Paper

Trilayer Ruddlesden-Popper phase La4Ni3O10 has been observed with Tc of ∼30 K at high pressure in a recent experiment, which further expanded the family of nickelate superconductors. In this study, we explored the effects of electronic correlations in La4Ni3O10 using density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory at ambient and high pressures. Our derived spectral functions and Fermi surface of the ambient pressure phase are nicely consistent with the experimental results by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which emphasized the importance of electronic correlations in La4Ni3O10. We also found the electronic correlations in pressurized La4Ni3O10 are both orbital-dependent and layer-dependent due to the presence of Hund’s rule coupling. There is a competition between the Hund’s rule coupling and the crystal-field splitting, and therefore, the Ni–O layers with weaker crystal-field splitting energy would have stronger electronic correlations.

The discovery of superconductivity with a critical temperature of about 80 K in La3Ni2O7 single crystals under pressure has received enormous attention. La3Ni2O7 is not superconducting under ambient pressure but exhibits a transition at T ∗ ≃ 115 K. Understanding the electronic correlations and charge dynamics is an important step towards the origin of superconductivity and other instabilities. Here, our optical study shows that La3Ni2O7 features strong electronic correlations which significantly reduce the electron’s kinetic energy and place this system in the proximity of the Mott phase. The low-frequency optical conductivity reveals two Drude components arising from multiple bands at the Fermi level. The transition at T ∗ removes the Drude component exhibiting non-Fermi liquid behavior, whereas the one with Fermi-liquid behavior is barely affected. These observations in combination with theoretical results suggest that the Fermi surface dominated by the Ni- $${d}_{3{z}^{2}-{r}^{2}}$$orbital is removed due to the transition at T ∗. Our experimental results provide pivotal information for understanding the transition at T ∗ and superconductivity in La3Ni2O7.

We employ a density-functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory framework to investigate the correlated electronic structure of the alternating single-layer–trilayer (1313) polymorph of La3⁢Ni2⁢O7, which becomes superconducting under pressure. At ambient pressure, the single layer is in a Mott-insulating regime and the low-energy physics is dominated by the trilayer block. Under pressure, the gap in the single-layer block closes due to orbital-selective physics, enabling charge transfer into the trilayer block. This change in effective doping of the trilayer block could be linked to the higher 𝑇𝑐 obtained in La3⁢Ni2⁢O7−1313 (∼80 K) when compared to the nominal trilayer La4⁢Ni3⁢O10 compound (∼30 K). We conclude that correlation-driven layer differentiation is crucial in the La3⁢Ni2⁢O7−1313 polymorph and that its low-energy physics aligns closely with the trilayer La4⁢Ni3⁢O10 compound (in spite of the apparent differences in nominal filling) rather than with the conventional bilayer La3⁢Ni2⁢O7.

Using polarized ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy, the researchers comparatively investigated the normal-state electronic dynamics of bilayer La₃Ni₂O₇ and trilayer La₄Ni₃O₁₀ single crystals under ambient pressure. Both materials exhibit a density-wave transition accompanied by the opening of a quasiparticle relaxation bottleneck, yet their electronic responses display markedly different symmetries: trilayer La₄Ni₃O₁₀ remains optically isotropic across the entire temperature range, whereas bilayer La₃Ni₂O₇ shows clear twofold (C₂) rotational symmetry breaking—i.e., electronic nematicity—at low temperatures. This nematicity manifests in the anisotropy of slow quasiparticle relaxation dynamics and effective gap scale, and below 115 K it competes with a secondary isotropic order, leading to a non-monotonic temperature dependence of the nematic signal. This work reveals the presence of electronic nematic fluctuations in bilayer nickelates, which are absent in the trilayer system, suggesting a close relationship between electronic nematicity and high-pressure superconducting pairing in La₃Ni₂O₇, thereby providing key insights into the microscopic mechanism of this class of nickel-based superconductors.

Building on the discovery of high-pressure superconductivity in trilayer nickelate La₄Ni₃O₁₀, this study employed density functional theory combined with dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) to design and calculate the cobalt-based analogue La₄Co₂NiO₈Cl₂. By substituting the inner-layer Co in the high-pressure phase La₄Co₃O₁₀ with Ni and incorporating Cl to achieve electron doping, this compound acquires a crystal structure and strongly correlated electronic characteristics similar to those of superconducting La₄Ni₃O₁₀: the outer-layer Co orbitals exhibit strong effective mass enhancement and non-Fermi liquid behavior, while the inner-layer Ni behaves as a weakly correlated Fermi liquid; a flat band near the Fermi level originating from the outer-layer Co orbitals emerges around the M point; and there is pronounced orbital selectivity as well as local spin fluctuations mixing high-spin and low-spin states. These features are in close agreement with the key electronic states of La₄Ni₃O₁₀, indicating that La₄Co₂NiO₈Cl₂ is a promising candidate for realizing high-temperature superconductivity in cobalt-based layered compounds, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent experimental exploration.

It has been recently shown that under pressure trilayer Ruddlesden-Popper nickelate La4⁢Ni3⁢O10 (LNO) becomes superconducting below a critical temperature ≈20 K, in addition to the infinite-layer and bilayer systems. Motivated by this observation, we explore the effects of electron correlations on its electronic structure and magnetic properties using the advanced density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory approach. Our results for the normal-state electronic structure and correlation effects in LNO show much in common with the infinite-layer and bilayer nickelates, with remarkable site- and orbital-dependent renormalizations of the Ni 3⁢𝑑 bands and notable incoherence of the Ni 𝑑3⁢𝑧2−𝑟2 states, caused by correlation effects. Our analysis of the Fermi surface and magnetic correlations suggests the emergence of competing spin and charge stripe states, implying the importance of in-plane spin fluctuations to explain superconductivity in this material.

