Abstract
We observed all-in type Nb tetrahedral displacement in nonmagnetic pyrochlore niobates and through the analysis of the neutron pair distribution function and the extended x-ray absorption function spectroscopy. The all-in type Nb tetrahedral displacement, which has the character of a charge singlet state, is driven by the formation of the bonding orbital. The diffuse scattering in the x-ray diffraction, which has the resonant component in the Nb edge, indicates that the all-in type Nb tetrahedral displacement has the periodicity with its short-range correlation.
- Received 8 May 2015
- Revised 28 December 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.085109
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