TY - JOUR
T1 - Tracking local magnetic dynamics via high-energy charge excitations in a relativistic Mott insulator
AU - Nembrini, Nicola
AU - Peli, Simone
AU - Banfi, Francesco
AU - Ferrini, Gabriele
AU - Singh, Yogesh
AU - Gegenwart, P.
AU - Comin, R.
AU - Foyevtsova, K.
AU - Damascelli, A.
AU - Avella, A.
AU - Giannetti, Claudio
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - We use time- and energy-resolved optical spectroscopy to investigate the coupling of electron-hole excitations to the magnetic environment in the relativistic Mott insulator Na2IrO3. We show that, on the picosecond time scale, the photoinjected electron-hole pairs delocalize on the hexagons of the Ir lattice via the formation of quasimolecular orbital excitations and the exchange of energy with the short-range-ordered zigzag magnetic background. The possibility of mapping the magnetic dynamics, which is characterized by typical frequencies in the THz range, onto high-energy (1-2 eV) charge excitations provides a platform to investigate, and possibly control, the dynamics of magnetic interactions in correlated materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, even in the presence of complex magnetic phases.
AB - We use time- and energy-resolved optical spectroscopy to investigate the coupling of electron-hole excitations to the magnetic environment in the relativistic Mott insulator Na2IrO3. We show that, on the picosecond time scale, the photoinjected electron-hole pairs delocalize on the hexagons of the Ir lattice via the formation of quasimolecular orbital excitations and the exchange of energy with the short-range-ordered zigzag magnetic background. The possibility of mapping the magnetic dynamics, which is characterized by typical frequencies in the THz range, onto high-energy (1-2 eV) charge excitations provides a platform to investigate, and possibly control, the dynamics of magnetic interactions in correlated materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, even in the presence of complex magnetic phases.
KW - Condensed Matter Physics
KW - Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
KW - Condensed Matter Physics
KW - Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/98313
UR - https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/physrevb.94.201119
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.94.201119
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.94.201119
M3 - Article
VL - 94
SP - N/A-N/A/A
JO - Physical Review B
JF - Physical Review B
SN - 2469-9950
ER -