Strongly coupled charge, orbital and spin order in TbTe$_{3}$

TL;DR

This study uncovers a complex interplay of magnetic, charge, and orbital orders in TbTe$_{3}$, revealing new magnetic peaks and mutual influence between subsystems through neutron diffraction and x-ray scattering.

Contribution

It demonstrates the strongly coupled charge, orbital, and spin orders in TbTe$_{3}$, highlighting the entangled relationship between magnetic and charge density waves mediated by orbital ordering.

Findings

Observation of new magnetic peaks with combined propagation vectors.

Evidence of mutual influence between charge and magnetic subsystems.

Identification of orbital ordering as a mediating factor.

Abstract

We report a ground state with strongly coupled magnetic and charge density wave orders mediated via orbital ordering in the layered compound \tbt. In addition to the commensurate antiferromagnetic (AFM) and charge density wave (CDW) orders, new magnetic peaks are observed whose propagation vector equals the sum of the AFM and CDW propagation vectors, revealing an intricate and highly entwined relationship. This is especially interesting given that the magnetic and charge orders lie in different layers of the crystal structure where the highly localized magnetic moments of the Tb$^{3+}$ ions are netted in the Tb-Te stacks, while the charge order is formed by the conduction electrons of the adjacent Te-Te layers. Our results, based on neutron diffraction and resonant x-ray scattering reveal that the charge and magnetic subsystems mutually influence each other via the orbital ordering of Tb$^{3+}$ ions.