Time-reversal symmetry breaking hidden order in Sr2(Ir,Rh)O4

Jaehong Jeong (), Yvan Sidis, Alex Louat, Véronique Brouet and Philippe Bourges ()
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Jaehong Jeong: Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA-CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay
Yvan Sidis: Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA-CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay
Alex Louat: Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay
Véronique Brouet: Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay
Philippe Bourges: Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA-CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Layered 5d transition iridium oxides, Sr2(Ir,Rh)O4, are described as unconventional Mott insulators with strong spin-orbit coupling. The undoped compound, Sr2IrO4, is a nearly ideal two-dimensional pseudospin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet, similarly to the insulating parent compound of high-temperature superconducting copper oxides. Using polarized neutron diffraction, we here report a hidden magnetic order in pure and doped Sr2(Ir,Rh)O4, distinct from the usual antiferromagnetic pseudospin ordering. We find that time-reversal symmetry is broken while the lattice translation invariance is preserved in the hidden order phase. The onset temperature matches that of the odd-parity hidden order recently highlighted using optical second-harmonic generation experiments. The novel magnetic order and broken symmetries can be explained by the loop-current model, previously predicted for the copper oxide superconductors.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15119

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