairing in nickel-based superconductors. arXiv submission processing window: 2026-02-03 14:25 to 2026-02-03 15:39 UTC.

1. Orbital-selective Mottness Driven by Geometric Frustration of Interorbital Hybridization in Pr4Ni3O10

  • Relevance Score: 5.3577
  • Authors: Yidian Li, Mingxin Zhang, Xian Du, Cuiying Pei, Jieyi Liu, Houke Chen, Wenxuan Zhao, Kaiyi Zhai, Yinqi Hu, Senyao Zhang, Jiawei Shao, Mingxin Mao, Yantao Cao, Jinkui Zhao, Zhengtai Li, Dawei Shen, Yaobo Huang, Makoto Hashimoto, Donghui Lu, Zhongkai Liu, Yulin Chen, Hanjie Guo, Yilin Wang, Yanpeng Qi, Lexian Yang
  • Affiliations: Yale University, University of Oxford, ShanghaiTech University, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Tsinghua University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Diamond Light Source, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou University
  • Link: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03658v1

Summary: Using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) combined with theoretical calculations, this study systematically compares the electronic structures of the trilayer nickelates La₄Ni₃O₁₀ and Pr₄Ni₃O₁₀. In La₄Ni₃O₁₀, significant interorbital hybridization between the d_z² flat band and the d_{x²-y²} dispersive band is observed; whereas in Pr₄Ni₃O₁₀, the d_z² band becomes highly incoherent with heavily suppressed spectral weight, while the d_{x²-y²} band remains coherent. This coherent/incoherent dichotomy identifies an orbital-selective Mott phase modulated by the interlayer Ni-O-Ni bond angle (decreasing from 165° to 158°). Dynamical mean-field theory calculations reveal that geometric frustration induced by structural distortions destroys the coherence of the d_z² orbital, thereby suppressing interorbital hybridization and affecting the density-wave phase transition in Pr₄Ni₃O₁₀. Furthermore, due to additional scattering channels provided by Pr³⁺ local moments, the density-wave gap in Pr₄Ni₃O₁₀ is significantly reduced. These findings unveil the intricate interplay among lattice, orbital, spin, and electronic degrees of freedom, and confirm that the interlayer bond angle can serve as an effective structural parameter for tuning multiorbital correlated states, providing a concrete framework for understanding the emergence of superconductivity under high pressure.

2. Unconventional superconductivity from lattice quantum disorder

Summary: By incorporating nuclear quantum many-body effects into first-principles calculations, this work identifies a lattice quantum disordered (LQD) phase in two superconductors, H₃S and La₃Ni₂O₇. This phase appears as a triangular region in the pressure-temperature phase diagram, with its left boundary precisely aligning with the critical temperature (T_c) on the left side of the superconducting dome, and the T_cᵐᵃˣ of this phase coincides with the maximum superconducting T_c. Using path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) to treat nuclear quantum many-body effects from first principles, the free energy surface is constructed via the mean force of the centroid potential, enabling accurate determination of structural phase boundaries. The results show that the transition on the left side of the superconducting dome originates from a structural phase change from a low-symmetry phase to the LQD phase, and superconductivity occurs entirely within the high-symmetry phase. The quantum fluctuations of the LQD phase go beyond the conventional phonon picture, potentially offering a new pairing mechanism. This discovery refutes previous misinterpretations of the phase diagram and establishes the LQD phase as a unified framework that not only predicts new superconductors but also helps understand broader phenomena in condensed matter physics, marking a decisive role of lattice degrees of freedom in the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.