Dramatic Switching of Magnetic Exchange in a Classic Transition Metal Oxide: Evidence for Orbital Ordering

Wei Bao; C. Broholm; G. Aeppli; P. Dai; J. M. Honig; P. Metcalf

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.507

Dramatic Switching of Magnetic Exchange in a Classic Transition Metal Oxide: Evidence for Orbital Ordering

Wei Bao, C. Broholm, G. Aeppli, P. Dai, J. M. Honig, and P. Metcalf

Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 507 – Published 20 January 1997

Abstract

Spin correlations in metallic and insulating phases of $V_{2} O_{3}$ and its derivatives are investigated using magnetic neutron scattering. Metallic samples have incommensurate spin correlations varying little with hole doping. Paramagnetic insulating samples have spin correlations only among near neighbors. The transition from either of these phases into the low temperature insulating antiferromagnetic phase is accompanied by an abrupt change of dynamic magnetic short range order. Our results support the idea that the transition into the antiferromagnetic insulator is also an orbital ordering transition.

Received 26 August 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.507

Authors & Affiliations

Wei Bao^1,2, C. Broholm^1,3, G. Aeppli⁴, P. Dai⁵, J. M. Honig⁶, and P. Metcalf⁶

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
²Physics Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973
³National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
⁴NEC, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
⁵Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
⁶Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907