Orbital ordering in e(g) orbital systems: ground states and thermodynamics of the 120° model

Orbital degrees of freedom shape many of the properties of a wide class of Mott insulating, transition metal oxides with partially filled 3d shells. Here we study orbital ordering transitions in systems where a single electron occupies the e(g) orbital doublet and the spatially highly anisotropic or...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2010-10, Vol.105 (14), p.146402-146402
Main Authors: van Rynbach, Andre, Todo, Synge, Trebst, Simon
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Orbital degrees of freedom shape many of the properties of a wide class of Mott insulating, transition metal oxides with partially filled 3d shells. Here we study orbital ordering transitions in systems where a single electron occupies the e(g) orbital doublet and the spatially highly anisotropic orbital interactions can be captured by an orbital-only model, often called the 120° model. Our analysis of both the classical and quantum limits of this model in an extended parameter space shows that the 120° model is in close proximity to several T=0 phase transitions and various competing ordered phases. We characterize the orbital order of these nearby phases and their associated thermal phase transitions by extensive numerical simulations and perturbative arguments.
ISSN:1079-7114