Magnetic Order in bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper Nickelates

基于轨道选择性电子关联的实验证据,本文针对双层镍酸盐La₃Ni₂O₇提出了一种新的磁性描述框架。在正常态的坏金属区中,体系邻近轨道选择性Mott相,电子谱分解为相干的d_(x²-y²)轨道准粒子和非相干的d_(z²)轨道局域磁矩。通过整合局域磁矩间的超交换作用与相干电子介导的RKKY相互作用,构建有效自旋模型,其中RKKY贡献主导了第三近邻耦合并引发磁阻挫。该模型自然稳定了一个波矢接近(π/2, π/2)的非共面反铁磁基态,层间呈反铁磁堆叠,与中子散射等实验一致。计算的自旋波谱包含低频声学支和高频光学支,声学支在序波矢处软化,总带宽约80 meV,与共振非弹性X射线散射实验相符。这一结果揭示轨道选择性关联是决定双层镍酸盐磁性的核心要素,并指出低能磁涨落及短程交换作用可能为非常规超导配对提供驱动力。

Marginal-Fermi-Liquid-like Behavior without Pseudogap in Infinite-Layer Nickelates

本研究通过角分辨光电子能谱(ARPES)对无限层镍酸盐超导体 La0.8Ca0.2NiO2 及其母体 LaNiO2 薄膜的低能电子结构进行测量,利用改进的表面处理工艺首次在该体系中分辨出清晰的准粒子峰。在 La0.8Ca0.2NiO2 中,电子自能虚部与能量呈近似线性关系,其斜率从 (π/2, π/2) 到 (π, 0) 方向逐渐增大,显示出动量依赖的边际费米液体样散射特征。两种薄膜均表现出从对角线方向向反节点区域逐步抑制的低能谱权重,母体中的抑制更强,然而整个费米面上始终保留有限的费米能级谱权重,未见到能带前沿位移或背弯现象,表明不存在铜氧化物中典型的赝能隙。这些结果表明,动量选择性关联和边际费米液体样散射可以在无可检测赝能隙的情况下发生,为甄别高温超导正常态所必需的电子要素提供了关键基准,并暗示赝能隙并非必需,电荷转移能级和掺杂载流子轨道特征可能起着决定性作用。

Metallic crossover through the tilt-free transition in La₃Ni₂O₇ at high pressure and temperature

该研究通过高压高温拉曼光谱和同步辐射红外反射光谱,系统研究了双层镍氧化物La₃Ni₂O₇在压力与温度下的结构相变与电子性质演变。拉曼测量证实了压力驱动的结构相变(从倾斜的Amam相到无倾斜的Fmmm或I4/mmm相),并观察到Fano线型出现,表明电子-声子耦合增强。高温数据揭示了该相变在常压下存在544 K的上限温度,完善了温压相图。红外反射率测量显示,相变伴随载流子密度提升近两个数量级,标志着从不良金属到良金属的交叉。实验建立了结构相变与电子性质强耦合的统一图像,超导性在约6-7 GPa处与无倾斜相的出现紧密相关,但高对称性与金属性本身不足以诱发超导,可能还需考虑密度波涨落等强电子关联效应。

Microscopic Evidence of Charge- and Spin-Density Waves in La₃Ni₂O₇–δ Revealed by 139La-NQR

The recent discovery of superconductivity in La3Ni2O7–δ with a transition temperature Tc close to 80 K at high pressures has attracted significant attention, due particularly to a possible density wave (DW) transition occurring near the superconducting dome. Identifying the type of DW order is crucial for understanding the origin of superconductivity in this system. However, owing to the presence of La4Ni3O10 and other intergrowth phases in La3Ni2O7–δ samples, extracting the intrinsic information from the La3Ni2O7 phase is challenging. In this study, we employed 139La nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements to eliminate the influence of other structural phases in the sample and obtain microscopic insights into the DW transition in La3Ni2O7–δ. Below the DW transition temperature TDW ∼ 153 K, we observe a distinct splitting in the ±5/2 ↔ ±7/2 transition of the NQR resonance peak at the La(2) site, while only a line broadening is seen in the ±3/2 ↔ ±5/2 transition peak. Through further analysis of the spectra, we show that the line splitting is due to a unidirectional charge modulation. A magnetic line broadening is also observed below TDW, accompanied by a large enhancement of the spin-lattice relaxation rate, indicating the formation of magnetically ordered moments in the DW state. Our results suggest a simultaneous formation of charge- and spin-density wave orders in La3Ni2O7–δ, thereby offering critical insights into the electronic correlations in Ni-based superconductors.

