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arXiv · 2503.19408

Interplay of canted antiferromagnetism and nematic order in Mott insulating Sr2Ir1-xRhxO4

Hyeokjun Heo·Jeongha An·Junyoung Kwon·Kwangrae Kim·Youngoh Son·B. J. Kim·Joonho Jang
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Abstract

Sr2IrO4 is one of the prime candidates for realizing exotic quantum spin orders owing to the subtle combination of spin-orbit coupling and electron correlation. Sensitive local magnetization measurement can serve as a powerful tool to study these kinds of systems with multiple competing spin orders since the comprehensive study of the spatially-varying magnetic responses provide crucial information of their energetics. Here, using sensitive magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements and spin Hamiltonian model calculations, we show that Sr2IrO4 has non-trivial domain structures which cannot be understood by conventional antiferromagnetism. This unconventional magnetic response exhibits broken symmetry along the Ir-O-Ir bond direction and is enhanced upon spin-flip transition or Rh-doping. Our analysis, based on possible stacking patterns of spins, shows that introduction of an additional rotational-symmetry breaking is essential to describe the magnetic behavior of Sr2Ir1-xRhxO4, providing strong evidence for a nematic hidden order phase in this highly correlated spin-orbit Mott insulator.

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Hyeokjun Heo, Jeongha An, Junyoung Kwon, Kwangrae Kim, Youngoh Son, B. J. Kim, Joonho Jang. 2025-03-25. Interplay of canted antiferromagnetism and nematic order in Mott insulating Sr2Ir1-xRhxO4. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.19408

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