Tuesday, April 23, 2013

1304.5864 (D. A. Zocco et al.)

Persistent insulating behavior in 5d transition metal oxides Sr2IrO4 and
Sr3Ir2O7 at high pressures
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D. A. Zocco, J. J. Hamlin, B. J. Kim, J. R. Jeffries, S. T. Weir, Y. K. Vohra, J. W. Allen, M. B. Maple
Iridium-based 5d transition-metal oxides are attractive candidates for the study of novel correlated electronic states due to the enhanced crystal-field and spin-orbit interaction energies. We present electrical resistivity measurements up to pressures in excess of 100 GPa performed on single crystals of Sr2IrO4 and Sr3Ir2O7, which at ambient pressure display an unexpected Jeff = 1/2 Mott-insulating state, characterized by a gap of the order of ~0.1 eV. Our results show no indication of a pressure-induced metallic state up to 55 GPa in Sr2IrO4 and to 104 GPa in Sr3Ir2O7. The resistivity of Sr3Ir2O7, measured at 10 K, decreases by more than five orders of magnitude between ambient pressure and 104 GPa, suggesting the proximity of this compound to a metal-insulator transition.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.5864

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