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arXiv · 1003.3414

Calculated Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Pyrochlore Iridates

Xiangang Wan·Jinming Dong·Sergey Y. Savrasov
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Abstract

Using density functional theory and LDA+U method, we investigate magnetic and electronic structure of Y$_{2}$Ir$_{2}$O$_{7}$ and rare-earth based pyrochlore iridates. Our study reveals that the ground state is a non-collinear magnetic insulating state. Due to strong spin-orbit coupling in Ir 5\textit{d}, there is an unusual correlation between the bands near Fermi level and the magnetization direction, resulting in a possibility of insulator-to-metal transition under applied magnetic field. This makes pyrochlore iridates a good candidate for possible magnetoressitance and magnetooptical applications.

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Xiangang Wan, Jinming Dong, Sergey Y. Savrasov. 2010-03-17. Calculated Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Pyrochlore Iridates. https://arxiv.org/abs/1003.3414

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