Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as a probe of nanometre-size orbital textures in magnetic transition metal oxides

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how nuclear magnetic resonance can be used to detect nanoscale orbital textures and phase separation in magnetic transition metal oxides, providing a new tool for studying complex electronic phases.

Contribution

It introduces NMR as a novel method to probe nanosize orbital textures, with a specific example of detecting orbital phase separation in La₀.875Sr₀.125MnO₃.

Findings

NMR can detect nanoscale orbital textures in magnetic oxides.

First observation of orbital phase separation in La₀.875Sr₀.125MnO₃.

Nanosize textures are linked to complex electronic phenomena.

Abstract

The study of strong electron correlations in transition metal oxides with modern microscopy and diffraction techniques unveiled a fascinating world of nanosize textures in the spin, charge, and crystal structure. Examples range from high $T_c$ superconducting cuprates and nickelates, to hole doped manganites and cobaltites. However, in many cases the appearance of these textures is accompanied with "glassiness" and multiscale/multiphase effects, which complicate significantly their experimental verification. Here, we demonstrate how nuclear magnetic resonance may be uniquely used to probe nanosize orbital textures in magnetic transition metal oxides. As a convincing example we show for the first time the detection of nanoscale orbital phase separation in the ground state of the ferromagnetic insulator La$_{0.875}$Sr$_{0.125}$MnO$_3$.