Optical evidence for symmetry changes above the Neel temperature in KCuF3

TL;DR

This study uses optical measurements to reveal symmetry changes and orbital ordering modifications in KCuF3 above its Neel temperature, indicating complex magnetic and electronic interactions.

Contribution

It provides the first optical evidence of symmetry changes above T_N in KCuF3 linked to orbital ordering and magnetic interactions.

Findings

Observation of new optical features above T_N

Correlation between optical features and orbital ordering changes

Evidence of symmetry change influencing magnetic ordering

Abstract

We report on optical measurements of the 1D Heisenberg antiferromagnet KCuF3. The crystal-field excitations of the Cu2+ ions have been observed and their temperature dependence can be understood in terms of magnetic and exchange-induced dipole mechanisms and vibronic interactions. Above T_N we observe a new temperature scale T_S characterized by the emergence of narrow absorption features that correlate with changes of the orbital ordering as observed by Paolasini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 106403 (2002)]. The appearance of these optical transitions provides evidence for a symmetry change above the Neel temperature that affects the orbital ordering and paves the way for the antiferromagnetic ordering.