RKKY interactions and the anomalous Hall effect in metallic rare-earth pyrochlores

Motivated by experiments on Pr2Ir2O7, we consider metallic pyrochlore systems A2B2O7, where the A sites are occupied by rare-earth local moments and the B sites host 5d transition metal ions with itinerant strongly spin-orbit coupled electrons. Assuming non-Kramers doublets on the A site, we derive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2013-11, Vol.111 (19), p.196601-196601, Article 196601
Main Authors: Lee, SungBin, Paramekanti, Arun, Kim, Yong Baek
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Motivated by experiments on Pr2Ir2O7, we consider metallic pyrochlore systems A2B2O7, where the A sites are occupied by rare-earth local moments and the B sites host 5d transition metal ions with itinerant strongly spin-orbit coupled electrons. Assuming non-Kramers doublets on the A site, we derive the RKKY interaction between them mediated by the B-site itinerant electrons and find extended non-Heisenberg interactions. Analyzing a simplified model of the RKKY interaction, we uncover a local moment phase with coexisting spiral Ising-like magnetic dipolar and XY-like quadrupolar ordering. This state breaks time-reversal and lattice symmetries, and reconstructs the B-site electronic band structure, producing a Weyl metallic phase with an intrinsic anomalous Hall effect and an undetectably small magnetization. We discuss implications of our results for Pr2Ir2O7.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.111.196601