Multiband Metallic Ground State in Multilayered Nickelates La₃Ni₂O₇ and La₄Ni₃O₁₀ Probed by 139La-NMR at Ambient Pressure

We report a 139La-NMR study of polycrystalline samples of multi(n)-layered nickelates, La3Ni2O7−δ (n = 2) and La4Ni3O10−δ (n = 3), at ambient pressure. Measurements of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and nuclear spin relaxation rate (1/T1) indicate the emergence of a density wave order with a gap below T* ∼ 150 K for La3Ni2O7−δ and ∼130 K for La4Ni3O10−δ. The finite value of 1/T1 below T* indicates metallic ground states with the remaining density of states at the Fermi level (EF) under the density wave order. These features are attributed to multiple d electron bands with different characteristics. Above T*, the gradual decrease in 1/T1T upon cooling implies the presence of a band with flat dispersion near EF. From our microscopic probes, we point out that these nickelates (n = 2 and 3) possess similar electronic states despite the difference in the formal valence of the Ni d electron states, which provides a basis for understanding the novel high-Tc superconductivity under high pressures.

Multimodal Terahertz Spectroscopy of the Pairing Symmetry and Normal-State Pseudogap in (La,Pr)₃Ni₂O₇ Films

该研究通过结合线性太赫兹时域光谱与三阶谐波产生技术,系统探测了压缩应变(La,Pr)₃Ni₂O₇薄膜的超导配对对称性及正常态赝能隙。线性太赫兹光谱观测到超导转变温度以下低频谱权重的显著抑制,伴随弱相干峰以及趋近零温时仍存在的较大剩余电导,与无序s±波配对图像一致。非线性三阶谐波信号在进入超导态后急剧增强,但其响应在超导转变温度以上持续存在,并在约100K处出现扭折,结合角分辨光电子能谱在同类薄膜中观测到的类似温度尺度,将其归因于正常态赝能隙。研究确立了(La,Pr)₃Ni₂O₇为具有s±波类配对的体超导体,且该超导态与另一有序态共存并可能相互竞争,为探索超越铜基和铁基的非常规超导机制提供了新平台。

Nature of charge density waves and metal-insulator transition in pressurized La₃Ni₂O₇

Nature of charge density waves and metal-insulator transition in pressurized La₃Ni₂O₇

Nature of magnetism in bilayer nickelate La₃Ni₂O₇ single crystals

该研究利用中子散射技术解析了双层镍氧化物La₃Ni₂O₇单晶的自旋有序与动力学。在常压母体相中,于倒空间Q=(0,0.5,2.5)位置观测到清晰的自旋激发,具有约5 meV的自旋能隙和显著的面内各向异性色散——沿横向的带边软化揭示了竞争性交换相互作用。激发表现出双层周期性的面外调制,直接证实了反铁磁层间耦合。基于线性自旋波理论,实验色散可用包含强层间交换与竞争面内耦合的双层海森伯哈密顿量精确描述,磁结构为条纹型有序。将谱强度归一化为绝对单位后发现,尽管自旋波带宽仅为铜氧化物的25%,但在可比能量下局域动态磁化率显著增强,总涨落磁矩与铜氧化物相当。这些结果揭示了源自强电子关联的中能自旋激发是该体系的本质特征,构建了与铜氧化物截然不同的磁性框架,为理解该体系中超导的配对机制提供了直接依据。

Nearly perfect Fermi surface nesting in hole-doped La₃Ni₂O₇ enables bulk superconductivity without pressure or strain

通过结合密度泛函理论、动态平均场理论和随机相位近似求解超导能隙方程,研究者发现空穴掺杂的层状镍氧化物La₃₋ₓSrₓNi₂O₇在环境压力下可实现体超导电性。当掺杂浓度x接近0.4时,Ni-d₃z²₋r²轨道衍生的γ费米口袋从圆形演变为菱形并扩展至半个布里渊区,形成近乎完美的费米面嵌套,最佳嵌套矢量为Q=(π, π)。这一结构显著增强了反铁磁自旋涨落,将超导特征值提升至实验可观测的水平,无需施加高压或应变。该工作阐明了空穴掺杂调控费米口袋形状与大小的机制,为在常压下实现此类材料长期追求的体超导提供了理论依据和实验可行路径。

Nearly twofold overestimation of the superconducting volume fraction in pressurized Ruddlesden-Popper nickelates

本研究指出,Zhu等人在测量加压Ruddlesden-Popper镍酸盐La₄Ni₃O₁₀的超导体积分数时,采用了此前未见报道的计算方程,导致结果被显著高估。作者基于Zhu等人公布的原始数据,使用标准超导磁矩计算方法重新分析,发现超导体积分数仅为51%至59%,而非Zhu等人报告的81%至86%。通过检查Zhu等人提供的方程及其推导,作者发现该方程在计算中错误地使用了样品几何参数,导致对超导相所占体积比例的计算出现约两倍的高估。作者以假想样品为例,说明即使超导相实际只占50%,该方程仍会得出接近100%的结果。因此,该错误影响了迄今所有已报道的Ruddlesden-Popper镍酸盐超导体积分数数据,需要重新审视这些结论。