Localized character of charge excitations for La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$NiO$_{4+{\delta}}$ revealed by oxygen $K$-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

TL;DR

This study uses oxygen K-edge RIXS to reveal that doped holes in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$NiO$_{4+{\delta}}$ are strongly localized, contrasting with delocalized holes in cuprates, and shows temperature-dependent energy shifts.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the localized nature of charge excitations in nickelates via RIXS, highlighting differences from cuprates and implications for their electronic properties.

Findings

Doped holes are almost momentum-independent, indicating strong localization.

Charge excitation energies show temperature dependence.

Contrast with cuprates suggests different charge dynamics.

Abstract

We performed a resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) study of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$NiO$_{4+{\delta}}$ (LSNO) at the oxygen $K$ edge to investigate the nature of the doped holes with regard to charge excitations. Charge excitations of the hole-doped nickelates are found to be almost independent of momentum transfer, indicating that the doped holes are strongly localized in character. Additionally, conspicuous changes in energy position are in temperature dependence. These characters are observed in stark contrast to those of the high-$T_{c}$ cuprate La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ (LSCO), where delocalized doped holes form charge excitations with sizable momentum dependence in the CuO$_2$ plane. This distinct nature of charge excitations of doped holes is consistent with the metallicity of the materials and could be caused by strong electron-phonon coupling and weak quantum spin fluctuation in the nickelates.