Signatures of spin-orbital states of ${t_{2g}}^{2}$ system in the optical conductivity : The case of $R$VO$_{3}$ ($R$=Y and La)

TL;DR

This study uses DFT+DMFT to analyze how spin and orbital states in $R$VO$_{3}$ influence optical conductivity, successfully matching experimental data and highlighting optical conductivity as a tool to probe orbital evolution.

Contribution

It demonstrates that optical conductivity can reveal orbital state changes in $t_{2g}^2$ systems without spin order, providing a new approach for studying vanadates.

Findings

DFT+DMFT reproduces temperature-dependent optical conductivity.

Optical conductivity reflects orbital state evolution.

Method offers insights into spin and orbital physics of vanadates.

Abstract

We investigate signatures of spin and orbital states of $R$VO$_{3}$ ($R$=Y and La) in the optical conductivity using density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT). From the assignment of multiplet states to optical transitions, DFT+DMFT reproduces experimental temperature dependent evolutions of optical conductivity for both YVO$_{3}$ and LaVO$_{3}$. We also show that the optical conductivity is a useful quantity to probe the evolution of the orbital state even in the absence of spin order. The result provides a reference to investigate spin and orbital states of ${t_{2g}}^{2}$ vanadate systems which is an important issue for both fundamental physics on spin and orbital states and applications of vanadates by means of orbital state control.