Unveiling unconventional magnetism at the surface of Sr2RuO4.
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Authors
Fittipaldi, R
Komori, S
Bjørlig, A
Miyoshi, T
Olde Olthof, LAB
Palomares Garcia, CM
Keren, I
Higemoto, W
Romano, A
Noce, C
Kalisky, B
Vecchione, A
Publication Date
2021-10-04Journal Title
Nat Commun
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
12
Issue
1
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Fittipaldi, R., Hartmann, R., Mercaldo, M., Komori, S., Bjørlig, A., Kyung, W., Yasui, Y., et al. (2021). Unveiling unconventional magnetism at the surface of Sr2RuO4.. Nat Commun, 12 (1) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26020-5
Abstract
Materials with strongly correlated electrons often exhibit interesting physical properties. An example of these materials is the layered oxide perovskite Sr2RuO4, which has been intensively investigated due to its unusual properties. Whilst the debate on the symmetry of the superconducting state in Sr2RuO4 is still ongoing, a deeper understanding of the Sr2RuO4 normal state appears crucial as this is the background in which electron pairing occurs. Here, by using low-energy muon spin spectroscopy we discover the existence of surface magnetism in Sr2RuO4 in its normal state. We detect static weak dipolar fields yet manifesting at an onset temperature higher than 50 K. We ascribe this unconventional magnetism to orbital loop currents forming at the reconstructed Sr2RuO4 surface. Our observations set a reference for the discovery of the same magnetic phase in other materials and unveil an electronic ordering mechanism that can influence electron pairing with broken time reversal symmetry.
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P026311/1)
Identifiers
PMC8490454, 34608149
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26020-5
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/330391
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