Exact results for itinerant ferromagnetism in a $t_{2g}$ orbital system on cubic and square lattices

TL;DR

This paper provides exact theoretical results demonstrating that a multi-orbital Hubbard model on cubic and square lattices exhibits fully spin-polarized itinerant ferromagnetism under specific conditions, with implications for certain oxide materials.

Contribution

It presents the first exact proof of ferromagnetism in a multi-orbital Hubbard system on cubic and square lattices, extending the understanding of itinerant ferromagnetism in complex materials.

Findings

Ground state is a fully spin-polarized ferromagnet under specific electron configurations.

Ferromagnetism persists in reduced two-dimensional layers, including quasi-one-dimensional cases.

Results are relevant for understanding magnetic properties of SrRuO3 and oxide interfaces.

Abstract

We study itinerant ferromagnetism in a $t_{2g}$ multi-orbital Hubbard system in the cubic lattice, which consists of three planar oriented orbital bands of $d_{xy}$, $d_{yz}$, and $d_{zx}$. Electrons in each orbital band can only move within a two-dimensional plane in the three-dimensional lattice parallel to the corresponding orbital orientation. Electrons of different orbitals interact through the on-site multi-orbital interactions including Hund's coupling. The strong coupling limit is considered in which there are no doubly occupied orbitals but multiple on-site occupations are allowed. We show that, in the case in which there is one and only one hole for each orbital band in each layer parallel to the orbital orientation, the ground state is a fully spin-polarized itinerant ferromagnetic state, which is unique apart from the trivial spin degeneracy. When the lattice is reduced into a single two-dimensional layer, the $d_{zx}$ and $d_{yz}$ bands become quasi-one-dimensional while the $d_{xy}$ band remains two-dimensional. The ground state ferromagnetism also appears in the strong-coupling limit as a generalization of the double exchange mechanism. Possible applications to the systems of SrRuO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface are discussed.