Spin, Orbital, and Spin-Orbital Polarons in Transition Metal Oxides

TL;DR

This paper reviews different types of polarons in transition metal oxides, highlighting their formation and differences in relation to the phase diagrams of related doped materials.

Contribution

It provides a comparative overview of spin, orbital, and spin-orbital polarons in three transition metal oxides, linking their features to experimental phase diagrams.

Findings

Distinct features of polarons in La$_2$CuO$_4$, LaMnO$_3$, and LaVO$_3$

Insights into phase diagram differences of doped oxides

Comparison of polaron types and their effects

Abstract

I give a brief overview of a polaron formation in three distinct transition metal oxides: (i) spin polaron when a hole is added to the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordered plane in La$_2$CuO$_4$, (ii) orbital polaron when a hole is added to the alternating orbital (AO) ordered plane in LaMnO$_3$, and (iii) spin-orbital polaron when a hole is added to the AF and AO ordered plane in LaVO$_3$. Comparison of the distinct features of the above polarons can shed some light on the basic differences between the experimental phase diagrams of the lightly doped transition metal oxides La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$, and La$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$VO$_3$.