arXiv · 1405.7766
Bond-Order and the Role of Ligand States in Stripe-Modulated IrTe2
Abstract
The coupled electronic-structural modulations of the ligand states in IrTe$_2$ have been studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS). Distinctive pre-edge structures are observed at the Te-$M_{4,5}$ (3$d$ $\rightarrow$ 5$p$) absorption edge, indicating the presence of a Te 5$p$-Ir 5$d$ covalent state near the Fermi level. An enhancement of the REXS signal near the Te 3$d$ $\rightarrow$ 5$p$ resonance at the $Q\!=\!(1/5,0,-1/5)$ superlattice reflection is observed below the structural transition temperature $T_s\sim$ 280 K. The analysis of the energy-dependent REXS lineshape reveals the key role played by the spatial modulation of the covalent Te 5$p$-Ir 5$d$ bond-density in driving the stripe-like order in IrTe$_2$, and uncovers its coupling with the charge and/or orbital order at the Ir sites. The similarity between these findings and the charge-ordering phenomenology observed in the high-T$_c$ superconducting cuprates suggests that the iridates may harbor similar exotic phases.
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K. Takubo, R. Comin, D. Ootsuki, T. Mizokawa, H. Wadati, Y. Takahashi, G. Shibata, A. Fujimori, R. Sutarto, F. He, S. Pyon, K. Kudo, M. Nohara, G. Levy, I. Elfimov, G. A. Sawatzky, A. Damascelli. 2014-05-30. Bond-Order and the Role of Ligand States in Stripe-Modulated IrTe2. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.90.081104
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