Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as a probe of nanometre-size orbital textures in magnetic transition metal oxides

Papavassiliou, G.; Pissas, M.; Belesi, M.; Fardis, M.; Stamopoulos, D.; Kontos, A.; Hennion, M.; Dolinsek, J.; Ansermet, J. P.; Dimitropoulos, C.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as a probe of nanometre-size orbital textures in magnetic transition metal oxides

Authors

Description

The study of strong electron correlations in transition metal oxides with modern microscopy and diffraction techniques unveiled a fascinating world of nanosize textures in the spin, charge, and crystal structure. Examples range from high $T_c$ superconducting cuprates and nickelates, to hole doped manganites and cobaltites. However, in many cases the appearance of these textures is accompanied with "glassiness" and multiscale/multiphase effects, which complicate significantly their experimental verification. Here, we demonstrate how nuclear magnetic resonance may be uniquely used to probe nanosize orbital textures in magnetic transition metal oxides. As a convincing example we show for the first time the detection of nanoscale orbital phase separation in the ground state of the ferromagnetic insulator La$_{0.875}$Sr$_{0.125}$MnO$_3$.
4 pages, 4 figures