Motivated by the recent observation of superconductivity in the pressurized trilayer Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate La4⁢Ni3⁢O10, we explore its structural, electronic, and magnetic properties as a function of hydrostatic pressure from first-principles calculations. We find that an orthorhombic (monoclinic)-to-tetragonal transition under pressure takes place concomitantly with the onset of superconductivity. The electronic structure of La4⁢Ni3⁢O10 can be understood using a molecular trimer basis wherein 𝑛 molecular subbands arise as the 𝑑𝑧2 orbitals hybridize strongly along the 𝑐 axis within the trilayer. The magnetic tendencies indicate that the ground state at ambient pressure is formed by nonmagnetic inner planes and stripe-ordered outer planes that are antiferromagnetically coupled along the 𝑐 axis, resulting in an unusual ↑, 0, ↓ stacking that is consistent with the spin density wave model previously suggested by neutron diffraction. Such a state is destabilized at the pressure where superconductivity arises. Despite the presence of 𝑑𝑧2 states at the Fermi level, the 𝑑𝑥2−𝑦2 orbitals also play a key role in the electronic structure of La4⁢Ni3⁢O10. This active role of the 𝑑𝑥2−𝑦2 states in the low-energy physics of the trilayer RP nickelate, together with the distinct electronic behavior of the inner and outer planes, resembles the physics of multilayer cuprates.

Signatures of superconductivity under pressure have recently been reported in the bilayer La3⁢Ni2⁢O7 and trilayer La4⁢Ni3⁢O10 Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelates with the general chemical formula La𝑛+1⁢Ni𝑛⁢O3⁢𝑛+1 (𝑛 = number of perovskite layers along the 𝑐-axis). The emergence of superconductivity is always concomitant with a structural transition in which the octahedral tilts are suppressed, bringing the apical Ni-O-Ni angle to 180∘ and causing an increase in the out-of-plane 𝑑𝑧2 orbital overlap. Due to this strong interlayer coupling, a flat band of pure 𝑑𝑧2 character crosses the Fermi level. Here, using first-principles calculations, we explore biaxial strain (both compressive and tensile) as a means to mimic the electronic structure characteristics of RP nickelates (up to 𝑛=5) under hydrostatic pressure. Our findings highlight that strain enables the decoupling of the structural and electronic structure effects obtained under hydrostatic pressure: While compressive strain brings the apical Ni-O-Ni angle closer to 180∘, it shifts the 𝑑𝑧2 flat bands away from the Fermi energy, giving rise to a more cupratelike electronic structure. In contrast, tensile strain reduces the apical Ni-O-Ni angle (to values of ∼160∘), but it recovers the flat 𝑑𝑧2 band at the Fermi level appearing in the bilayer and trilayer RP nickelates under pressure. Overall, strain represents a promising way to tune the electronic structure of RP nickelates and could be an alternative route to achieve superconductivity at ambient pressure in this family of materials.

Using first-principles DFT+U calculations, this work investigates the trends in crystal structure and electronic properties of La₃Ni₂O₇ doped with different rare-earth elements (Pr, Nd, Sm). The results show that dopant atoms preferentially occupy La sites in the rock-salt layer; as the ionic radius decreases from Pr to Sm, the chemical pressure effect leads to a monotonic reduction in unit-cell volume and a successive increase in the monoclinic-to-tetragonal structural transition pressure, with this transition largely coinciding with the emergence of superconductivity, in agreement with experimental observations. In the high-pressure tetragonal phase, the d_{z²} band flattens and crosses the Fermi level, producing a characteristic hole-type Fermi surface that is regarded as a key electronic hallmark of superconductivity. With decreasing rare-earth ion size, the in-plane hopping integral is enhanced, whereas the out-of-plane hopping integral is weakened due to the shortening of the apical Ni–O bond. These findings offer microscopic mechanistic insights into how rare-earth doping influences the electronic structure of bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates and its connection to the superconducting transition temperature.

This study systematically investigates the electronic structure and magnetic correlations in the normal state of the alternating monolayer-bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper nickelate La₅Ni₃O₁₁ (1212-LNO) using the DFT+DMFT method. The results reveal significant differences between structurally distinct monolayer and bilayer Ni ions: the e_g states of bilayer Ni ions form strongly renormalized quasiparticle bands, with effective mass enhancement factors of approximately 3.5 and 4.2 for the Ni x²-y² and 3z²-r² orbitals, respectively; while the e_g states of monolayer Ni ions exhibit an orbital-selective Mott insulating state, where the Ni 3z²-r² orbital possesses a narrow gap and the x²-y² orbital displays metallic but strongly incoherent (non-Fermi liquid) behavior. Magnetic correlation analysis indicates that intertwined spin and charge density wave stripes may form in the bilayer NiO₆ planes, with the primary instability corresponding to an “up-down-0” spin pattern at wave vector Q=(1/3,1/3) competing with a “up-up-down-down” double-stripe state at (1/4,1/4). The 3d electrons of monolayer Ni tend to form Néel-type magnetic order. Under pressure, 1212-LNO undergoes an orbital-selective Mott insulator-metal transition accompanied by the metallization of the monolayer Ni e_g states, which exhibit strongly incoherent non-Fermi liquid behavior near the Fermi level. Overall, correlation effects significantly restructure the magnetic correlations from DFT-predicted monolayer-dominated to bilayer-dominated behavior, emphasizing the critical roles of interlayer confinement and orbital-dependent correlations.